Sunday, January 25, 2015

Recapping Packing: What I Wore Part III

Anybody still with me? 

Clothes clothes clothes!!

What I've covered so far:


Black Fleece Jacket
Black Rain Jacket
Jean Jacket
Black Blazer
Gray Zip Sweatshirt
White Wrap (can double as beach cover up)
Black Long Sleeved (wool blend)
Brown Long Sleeved
Teal Hoodie
Periwinkle Long Sleeve
Yellow Long Sleeve
Black T-shirt
Gray T-shirt
Purple/Blue (ish) T-shirt
Mango T-shirt
White T-shirt

To continue: 
Black Camisole
Gray Camisole
Mango Camisole
White Camisole: I love camisoles! Mostly because bras are not my favorite ;) I wear them all the time in everyday life and on the trip. I layer them or wear them alone. I think all of these are from Costco. My parents do a lot of Christmas shopping at Costco. I love it. #styleicon ;) 



Yellow Tank: This is something else I wore a lot to the beach, so the pictures don't really show how often I wore this top. :D



Teal Tank: Admittedly, I wore this a few times, but I probably could have just gone with the yellow tank and left this one home. Nonetheless, it gave me another option if the yellow tank was less than fresh ;)



Purple/Blue (ish) Tank: The lace on this made it 'fancy' and I sometimes used it for a nicer night out :D



Jeans: Obviously, these are a staple and I wore them A LOT. And they got really really tight...like on my thighs. Ugh, cheese. I can't quit you.



Gray Zip off pants: These pants were also great and also from REI. They were your typical 'Hi I'm an American Tourist and I want to dress like I'm going on an adventure' pants. But there's a reason that American travelers love these pants!! They are awesome. For one, they dry SUPER quickly and you can spill almost anything on them and they don't get dirty. Two, mine zipped off to be both capris AND shorts, so handy for multiple outfit options. However, I got these on sale in the 'petite' section of REI. They were HUGELY discounted. And they fit great when I left. Well...then I gained about 20lbs (See jeans above) and while I could still wear these...they became majorly uncomfortable since the zippers for the shorts part left imprints on my ever expanding thighs. :P blast!



Black Yoga Pants: I mean, these are just a staple for every girl, right? They were great for travel days, for sleeping, for hiking, for just for wearing around. Do not leave home without black yoga pants.



Black Leggings: AWESOME SAUCE. Also from Costco. :D I love leggings in general, but these were terrific. Technically, they are 'base layer' wool leggings and maybe not entirely appropriate to wear as pants, but whatever. That's the debate for all leggings. I just always do my best to cover my bum, which doesn't always happen. I wore them ALL the time. They also dried very quickly and were super comfortable. Unfortunately, they became quite worn and pilled...but I couldn't have done without these. 



Gray Half Pants: I had these for a long time before the trip and always found them comfortable. By the end of the trip, they were literally threadbare. I love these pants and they were a good alternative to the black leggings. Also, they were good for not too hot/not too cold days.



Sweatshorts (for sleeping): I didn't take a single picture of these, because I ONLY wore them for sleeping. But I wore them most nights, unless it was cold and I wore the black leggings or yoga pants. I'm glad I brought these, because they were comfy and cozy.

Jean Shorts: These were a total fail. I have no idea why I packed these shorts. They were the first to alert me to my noticeable weight gain. While I could always get them on and buttoned...it was a lot like wearing a corset around my hips. Sorry Jean Shorts. You were a mistake.



Khaki Shorts: I'm very glad I packed these shorts. They are from Banana Republic (love that store!) and were very versatile. I felt like they were casual and somewhat dressy.  



Mango Shorts: These were terrific for the first part of our trip, because they were comfy and very fast drying. I loved them in the hot weather and for the beach.




1 Black Convertible Dress: Ok. Now this dress was really cool. My mother in law also got this for me as a birthday present. It's from American Apparel and can be worn like 20 different ways or something. In actuality...it was ok. It's still a pretty neat dress, but many of the styles were just impractical or uncomfortable. That said, I still think it was a good purchase and perfect for a trip like this. Despite my lackluster review, I would recommend it.



1 Black Skirt: I probably didn't need this skirt, since the dress also worked as a skirt, but this skirt is oh so comfortable, impossible to wrinkle, and easy to wash/dry.



1 Gray Long Tank for the beach: I wore this quite a bit too...to the beach, so not as many pictures to show that I actually wore it. I tried wearing it once as like an outfit in Turkey, but I look terrible...so that was a fail ;) I wore it as a dress to dinner in Bali. I wish I'd worn it more as a tank top too with a skirt, but it was almost always sweaty and covered in sunscreen. :P



1 Gray/Black Scarf: I wore this scarf almost exclusively with my gray t-shirt. It was a perfect match and I'm matchy matchy. Have I mentioned that?? ;)



1 Teal Scarf: This scarf was part of my go-to 'dress up' outfit...which was tieks (that have teal soles), jeans, white tshirt, blazer, and this scarf. I wore it a lot both with that outfit and with other things. It is a nice, warm scarf. 



Brown Hiking Boots: The ever fashionable hiking boots!! These were sorta heavy and took up a lot of room, but maaaan am I glad I had these. They are super comfortable (unless hiking downhill off a volcano for 9 miles...at that point I thought that they might be a tad small), 100% essential for all those 'easy' NZ hikes, and waterproof. This last fact means that I had to wear them nearly every day in Paris. In. Paris. That's right...the land of wispy skirts, and fashionable shoes, of leggings with high heels...I was clod hopping around in my hikin' boots. AW yeahhh.





