As I shared recently, I’ve spent a month in Madrid, Spain, studying Spanish – and you can check out more about my adventure here. When I started to pack for this period abroad – I gave myself a challenge: I would pack a minimalistic but functional wardrobe that could allow me to create at least 30 different outfits. Technically, I had more than 30 days in Spain since we spent some days in Barcelona as well, but I thought it would be better to stick to a 30 days / 30 outfits challenge. If there’s one thing I discovered about myself during this period abroad, it is that I like a challenge, and I love to have a goal. Now that I’m back, I decided to share the process, the outcomes, and the things I’ve learned in this blog post.
The planning process
I know that packing for a month-long winter trip without overstuffing your suitcase might seem impossible, but it all comes down to planning.
First thing I did was checking the average temperatures in Madrid for January. Luckily, winter in Madrid is not as freezing as winter in NYC, so that definitely helps as well – I could pack my elegant and charming wool coats.
Another thing that I took into account when packing was how my routine would look like in Madrid: I would go to class every day, and would explore the city on the weekends and also some dinner nights. My priority was comfort – but make it stylish.
Then, a tool that really helped me was Indyx, which is an app that allows you to catalog your closet and add tags like category, size, brand, and colors. Since I have my entire closet cataloged on the app, it was easy to visualize all my winter items and select which ones I would bring with me. This brings me to the next topic: selection.
Since the idea was maximizing the number of outfits I would be able to create; I had to be very strategic about the items I picked – and, in this case, prioritizing neutral staples that I could easily mix and match was key. I also had to think about strategic layers – and strategic shoes that should match almost every combination – and bring easy and versatile accessories that would help to diversify my outfits.
Another thing I did was create at least 10-15 outfits – I also used Indyx for that – so I could rest assured the items I was bringing would be used and would not just take space in my suitcase.
What I packed
Tops – Sweaters:
- 1 gray sweater – basic fit
- 1 white sweater – basic fit
- 1 black sweater – with puff sleeves
- 1 green sweater – oversized fit
- 1 gray sweater vest
Tops – others:
- 1 white long-sleeve bodysuit /square neck
- 1 black long-sleeve bodysuit /square neck
- 1 white cotton shirt
Bottons
- 1 black tailored shorts
- 1 pleated midi skirt
- 1 black wide-leg pants
- 1 beige tailored pants
- 1 straight denim pants
Coats
- 1 blazer
- 1 camel wool coat
- 1 black camel coat
Shoes
- Platform white sneakers
- Converse black sneakers
- Chelsea boots
Accessories
- 2 scarves
- 2 belts – black and brown
- 1 hat/cap
Not pictured:
- Thermal tops
- Thermal tights
- Gym clothes
The outfits I created
Because I was already planning to create content about this little challenge, of course I documented all the outfits I wore during my period in Spain. There were 2 or 3 days we stayed home, so I didn’t take a selfie. And there were other 2 days I forgot to take a proper selfie – although I did take a photo outside, I didn’t include them here cause it would ruin the post mirror aesthetic, lol.
Some notes:
- My main idea with this challenge was forcing me to come up with new ideas and create a different outfit concept every day – even if that would mean only a shoe change.
- And speaking on that, sometimes a different shoe and a different bottom can upgrade a casual comfy day outfit to a date night outfit.
- Some small details – like a belt or cool Converse sneakers – can immediately make your outfit more interesting.
- Playing with layers – like the vest, the blazer, and the shirt helped me to multiply my options.
- You will notice that most of the time, I didn’t take a picture wearing my black or camel coat, but I wore them 90% of the time on top of the outfits.
- Yeah, I packed two black pants – but can you notice how the wide-leg pants make a huge difference compared to the joggers?
What could have been better:
- I love black – as you can notice… perhaps if I had not repeatedthis color in 2 out of the 4 bottoms I packed I would have a more diversified result.
- Yes, my two wool coats are the same style. Maybe a different one would have been better.
- I think there’s room for improvement when we talk about accessories.
- To be honest, I was never that excited to wear the gray sweater…
- The green sweater is cute and I love it – and although it resulted in many outfits, a more neutral color perhaps would be more versatile?
- Really love how versatile is a sweater vest – it was definitely a great purchase!
- I wished I had come up with more ideas with the white shirt.
- Could have worn the cap more times!
I know that some of the selfies don’t show the entire outfit – so below you can check the collages ideas I’ve created on Indyx for each of the outfits – you can link that to your mirror selfie.
Conclusion:
Yeah, before you ask, I was looking forward to coming back home and having more options at the end of my month in Madrid, lol.
Jokes aside, I absolutely love this challenge and exercise. After I started to be more intentional about what I pack – not only for this trip, but also for others – I noticed my suitcases become more and more functional, and it’s rare when I don’t use something that I packed. It’s about spending some time planning before the trip – and less time worrying about what to wear once you get to the destination cause you’ve done the homework.
Also, I really believe that styling is an exercise – in order to be more creative, we need to practice and expose ourselves to that.
Shop this post:
Content creator and journalist in New York City. Here, I share lifestyle, beauty, NYC tips, thoughts, and the struggles about living in the most amazing city in the world! I’m not gonna pretend to be another person: I’m a Brazilian immigrant and I think this is my soul, it is part of who I am. I hope you enjoy my content! Follow me on Instagram!
No Comments