wearing lately: European winter suitcase

Amazingly enough, Copenhagen turned out to be a "warm" destination at the end of January, with the polar vortex arriving at home - but even so, it was still winter, so a mix & match suitcase with plenty of layering options was still the way to go! Here's what I packed in my little carry-on suitcase (not including my running gear!) for the 5-day trip:

chambray shirt (similar) | striped turtleneck | beanie | sneakers (similar) | wedge boots (similar) | printed blouse (similar, similar) | black sweater (similar) | shawl scarf (similar) | leather jacket (similar) | black jeans | skinny jeans | packable puffer (similar) | long cardigan (similar)

I would say that in general for much of Western Europe in the winter time you're going to get weather kind of like the Pacific Northwest - temperatures in the mid 30s/low 40s, quite possibly a bit wet and gray. So this suitcase would work well for many European destinations; there are a couple of things that I would say are essential no matter which country: a packable puffer for warmth but also for not taking up too much space when you're not using it (you can even use it as a pillow on the plane when it's all packed up into its little case!), shoes that are really comfy for a lot of walking but also that can stand up to wet weather, a scarf that can double as a shawl (can look elegant when put over all-black, but also is a great plane blanket), and then of course plenty of layering options. A color palette with lots of black always feels European to me, but I added in a little burgundy for pizzazz.

For Copenhagen in particular, when I learned from this book that leather jackets + long tees are part of the Scandi "uniform" for women, I added mine to the packing pile immediately. Though it takes up a decent bit of my small suitcase space, I loved the outfits it could make for dinners/other outings, and it fits really well under my puffer, so it worked out great.

traveling in comfort | touring museums

 sightseeing/walking around | going out for dinner

 

doing meetings | and more meetings

visiting cool coffee shops | traveling home

Here are just some of the combinations that can be made from this set, for everything from travel days to sightseeing to my work meetings - actual purpose of the trip, ha! I also recommend this convertible backpack for travel in general and especially work travel - nice to have the backpack straps for travel/sightseeing, but then for my meetings it converts into a tote for a more professional look.

I loved all of these outfits so much that I'm totally going to be re-wearing all of them in the coming weeks. They were perfect for travel and sightseeing and work meetings, but they'll be just as perfect for working from home, date night, running errands, etc. here!


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