City Break Packing!

It's always a tough one isn't it! If you are within the UK its a little easier as I expect for most luggage allowance isn't a restriction but naturally you do not want to be lugging a massive suitcase around on the train or in the car, so it's still good to be light and organised. If its abroad you may be trying to make it work with a backpack...shudder!!!

City break packing is always a popular call for help from my clients and I always love this challenge and I have learnt from experience that it makes life easier to plan ahead and take the absolute essentials to ensure less time is spent on the packing and unpacking as well as washing items that weren't even worn! I also refuse to spends £10o's more to airlines just by having a slightly bigger case or popping it in the hold, so we have to be clever!

Things to consider when packing for your city break:

• What are we doing? Activities, walking, shopping, meals out, things like that!

• What's the weather? OK, so the forecast doesn't always play ball but use as a guide.

• Are there any dress codes? It may be a hen do, perhaps a restaurant doesn't allow jeans?

• Research the accommodation - do they have toiletries, hairdryers, umbrellas, towels - this way you avoid packing things you have access to!

Knowing these little details will help keep your packing decisions focused and hopefully avoid packing things that aren't needed, freeing up valuable space.

I know timing cant be limited these days and we pack in a panic hence why we take to much and usually the wrong stuff but by doing the tips I list below it really will take stress away from packing. I usually can do this as late the night before I leave first thing so its never days of planning by any means.

Here are a couple of tips on how to start the packing process once you have made the considerations above:

I chose a colour palette of Brown, Tan and Black with some cream and lemon added in.

• Stick to a colour palette that works together as this will make mix and match easy! Read my Colour Blog for tips on colour pairing.

• Start with bottoms and your travel outfit, ideally you want your travel outfit to work on arrival for day 1.

• Now find a mix of tops that work with all your bottoms, again this creates an easy mix and match process.

• As you are picking these pieces consider what is day and what is night, can something you wear one evening be worn again the next day?

• Footwear - ideally the footwear you travel in can be your day footwear and so you only need to pack evening shoes/boots.

• Accessories, hopefully not many are needed but potentially just an evening clutch depending on plans.

• Now pull out your toiletry minis and make up and ensure it fits into one plastic see through security bag. Can any of the toiletries be bought at the airport or decant things too into travel bottles. Be clever with some items, my deodorant is usually liquid but I get a deodorant stick for travelling where its hand luggage only.

• Add in your undies, hairbrushes and socks, if needed, and then think about outerwear! If your destination is chilly you want the coat you wear to travel in work for the day, if it doesn't work for the evening too do you need a blazer? Something lightweight that can be packed, will a cardigan be enough?

Just this weekend I put all of the above into practise and it worked....I even had space for shopping I had done for the return journey! My husband had a backpack for hand luggage but as we were going to a chilly destination I did pay £42 extra for a small wheelie bag as my hand luggage.

Our destination was Copenhagen which had similar weather to the UK, it was chilly but dry so I took this into consideration when pulling together my packing and went for layers, especially thermal and long sleeve tops, I knew these would keep me warm but take up less space!

Below I have shared the outfit combos I wore for each occasion whilst we were away from the collection I have shared above based on my Brown, Black and Tan palette. I have also shared at the end how I may have done it differently, just a small tweak!

Travel & Day 1 in Copenhagen

I wore as much as possible here! My firebirds were super comfy to travel in and were great to keep on for our first day of wandering the city! I had a long sleeve top on for warmth and a fleece for extra layering that still fitted under my jacket, my trainers I knew I would be comfortable in everyday. I had my cross body bag that I wore daily and I had my brown suede tote to put my toiletries and make up in for quick access at security, some mags and my Copenhagen book to plan what we were going to do on the flight! We mainly just wandered and hit the shops after a yummy lunch of Pizza and wine at Luca.

Evening 1

For the evenings I knew we were going to restaurants and bars so enjoy the chance to glam up but wanted to ensure my bottoms for evenings would also work for the day so leopard jeans or plain jeans work perfectly. Always have an ankle grazer in your luggage as an ankle grazer will work with both flats and heels so versatile for both day and night. We found a lovely chilled Thai restaurant and hadn't had Thai in so long and it was gorgeous, I was totally overdressed but I don't care. The people in Copenhagen are so friendly and non judgemental no one looked twice! I knew my day jacket wouldn't work here so packed a lightweight blazer that took up minimum space.

Day 2 in Copenhagen

We knew the weather was going to be dry for the weekend so we love to just wander around areas and find places to eat, explore and shop so main thing was comfort and layers for warmth! I wore my neck scarf everyday and was mistaken for a Danish local 3 times which I took as a huge compliment and thought it may have been the neck scarf!!!!!!!! We had a gorgeous breakfast at Cafe Kalaset it was also just round the corner from the Botanical Gardens and the Butterfly House so we knew we could just walk there after. We didn't stop for lunch as was still full from breakfast so instead hunted out some lovely Vintage shops, my faves were Magnolias, Wilde Vintage and Prag Secondhand but as well as the vintage there were some beautiful boutiques and all the lovely Danish brands too!

Evening 2

We headed for another meal out on our second evening and came across the restaurant when we stopped off for a drink after all our shopping. It was middle eastern food and a set menu and looked lovely so we got it booked! I highly recommend as the service was amazing, a cosy ambience, it seemed very popular and the food was just delicious, it was called Yaffa and well worth a visit. There are lots of bars in the square after for drinks too. We did sit inside for both our meal and evening drinks but so you know there are cosy blankets and heat lamps everywhere as so many people stay sat outside so you can stay warm!

Day 3 & Travel Home

Last day and time to travel home with the additional challenge of adding in some cheeky shopping! I layered up and wore my chunky jeans as my firebirds, despite being the most comfortable for travel, take up less space in my case! That way I was able to add in an extra pair of trainers (they are lush), a cute little jacket and body top! I also got a new bag this day but seemed to get away with carrying it through security as an extra shopping bag!!! We enjoyed one last breakfast at our hotel, the Hotel Alexandra which I really recommend, the café connected to it was gorgeous, the room and staff lovely and when we checked in we were greeted with the words " we have upgraded you to a suite", just what you want to hear! The hotel was walking distance to everything too, we got a short train journey from the airport to the city and could then walk to our hotel! We didn't take a single taxi whilst away!

Any Switch Ups?

So, would I have done anything differently? Yes, but not much! We walked everywhere and whilst I love to glam up in heels in the evening they weren't great for the cobbled streets!

Instead of taking my killer heels I would have swapped these with my kitten heel ankle boots that would still have been a bit of glam but far easier for walking the cobbled streets of Copenhagen whilst leaning on my husband for great support!!! Then to reduce down what I took I would have swapped out my one shoulder top and leopard jeans for a plain white tee to wear with my blue jeans, heels and blazer. It was nice to glam up a bit but a white tee and blazer still would have worked in a very chilled and stylish city!

I would have swapped out my one shoulder top and heels with a white tee and kitten heel boots.

Hopefully this helps with your city break packing but I can honestly say taking a bit of time to really think about what you are doing, the climate of where you are going and sticking to a colour palette theme will make life much easier when you are there to enjoy your holiday!