France: spring packing list

What a trip…now that I’m home from France, I’d love to share the full itinerary with you and what we did during our three week trip this April & May (other than get engaged!!!), but let’s get the important details out of the way: what did I wear?!

Usually a couple months prior to a trip, I start plotting out the itinerary - getting a feel of how I’ll spend each day (spontaneous who). I then take a look at my wardrobe, asking the question, ‘do I have everything I need?’ Sometimes there’s a clear ‘no’ answer; like when I was going to the UK for the first time and was told on countless occasions how damp it was going to be and so I specifically went out and bought more water-resistant footwear (I have now been to the UK three times and have only had one rainy day). And sometimes the answer is a much less clear ‘no’ because I know in my heart of hearts that I can’t say yes, as I have a vision of what I’d like to wear in a particular place and nothing in my closet will do.

Walking through the colourful streets of the South of France in Les Arcs Sur Argens, wearing a lilac butterfly dress from SondeFlor against a teal and yellow wall with flowers in the foreground and Birkenstocks.

That is when I begin the hunt. I scour local thrift shops, dive for deals in my inbox, and start adding things to my cart, hoping that my budget will magically stretch, allowing me a couple fresh items just in time for the trip. This trip was no different, except I now have 300K of you (hey!) watching my outfits and somehow that put a lot of pressure on things.

So here is what I’m packed for France this spring:

accessories

outerwear

tops

bottoms

90s inspired Parent Trap outfit Elizabeth with white trousers and linen overskirt undone with skinny cat eye sunglasses and round rattan bag walking in South of France with peach Mediterranean wall
walking through the stalls of Paris along the Seine, looking at art, wearing vintage trousers and a blouse with leather belt and cap toe slingback flats. Vintage aesthetic.

dresses

footwear

gear

walking along the Seine to Ile de la Cite in Paris wearing white trousers, a cable knit sweater and mules loafers with large metal ball earrings and a leather belt

Spring is such an odd time for weather, and you really never know what you’re going to get. When we left, the forecast was saying 15C and rainy; but just a few weeks prior I had seen the temperatures get up to 28C. I packed way too much in the odd chance it would be either raining the entire time or basically full summer weather. I didn't get the chance to wear all of my outfits as we saw 15 degree weather for the first half and then it was almost 30 every day in the second half. C’est la vie. I’m glad I overpacked instead of the other way around.

The things I regret bringing:

my steamer - this shorted our converter even though it’s a converter and not just an adapter (an adapter just helps plugs fit into the different sockets, whereas a converter will adjust the voltage). We are picking up the European plug version for our next trip though, as we do really like this one.

a travel blowdryer - every single place we stayed (and we stayed in only 2 hotels, the other 6 places were AirBnBs) had a blowdryer and this just added extra weight.

so many shoes - shoes are so heavy, and I brought way too many. I probably would have worn them all though, had I not been experiencing foot problems. To provide some context, I used to be able to wear heels for 12 hours a day, and I never had any issues wearing flats. In the last year, I have slowly been giving away every pair of shoe I own, as I’m having some genetic foot issues. I pretty much am at the point where I am sentenced to a life of geriatric footwear (RIP), that and Birkenstocks. Thank goodness for Birks.

my denim - I really didn’t need another pair of pants, and denim always ways down a suitcase. I just brought these because they were new and shiny and I wanted to wear them.

The things I should have brought:

absolutely nothing more. I had too much.

walking through the Palais Royale in Paris with the black and white columns, wearing denim and an Oxford oversized swinging a leather handbag and wearing Birkenstocks. Parisian style, French girl style, vintage aesthetic.

Let me know if you’d like to see in-depth stories from our trip or just a simple travel itinerary! I absolutely loved France and felt like 3 weeks was a good first time trip there, although there is still so much to see. Overall, I was really happy with the wardrobe I curated for this trip, and I really hope you think so too. Make sure to subscribe to my mailing list so you never miss a post (and for some fun freebies!).

xo Cate

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3 week France itinerary

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spring style 2022