Like millions of you, I spent the Thanksgiving weekend out-of-town. Unlike Christmas, which stretches languorously across the last two weeks of the year, Thanksgiving gets crammed into a truncated weekend. With so many activities and so little time, I kept my suitcase super-light by traveling with three variations of a single theme.
Every single outfit was an interchangeable series of pants, layered tops, flat shoes and one coat.
The key to stress-free layering? Pick a color palette. I kept it cool, with grays, blacks, whites and blues. These colors play nicely together and require no fuss or frippery to look chic. The one unifying thread was my plaid coat, which included all my weekend wardrobe’s key colors.
I flew to Jacksonville, Fla. for a long weekend of football, family and friends. The activities were all casual, but the temperatures varied widely, with some days up in the 70s and the chilliest days plummeting to the 40s. With a 30-degree spread, layers were essential.
For the initial plane ride, I layered pattern-on-pattern, with a plaid shirt, plaid coat and starburst-patterned sneakers. Everything in this outfit came into play later in the weekend, including the denim shirt layered UNDERNEATH the plaid shirt.
For a jaunt around an open-air market, I made a subtle homage to Cher Horowitz’s layered shirts in Clueless. It might seem basic, but because the black knit shell matched the pants, it looked like I was wearing a jumpsuit — with none of the hassle. (Have you tried using a restroom in a onesie? Nightmare.)
For a night out at the beaches, I wore polka-dotted velvet pants for a dressier feel with a cropped Topshop sweater layered over the aforementioned knit tank. It was two pieces but looked like a sweater — without having to actually pack an extra sweater.
And for the Jaguars-Giants game, my airport outfit made one other appearance — minus the plaid shirt and coat.
How do you keep your holiday packing stress-free? I’d love to hear your tips!