Holiday packing

This is me unusually organised. But look at the size of the suitcase!

There was an article in the Daily Telegraph yesterday which struck a cord with me - and annoyed me in equal measure.

According to research the average woman overpacks a suitcase by 26 items. It seems we, as a gender, use just half of the things we take with us on holiday, the rest being 'just in case' items. (The Daily Telegraph Saturday 9 July 2011)

If you've read my previous posts on this blog, you'll know I'm always struggling to know what to pack, whether I'm going for a short city break, for a skiing holiday or even just for holiday 'at home' in Åland.

But, why on earth would anyone wish to know this about women's packing habits? The survey was carried out by a internet comparison website, so I guess there was a commercial reason for it, but it's not exactly a surprise is it? Every woman who's ever been faced with the task of filling a stupidly small suitcase with all the items she thinks she'll need during a week or two in a strange location knows that it's almost impossible to know what to take and what to leave behind. Ideally I'd like to pack my whole bedroom, rather than having to make a decision ahead of time on my outfits.

Also, is it just women who overpack? Are we still so divided by gender? The article didn't mention how men pack. In our household certainly there is a huge difference - the Englishman and Son regularly underpack, forgetting to take essentials like underpants (happened last holiday), or shampoo, and then borrow these items from Daughter and me. (No, not the undies). This being so, I'm not sure why it offends me to read that women's packing habits have been singled out. Perhaps it was the tone of the article, making us seem simple and stupid by carrying articles in our suitcases that we don't ever use. There was also a comment to say how 50% of women find it difficult to stay within the designated luggage limits.

I cannot but help to believe that a lot of money was paid and many productive working hours spent on a useless survey which produced a most predictable result.

Holiday packing: capsule wardrobe time

I'm hopeless at packing for a holiday. First of all I can't do it much ahead of time because the weather where we usually go (Åland Islands in Finland) is always unpredictable, and I have to wait until I have a proper reliable forecast. At least that's what I tell myself, because the real and embarrassing reason is that I can't pack until I feel in the right state of mind to do it.

'You can't base every decision on your emotions,' some wise (or not so wise) friend once told me.

Since we are leaving for our midsummer holiday in two days' time I thougth I'd start the packing with getting a few things in the Net-a-Porter sale. (Where else should one start?). But, I've just been on the phone to them and they say despatch can take up to 72 hours, so I may not get the few crucial items (Marc by Marc Jacobs handbag, Mulberry scarf and Alice by Temperley twill cotton jacket) before we go.

Panic.

Hence, this morning, though I don't feel like packing yet, I forced myself to start the process by laying out the pieces I know I'll want to take. If I could get together a 'capsule wardrobe', I could build on from that.

What do you think - am I on the right track?

Hobbs maxi dress, Castaner black wedges, blue DKNY wrap cardigan (which starred at yesterday's pigeon episode at England's Lane Books), Uniqlo cargo shorts, Citizens of Humanity white jeans, Current/Elliott cropped chinos, Rebecca Minkoff bag. And my Mac, obviously!

It's a packing nightmare

I'm off to Helsinki for a long weekend. But what to pack?

It's always the same problem. I want to travel ligth but also want to have a choice of what to wear. Which brings the sub-problem of having to take several pairs of matching items of footwear, bags, scarves, or gloves. Which all increase the amount of luggage.

Then there's the additional worry: the weather. This time of year it's very cold in Helsinki, but it can be dry cold or wet cold.

I bought a gorgeous down coat by MaxMara in Rome. It seemed far too sunny and summery at the time to be wanting something for cold weather, but now I'm extremely glad I have it.

But though it's wonderfully warm, it really, really doesn't tolerate rain, or any wet weather at all. The alternative to keep warm and cosy at temperatures below zero is my woollen coat by Joseph, with a really nice collar. But I have worn (and worn) it for two winters already. I could take a dark grey military style wool coat which I bought from the Jill Sander collection for Unqlo in October. Problem is, neither of them are any good if it's pouring down with cold rain.

It seems that I still haven't learned that what I need most of all is a boring, boring, rain proof warm coat. Something like this:

OK, this is Philip Lim at Net-a-Porter and actually rather lovely. But I'd never consider paying £920.00 for a practical coat. It'd be a stretch for a impractical one.

I don't have that coat so I could take the lovely MaxMara one, which does pack into a tiny bag, as an in-case-of-snow-coat (which is forecast) and wear either one of my woollen ones. And keep indoors in case of heavy rain. Or just not go anywhere but Stockmann's department store, which just happens to be opposite my hotel. What brilliant planning on some-one's part...?

During the time I've been living in the UK, the store has grown and grown and now has everything you could possibly want. Ever. So much so that when a few summers ago I was desperate for a haircut, I just walked into the hair salon on the top floor of the store, got a time some hours later, and had the best haircut ever.

But back to the packing. The weather forecast, which I've been following avidly through my daughter in the local newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, is far too vague and inconclusive. It could be rain, it could be snow.

Helsinki is quite a smart city where people dress nicely to go shopping (at Stockmann's mainly), and I'll be seeing old friends, my daughter's friends and possibly visiting my Father. So a 'good daughter' outfit as well as 'sensible mother', and something snazzy to show off with are all required.

To further add to my packing nightmare, I've just been told by a friend who more or less commutes between Helsinki and London that the Finnair ground staff have staged a walkout at Helsinki airport. And that the luggage handlers will be on an unofficial strike at Heathrow at the weekend.

Oh dear, think I'll stay at home then....