As you may have noticed from the fact that I write about my packing list for each trip, creating and refining packing lists is fun for me. I like lists in general but oddly, I really like packing lists. Generally, my goal is to get lighter and lighter while not sacrificing comfort and to have some choice even when just walking. But this past time was a bit different. You see, this past May I went on a two week girl’s trip with three friends to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. It was a fun, whirlwind trip as we were covering a lot of places in the two weeks, and the first trip in five years that wasn’t about walking a long distance trail or camping, so I had fun deciding what to bring.
I also decided to do something a bit different. I’m in a travel fashion group on Facebook, which amuses people who know me when I mention it, as I’m not overly concerned about fashion in my everyday life in Toronto, nor am I when I travel. I joined the group for their great packing tips and inspiration, both of which abound, and generally skip over the fashion ones. But one caught my eye a while ago and I decided to use it for the basis for my packing list for this trip.
My first four-by-four wardrobe
A four-by-four wardrobe (which I think is originally from The Vivienne Files website, and you can find a downloadable printable table there, although I heard about it in the abovementioned Facebook group) is one were you have a “first core of four”, two tops (one should be a jacket or cardigan) and two bottoms, in a core neutral colour; “second core of four”, again two tops (one should be a jacket or cardigan) and two bottoms in a second neutral colour; the third group is the “mileage four”, four tops that go with/match the first eight items; and the final group is the “expansion four”, which can be all tops or a combination of tops, dresses and bottoms and a good place to add colour.
Could I pack using this model?
First off, I was curious if I could fit all that clothing into my 30L backpack. Because if I could, it looked like a great way to make sure that I both have lots of choice of outfits but also, I would already know that everything matched everything else. It seemed ideal for my love of minimalist packing but would it work for me?
So I started by laying out my travel and walking clothing on my bed to get an idea what my “colours” would be. There was way more that 16 items of clothing to start with and I knew I would be including my jackets in the 16 so I needed to pare down the clothing. As I was fairly certain that black and purple would be the two core colours as I own a lot of both, I started by getting rid of anything that didn’t work with both colours. And then took photos of everything, made outfits, and whittled down the pile of clothing until I had just 16, which was harder (and more time consuming) than I expected.
In the “four-by-four wardrobe” I used, my first core colour was black, my second purple (which isn’t a neutral but worked for me), and the rest, other than my rain jacket and puffer jacket, were shades of purple, grey and maroon. And other than the basics (underwear, bras, socks, pjs), the clothes you see in the photo below is all I packed.
What worked?
I wore everything, most of the stuff multiple times, so that was great. I’ve been on trips before where I packed things I didn’t use which is a waste of space. Both of my Outdoor Research pants (black and grey) were workhorses and the black ones pass for regular pants so are fine anywhere. My purple Merino wool long sleeved t-shirt was great for keeping me warm and I’m hoping to get a second one. And I wore my puffer jacket more than expected as while it wasn’t cold (mid teens mostly), it was windy and I often needed more than just my fleece.
What didn’t work?
My Outdoor Research rain jacket. The one truly wet day we had – in Edinburgh – it didn’t keep me dry and I ended up buying an umbrella at Edinburgh Castle. Sure, it’s a nice souvenir but I would have rather my fairly new rain jacket be waterproof as I bought it less than a year ago. My purple lightweight sweater was lovely but a bit too light (read: not warm enough), a cardigan would have been better as I could have layered more. And I could have swapped out my plaid shirt for another t-shirt or cardigan as they would be more versatile. But really, it was only the malfunctioning rain jacket that was an issue, the others were more of a hindsight thought due to the weather of the trip.
Would I do it again?
Yes! I never had to worry about making up outfits and could simply dress for the weather as I knew all my tops (but one) worked with all the bottoms. I’ll make changes of course, but I really liked the idea. It’s great for any kind of normal travel but I’d take less clothes if I was on a walking trip. However, my backpack wasn’t that heavy and I had no issues carrying it.
Rambles and Walks 