What to Pack for a Rainy Long Weekend in London

Closet Content Analysis: Items for a 4-Day Trip  

Choices: Absolute Necessities

NECESSARY          NICE          NO THANKS          

I'm leaving rainy France to visit rainy London. I know, there is something inherently wrong with that picture. However it is a weekend that has been a long planned and awaited event. A good friend from Calgary, Canada will turn 50 and her spouse has planned a rendez-vous (with another couple as well) in London (England that is, not Ontario, Canada). They are "épicurienes", in the same way we are and so of course this weekend will be filled with celebrating, eating, drinking some fine wines to accompany the eating and a little shopping on the side. No sightseeing as such - been there, done that.

Now . . . what to pack? All I have is a carry-on and so I shall only take what is . . . 

NECESSARY: I always pack my North Face jacket and my camel cashmere shawl. Heels and my LBD are also necessary for this trip. One pair of flats to be sure, one pair of jeans, four t-shirts/tops/shirts, a blazer, a rainy-wear 3/4 length coat (to wear with either a dress or pants) and underwear of course. My insulin and paraphernalia, my journal, my passport . . . I'm done. I won't forget the umbrella. As well, I will take absolutely the minimum for toiletries and no electronics - seriously. 

NO THANKS: I'm unconcerned about not having a phone or computer, my real concern is . . . will I be able to manage with one pair of  jeans? 

NICE (Rationalization): I feel I need to take a second pair. The best rationalization is that I shall wear one pair and pack the second pair. So officially I am only taking one pair, albeit one extra pair.

I re-visited my post on what I wore during my four day visit to Spain in the spring and need to add some colour with a scarf or two. Two pairs of jeans, one in black and another in a colour - probably purple, is now very probable after review of my Spain trip.

What are your absolute must have items for a weekend away?

Brian's Newest Tory Burch Purchases

New

Thank goodness Brian keeps me posted about his latest Tory Burch purchases. These are quite special and of all the ballet flats Tory Burch has created with her signature logo, I must say, I've taken a liking to these the most.

Fango coloured TB Lowells. Photo Source: Brian D, 2015

Even better in black . . . 

Black TB Lowells. Photo Source: Brian D, 2015

Thanks Brian . . . the official ballet flats guy of this blog . . . 

Brian in his fango coloured TB Lowells. Photo Source: Brian D, 2015

Bravo H&M!

The "Close the Loop" commercial that to this date has had over 4 million hits deserves the accolades it is receiving. The message at the end is "There are no rules in fashion but one - recycle your clothes"; an innovative position for a retailer to take, but also one that is astute enough to recognize individual differences, beliefs and waste. Sweden's H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) is not the only one doing this. Marks and Spencer in Great Britain and Calzedonia in Italy also collect clothing for recycling purposes. I understand H&M is conducting ongoing research in the process of recycling fabric fibres but until fabric fibre recycling is more cost effective and refined any financial benefits H&M receives will be going into social programs. The prospect that your donations (fabric - the raw material) may eventually become new H&M products incites the development of a new type of re- "cycle" in terms of benefits for the company. Visit Garment Collecting to find out more. 

Finnish, Swedish and Japanese companies have already produced 100% recycled cotton. Fibres that have been around for centuries, such as hemp, are now being used to make blue jeans. My great-grand mother's everyday work wear was made out of hemp. 

Another thought: why is it that the Canadian prairies produces flax but not linen?

Today, in keeping with the theme, I pulled out my sewing machine. The best I could accomplish was a tea towel, albeit an oversize well washed ancient linen tea towel. Here in France, you can go to recycle, re-sell shops, brocantes or vides greniers and pick up old linen sheets for centimes/pennies and re-work them into whatever you want. I was going for simple this time around and chose to cut up an old linen flat sheet for a 90 cm bed (avoiding the holes and worn out spots) and I ended up with an oversize tea towel. Not quite in a fashionable closet, but certainly in a "green" kitchen.

The feel of old linen, cotton and silk is amazing. This tangent may have strayed slightly from the blog theme but there's a necessity to recycle fibre and what is clothing and fashion but fibres fashioned to cover the body?

I have written about re-cycling before: 
Re-Using or is it Re-Cycling Clothing