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| @Lovedbylizzi |
Photo details: Card purse by Oliver Bonas, Cream scarf by Biba (House of Fraser), Paris Jacket by Kettlewell Colours, Berry long boots by M&S, Chanel brooch by Chanel, Black clutch bag by King & Eye Crochet
A city break for a few days can be far more rewarding than a longer holiday, but not all of us want to do this type of break in jeans and trainers for the whole duration – there’s sometimes a desire for a more glamorous adventure – and why not we only live once!
Dresses, heels and accessories were very much on my packing list for Paris; and whilst I did make best part of the travelling wearing my Nike trainers, the rest of the time I walked the streets of Paris without a practical, mundane accessory in sight!
Here’s my step-by-step guide to packing for a fabulous few days away…
Step One
Pick a neutral colour that ties all your accessories, bags and shoes – for my trip I chose berry/burgundy – avoid everything having to colour-match perfectly, opt for different shades, that way it is far less stressful when you are grouping items together. Other colours you could consider for this are black, navy, brown (tan), camel or khaki.
Step Two
Pick a secondary neutral colour that compliments your first; having this second option gives you far more versatility for more choice in mixing and matching your outfits. Mine was cream/camel – again variation of shades rather than it being one tone only. You could try navy & tan, khaki & burgundy, black & white and so on. For these items you should consider coats, scarfs, purses, and belts.
Step Three
For jewellery either pick silver, rose or gold – and stick to it. I opted for gold and quite a few of my pieces have pearls in, so this was my secondary to help mix and match. You generally find with silver the secondary will be diamante.
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| @Lovedbylizzi |
My travelling outfit: Coat by Ted Baker, “Pop the champagne” jumper by Biba (House of Fraser), Faux leather leggings by NEXT, NIKE trainers, burgundy scarf by Accessorize and my berrie bag is Linea by House of Fraser
Once your’ve complete steps one to three – you will find you already have a vast selection of of what you need to take…
Step Four
Now to select your statement pieces – this is what you want to wear to wow people with, for example I had my H&M green floral dress for the Dior exhibition and my Zara purple dress for Afternoon tea at Angelina Paris.
Neutrals do not wow, they are like the cream, custard or ice-cream to your desert! So the questions to ask yourself is “what do you want to wear?” and to “which part of your trip?” Get these items out and take a look to see if they will work with what you have selected in steps 1, 2 and 3. I would hazard a guess that 80% will work and we just now need to focus on the 20% that doesn’t.
Step Five
The items that have not worked with the neutrals – the first question you should ask yourself, do you really want to wear it? Could you swap it for something else? If you truly want to wear it, what minimal items do you need to take in terms of shoes and accessories to make it work without excessively increasing your luggage, it’s pointless taking a lot of items to make one outfit work – reconsider would be my advice.
Step Six
Do you have any gaps? I did, mine was a handbag. You should allow time to shop for what you need, and if your trip is truly last minute you need to think what you can get online with next day delivery or even the option of getting it on route, e.g. at the airport. Try and research as much as possible, before heading to the shops to save you precious time.
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| @Lovedbylizzi |
Photo details: Biba cream scarf by Biba (House of Fraser), Berry long boots by M&S, Berry bag by Linea (House of Fraser) and Green floral dress by H&M
Step Seven
Always take that extra jumper or t-shirt depending on the climate you are travelling to – you never know how your trip will pan out and you may find you need an extra change of clothes, just because.
Step Eight
You can wear heels; you don’t always have to tackle a city in trainers. Think about what you are doing and how you are getting there. Do you really need to eat so far from your hotel? Take a look at what’s in your local vicinity. Do you have to walk or can you treat yourself to a taxi?
Avoid wearing brand new shoes, both my heeled boots are well worn, and my long berry boots I walked a great distance in are only a couple of inches high with a thick heel – far easier than six inch pinned stilettos.
Step Nine
Take suitable luggage that allows extra room for any shopping you may do on your trip – consider this BEFORE you leave so that you don’t have to worry about this whilst you are away – there is nothing worse than having to carry lots of bags to accommodate your shopping – and the airports nowadays simply won’t tolerate it!
Step Ten
My final tip if you are only going away for a couple of nights, is treat yourself to a blow-dry that will last best part of your trip – I personally find it awkward trying to do my hair in a room where the mirror is never near a plug socket!! Or worry about my straighteners burning the furnishings – so if you can afford to – I highly recommend this!
Travel should be fun, but it can also be super stylish too!
If you would love to see more outfits from my Paris trip then just click through here.
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| @Lovedbylizzi |
The post How to pack for a mini city break was on Loved by Lizzi first.