Gray Sneakers: I mean, duh. You can't go away for 6 months without sneakers. You just, can't. The ones I got were really light weight...like air! They were New Balances and they now look like they've been through a war. This was only the second pair (see: hiking boots) of shoes that I could REALLY walk in. I mean, we walked miles and miles around cities. Like 8 or 10 miles some days. A shoe has to be MEANT for this kind of walking. So, again, fashion was not my strong suit :P We went to a club and danced the night away that night in Paris...and the best 'club' outfit I had to wear was...my black leggings, the blue/purple lacy tank top, my teal scarf, and my sneakers. I could've gone with the tieks, but I don't know if I could have stood comfortably in those for hours and hours. Anyway, when I asked her if my outfit worked for the club, Mara rightfully exclaimed, "I mean, I guess so. You kind of look like a yoga instructor". hehehehe. Yes.



Brown Toms: I was SO excited to get some Toms. I actually wore the wedge ones in my wedding, but hadn't owned a traditional pair. My mom offered to get me some as a present for the trip! I went back and forth on which color to get, but decided on brown to round out my color wheel for packing. Blah. I'm kind of disappointed in these shoes. They fell apart REALLY quickly. Like, within a two (heavy) wears. You cannot walk in these shoes for very long. They make your feet hurt and work weird muscles in your legs. I wore these in Paris one day-having no idea we would walk as much as we did-and had a foot problem for the next 3 months. Fail Toms. Fail. I hope that kid in Africa who got a pair of shoes b/c my mom bought these Toms is faring better.




Black Ballet Flats (Tieks!!): In my hours of scouring the Internet's 'what to wear' posts...I kept coming across female travel bloggers and their Tieks. What the heck are Tieks?? They are like the holy grail of travel shoes, apparently. They are comfy, they are casual, they are dress up, they come in a gazillion colors, they are made from a single, perfectly stretched piece of leather, they have a re-enforced sole, and extra heel cushioning, they fold in half and come with a little travel bag to boot. I. needed. these. shoes. I went to the website. My mouth fell open. These. shoes. cost. $200. TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS. Now, I've already explained that I am not all that fashionable...so I don't typically buy $200 pairs of shoes (I mean, fashion just seems expensive, right? Not always, but it can be...for sure). But, I really wanted them. They are the BEST shoes ever. EVER!! So, I did it. I bought them. I can justify it!! I swear. I never do this kind of thing. Can't I have ONE nice thing?!  Thinking that I had a pretty good argument from myself to myself, I handed over $200 and got my Tieks!! They came in the mail in this adorable purple box with a ribbon and a flower. They came with a HAND WRITTEN note telling me thank you and to enjoy my new shoes. Laaaa. I think Angels were singing as I slipped them onto my feet and...OH MY GOD. They were AWFUL :( They were the most uncomfortable shoes I've EVER put on my foot. I felt like something was biting me every time I took a step. I don't think I've ever been more disappointed. In. My. Life. And then I walked into the kitchen and I stepped on a piece of potato. And I stained the GD sole of this $200 shoe. And I knew I couldn't return them to the cloud in heaven from whence they came. And I thought about crying. But, a few nights later...my friends were over and the two of them wear a size bigger than me in shoes. And they both wore these godforsaken things around for me...for hours. They traded off and winced through their pain. Oh my gosh...they are such good friends. And, lo and behold...those darn shoes fit! And they feel good!! And they are comfortable!! And, ya know what? I love them. Are they worth $200. Nope! Do I wear them all the time? Nope! But, they are still a good, well-made shoe and they were great for this trip. I walked around in them all day in Venice and got lost and took wrong turns...and never felt uncomfortable. If I stood for a long time...they would be sort of irritating, because the soles were sort of hard, but I'll give them a B+. If you're filthy rich or really into shoes or just a sucker for a great sales pitch (cough cough) and need something for a trip like this...go for it! And I just wrote an essay on a pair of shoes.

To get sold on some pretty terrific marketing that makes you want. need. must have. these shoes: go here



Black Flip Flops: Years ago I bought some black Reef flip flops. They were $30 and expensive for flips flops, but these shoes are totally worth it. They are the most comfortable flip flops I've ever worn. They really support your foot and you can wear them for a long walk (maybe not 10 miles) practically anywhere. I got brand new ones for the trip and they are already well worn. I wear these shoes all the time. 



White Flip Flops (for showers): Since my black flip flops have cloth straps, which make them comfortable for walking, but are not quick drying, I brought along cheaper white flip flops. I used these for beaches and for showering in hostels. It was a good idea to have this pair, though I guess I could have gotten along only with soggy black ones all the time. :D


Haha. I think this is the only pic I have of these flops and a rare one of me in a bathing suit.

5 Pairs of Underwear
2 Bras (one black, one nude)
1 Sports Bra 
1 Bandeau Bra
4 Bathing Suit Tops
2 Bathing Suit Bottoms
5 Pairs of Socks: No one needs to see any of this, but I assure you...it was ALL matching to my clothes and color scheme ;)

Along the way I picked up:

A handful of scarves and sweaters and a muff thing from Mara, which saved me in Iceland!! 



Liz lent me her light brown sweatshirt on the snowy hike in Italy and then later said I could keep it :D :D I wore it quite a bit!



I bought myself this warm, gray hat in Iceland. It was great because it was SO warm and it covered my ears. It's one of the few things we bought anywhere.



David gave me this t-shirt, which I wore a lot sleeping and around sometimes. 




Rather than getting rid of stuff (stupid!!), I added some things from a bag I had sent to Chicago.  It was a mistake not to trade some things out. :P


The brown t-shirt was a nice change of pace and I was grateful for the black workout capris when the weather was hot :)
If you're still with me...thanks!! Any excuse to go back over and review and reflect upon our trip is a good excuse to me!! Happy Sunday Evening :D

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