"I have a full closet and nothing to wear." That's a line from one of your emails, and I've read it so many times now in so many versions that I could recite it in my sleep. I know that feeling. At one point I owned over 100 pairs of shoes. (Yes. One. Hundred.) A closet packed to the ceiling, and I'd still stand in front of it feeling like I had nothing to put on. How does a closet that full end up feeling that empty? Lately my inbox is full of you saying the same thing in different words. "I...
7 days ago • 4 min read
“Itchy just thinking about it” That’s what one of you wrote back after my fall packing list email a few weeks back. She wasn’t the only one. Every time I mention merino or cashmere, a few of you reply with some version of: love the list, can’t wear half of it. Meanwhile I’ve been over here recommending merino and cashmere like it’s my job. (It kind of is 😅) So today’s email is for you. Same goal as always: warm, cute, and light enough for a carry-on. Zero wool. Why those fabrics feel so...
14 days ago • 5 min read
There are two kinds of women reading this email right now. One of you has a packing list that was made months ago. Checked twice. Possibly color coded. Your suitcase comes out of the closet 2 months early “to give yourself time.” The other one? Your bag doesn’t come out until the night before. Maybe the morning of. You throw a few things in, zip it, and tell yourself what you always tell yourself: it always works out. Type A packer. Type B packer. You already know which one you are. (you’re...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Think about the last 12 months. How many pieces in your closet showed up in January AND July? For most pieces, the honest answer is: they didn’t. They work one season, maybe two, then they hibernate. Which means you paid full price for a part time wardrobe. I think about this every time I pack. I fit multiple climates into one 20 inch carry-on, and the pieces that always make the cut are the ones that never take a season off. Those are the pieces worth your money. One catch though: “all year”...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
The most important outfit of your trip is the one you wear to actually GET there. Think about it... it's the longest you'll wear any outfit all trip. The 4am alarm. The freezing airport. The overheated train. The airplane that's somehow stuffy AND arctic at the same time. And in shoulder season, there's an extra twist: you're usually leaving one season and landing in a different one. So many of you told me exactly this. Leaving warm, landing cold. Leaving cold, landing warm. Long train days...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
For a while, I blamed the dryer. Then the dryer kept "shrinking" only my favorite things, and I had to have an honest conversation with myself 😅 I just turned 39, and my body got the memo. I’m about 15 pounds heavier than I was 5 years ago, and a few of my clothes are still in denial about it. Now, I know my version of this is not your version. But that moment when something that used to fit suddenly doesn’t go past your hips? That feeling doesn’t care what size you are. Nobody teaches us...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
Let’s talk about the problem that got the bronze medal in the poll but wins the gold for suitcase space: SHOES. “They take up my whole bag.” That’s how you voted, and I felt that in my soul, because I just spent WEEKS on my own fall shoe decisions. (I wrote about your #1 problem here, and #2 problem here ICYMI) Here’s what happened: I pack bottoms first, always. So my fall bottoms were chosen. And then I could not find ONE pair of shoes that worked with ALL of them. Not one. And I had an...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
Quick question: does "vacation you" dress like "home you"? Because for most women, the answer is no. At home it’s leggings and comfy tops on repeat. Then a trip shows up on the calendar and suddenly we’re packing a completely different woman’s wardrobe. And that gap, right there, is where most packing mistakes are born. I know because I’ve made this mistake from BOTH directions. When I first started traveling full time, I wasn’t packing for me. I was packing for every possible version of...
2 months ago • 5 min read
Last Sunday we solved dressing for three seasons in one day. (here's that email ICYMI) Today: the question so many of you sent me. Your ONE trip covers completely different climates, and you want to do one carry-on. Cool cities plus a warm coast. Cold in the mountains, warm on the islands. A cruise that boards in one season and docks in another. Different versions of the same worry: "do I need to pack two wardrobes?" No. And I want to show you why, because once you see how a suitcase splits...
2 months ago • 7 min read