Here's What I'm Packing For 6 Days in Paris (And I was on a podcast!)
On my often failed attempts at being practical.
Ruby will never let me live it down. The winter I turned 21, I hopped a quick flight from where I was sojourning in Des Moines, and celebrated with my dear New York friends. Being away from the city for a few months and in the bubble of my Nissan, it was easy to romanticize the plans we had in store. For a night at Pyramid Club, a drink at Josie’s, and an inevitable feast at Veselka, I packed a Missoni midi knit dress, a maroon turtleneck, suede Ferragamo heels, and a camel wool cape.
Omissions that seem glaring to me now but worth ignoring then:
No purse. (Ruby valiantly carried my phone and almost-out-of-date ID in her bag.)
No coat. (It was snowing. The cape was leaning more fashion than function.)
No traction. (Vintage Ferragamo + East Village black ice = not my best move.)
I had the best time and the most royal hangover of my life and would not change a thing. All this is prove my point that while I consider myself an overwhelmingly practical person, packing can sometimes lean into my more romantic side.
I like believing that I’ll have a reason to turn the satin PJ set into a night out look on a trip to Copenhagen. I love the idea of becoming someone else on vacation. It’s the human condition! But in recent years, I’ve started to reign in my dreaming for suitcase space and overall, easier travel.
At the time of publishing, I’ll be back from a quite trip to Minnesota for work. Then I’ll turn right back around and fly to Paris for almost a week. I’ll be working while I’m there, but really, if you’re working in Paris, how bad can it be?
I have no galas to attend, no birthday parties to boogie my way into, just meetings and some fun coffees and lots of walking. Here’s what I’m planning on packing, minus the boring stuff like cords and medication. This is a fashion letter, after all.
Tops:
Cashmere turtleneck (see similar here)
Old J.Crew rain back (see similar here)
Bottoms:
Levis 501s (see similar here)
Etc:
Vintage LV crossbody (see similar here)
Black Creatures of Comfort dress (RIP)
Land’s End PJs (there are my favorites of almost 10 years)
Airplane outfit:
Black Buck Mason trench coat (tall people, this is your trench)
Vintage Old Navy khakis (see similar here)
Vintage cashmere sweater
Wish me luck! I’ll report back on my favorite stops + shops on the trip ASAP.
Also! I was thrilled to be invited on Creative Juicy a few weeks ago. You can listen here. And rate the pod! It’s one of my favs. Plus, I was on
chatting secondhand shopping, which was a blast.Thank you for reading Long Live. It means so much to me. You can shop my favs here, follow along on Instagram + Tiktok, shop my Notion template, and as always, respond to this dispatch for my direct line x
Hi from Minnesota! Wondering why you're working on... could it be a mall that's being revamped? ;)
Love this packing list and SO excited for the trip report