My husband is from England, and we fly there once a year to visit family. I lived in London for 8 years, so it’s always a treat to go back and revisit my favourite places – and share them with my children.
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bag (large size) / top: (similar) / earrings (similar) / jeans / c/o shoes |
We usually split our trip between two hotels – one in Central London and one closer to family, so we always try to pack light. I find the best way to avoid over-packing is to plan EVERY single outfit I’m going to wear – from clothes to shoes and accessories.
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necklace / top 1 (similar) / top 2 (similar) / bag (size large) / blue jeans / black jeans / shoes |
This year, I stuck to a blue/black/white colour scheme, and paired each outfit with either black shoes and a black bag or tan shoes and a tan bag.
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necklace / shirt 1 (similar) / shirt 2 / blue jeans / tan shoes (similar) / black shoes / tan bag / black bag (size large) |
I chose comfortable non-fussy tops – and paired them with statement accessories – either my sparkly j.crew necklace or my tassel H&M earrings (close-up pic here).
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necklace / top 1 (similar) / top 2 / black jeans / shoes / tan bag |
As for my airplane/travel days – I continued with my “clothes that feel like pajamas” plan – disguising my leggings under longer tops for a comfortable-but-not-too-casual look.
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necklace / top 1 / top 2 / leggings (similar) / bag (size large) / c/o shoes |
All in all, I took 3 pants (black jeans, blue jeans & leggings), 3 shoes (black flats, tan flats & sneakers) plus 2 bags (black & tan) and 8 shirts. Pre-planning definitely helped me pack lightly!
I was gifted these Go Step Skechers earlier this year – and they were a welcome addition to my trip. Firstly – they weigh nothing and are super easy to pack. Secondly, they’re made of a special anti-microbial material so you don’t need to wear socks with them. And thirdly, they’re very sleek yet padded with arch support and shock-absorbing soles, so they were life-savers on the days we had to do a lot of walking!
With all that extra space in my luggage, you would think that I would have shopped a lot – I mean, look at these pretty Gucci bags at duty-free – the popular black disco bag was around US$200 cheaper than in stores here!
But the only thing I ended up buying was this Emma Bridgewater Hearts mug (and the black bodysuit from this post). Between jet lag, a high exchange rate, and the fact that Toronto has a lot of similar stores – I wasn’t too tempted by anything. Also…I MAY have been saving up for a different dream bag – can’t wait to share it in a future post!
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earrings (similar) / shirt / blue jeans / bag / tan shoes (similar) |
What would you buy in London, that you couldn’t buy in the US/Can? Let me know and I’ll take notes for next year!
Lovely outfits, i love your choices it's minimal but classy.www.itsbeyondimaginations.blogspot.com
I found on my trip to Europe last year that sticking to a simple colour palette was KEY to packing effieciently! Love all the pieces your picked to bring with you!
Love your blog! Wish I had seen this post earlier. We went to London the end of May. I did use the tip for keeping the colors the same for mixing outfits. It really helps. The photos make me miss my hotel which looks just like it. We stayed at the Crown Plaza Kensington. It was a great hotel for our first trip to London. The tube station was just across the street. Amazing!!!!
You look so good! And styled the pants perfectly!XXaftonklänningar
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Great tip on trying everything on before packing so you don't overpack! I usually don't have a problem in that area but I'm also always too lazy to try every outfit on so I'll have to get better about that. Love your color scheme! I'm obsessed with blue and white 🙂