Where Nicole Went: 7 Items, 9 Outfits

It’s Wednesday, it’s snowing and the roads are bad here so let’s talk about something a bit more exciting, like me going to warm{er} weather next week!

I try to travel with just a carry on and “purse” when possible to give myself room to bring things back, pack gifts at times, and have extra room for medicine, beauty products, chargers, etc. I’ve been on quite a few trips in the past year and have come home every single time with more than I left with.

I always get very excited (and a little worked up) for a trip, so I’ve found it super useful to use packing lists to ensure I don’t forget any essentials and can look everything over leading up to my trip. I love this one from Jenny over at Traveling Chic! She has two different, printable packing lists that are available for free download, but if these aren’t up your alley there are hundreds upon hundreds of options to find through Pinterest.

I decided for my trip next week, that I for sure just wanted to take a carry on since I’ll only be gone six days and so the need to figure out what mix and match pieces to pack has definitely been on my mind lately. I finally narrowed it down over the weekend to these key {heavily rotated} seven closet staples:

1. The Herringbone Vest
2. Blue Skinny Jeans
3. Burgundy Skinny Jeans
4. Red Plaid Flannel Shirt
5. Black Gingham Shirt
6. Striped Knit Tee
7. Cobalt Cardigan

Lots of my friends have commented in the past that they don’t understand how I can “just” take a carry-on so I wanted to share the importance of packing versatile items.  For this post, I did not include accessories or shoes in my count, but did try to rotate out the same pieces so that you can see how to minimalize this packing as well.

I love mixing prints and this vest is one of my very favorite pieces to do it with. The gray and black herringbone print comes across as so neutral and is very easy to wear. This one is down-filled and super warm, so for me it was important to bring it in case of mild cold weather.

So, as you may have picked up on – I love patterns and am really excited to wear this double stripe combo soon. I paired it with my super comfy, Clarks flats that go with every outfit ever and a pop of pink.

I love flannels in all colors, fits and plaids; this one is very soft and looks so good with my burgundy skinnies.

Blanket scarves are pretty much a Nicole essential for traveling. Cold on the plane? Wrap up in that scarf. Need a little pillow during your layover? Ball that baby up. Seriously, they’re a travel game changer.

We all know the importance of layers, when you’re not completely sure of the weather and when traveling. This plaid button down from Francesca’s is super easy to throw in a bag on the go.

I snagged this striped tee from H&M during a local store’s opening for $10 and it has already reached that “crazy good” price-per-wear point. To add some fun details to the neutral pattern mix, I added in gold spiked jewelry.

Super easy to throw in a bag or button up and wear under a cardigan. I’ve worn this combo before and love the more subtle pattern mix with the varsity stripes on this sweater.

Black and white are for sure the two easiest colors to mix and create a complete outfit around. I love my bold colors so the thought of only packing neutrals is bleh to me, but including a couple neutral pieces makes everything easier to put together.

And that’s all she wrote! There are for sure more outfit possibilities here, but I only needed six outfits so this was already a bit overboard. Having this kind of minimal “day wear” for my trip makes it possible for me to throw in some less flexible items like a skirt or dress to go out to dinner in or some activewear to hit the gym in.

What are your carry on tricks?