Elz came to pick me up at the airport and drive me to my new home in Kastrup. Upon our arrival, Trygve (home owner where I am staying) stares at my 4 bags--2 suitcases, a weekender backpack and a backpack. He simply offers up this piece of wisdom with a slight chuckle: "little bit of luggage, then." The Danes will forever laugh at my idea of minimalism and concise packing. After all the thought and work, (and editing!), I put into taking only what I needed for a year, I am still found to be quite overloaded with "stuff". I could blame it on an American stereotype, I suppose, but instead I will resolve to learn this concept of minimal. In response, I told Elz and Trygve that their job was to teach me to be a minimalist, and I would take half of it back at Christmas. I will not tell them that Mom is mailing a few items to me later this week. ;)
(I left the Palmetto Rose bouquets that I brought for Elz, Lisbeth, Julie, and Marisa at home...and remembered them only on the way to the airport. My spastic packing curse strikes again!)
With regards to packing for a colder climate
I've been living in South Carolina for nearly 8 years now, and before that, in Tennessee. Needless to say, I am somewhat afraid of the weather here. I have spent time in Denmark in March and October, and it was much more pleasant than I expected (weather wise). The days were sometimes cloudy or rainy, and often windy...but...as long as I was not afraid of many layers, silk underwear, and not seeing my feet for many days on end, I was perfectly comfortable. Planning for a week of that type of wardrobe is easy. Planning for a year, well that's a different matter.
I have been collecting various items that I thought I would bring for many months now. Any time I saw a winter clearance, I would pick up a piece and think, "hey, I could wear that in dk." This was perhaps not the best way to go about my planning, but there it is: my American self rears its cute little head. A few weeks ago I realized I was going to have to do much better if I wanted to avoid a 200$ fee at the airport for :gasp: overweight/oversize luggage. So begins my research into packing for a year abroad. Yes, I said it. RESEARCH. What else do you expect me to do? It's only fair that I begin this process the same way I would tackle any other. This blog site is one of the better resources that I found. I'm definitely going to try some of her tips and style thoughts.
AcademiChic's "How to Pack for a Research Year Abroad"
Sounds familiar right? That's what I thought, and her tips about neutrals and layering were really helpful, and made a lot of sense considering my prior fall/winter experiences in Denmark. I had already started the same process of breaking my clothes and "want to takes" into categories--dresses, shoes, pants, shirts, jackets. Of course my winter coats took up quite a bit of space, but I'm a bit terrified a true Danish winter, so they all come, even if I have to mail them! After reading this article I went back through my list and checked each item to see if I would wear it with at least 3 other items. That was hard, because it eliminated some of my favorite items--but in the end I think it was a good plan.Shoes:
- black heels,
- gray slouchy boots
- brown buckle boots
- gray neutral flats
- sneakers
- brown heels
- pewter wedge
- Black (long sleeved and lace back for layering)
- Gray
- Blue academic long sweater style
- Rose pink rabbit (warm!!)
- Black suit blazer
- Winter teal wool vest
- Black collared sweater style
- Jeans: 2 skinny (dressy and casual) and a trouser length, and casual
- Black Trousers
- Denim Skirt
- Black shorts
- Jumpsuit/overalls
- (i didn't pack too much in this area because most Danish pant styles are, well..a bit funky)
- Black print
- Black Long Sleeved basic
- Black wool Sweater dress
- Funky Summer Print--to be work as a layering piece, very funky danish style
- Gray/Cream basic cotton for layering
Tops:
- Black Turtleneck
- Teal Basic in a lightweight wool (Loft)
- Cream Fair Isles style (Banana Republice)
- Heather Gray with rose floral motif baggy sweater (NY and Co)
- LAYERING TEES! black, purple, white, gray, fuschia
- sage lace tank (target)
- print layering tank (American Eagle)
- white button down
- odd molly (swedish designer) white tunic thing
- green/gray floral tunic
- magenta/teal plaid tunic
Accessories:- jewelry
- various headbands (will probably get more in dk)
- scarves (red print, english rose print, teal, black)
- will DEFINITELY buy more in dk, can't have enough
- black/brown skinny belt, black brown wide belt
- charcoal felt bucket hat and other black hat
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