what's in my suitcase
loving what I packed and hating how I feel in it
I’ve been living out of a single suitcase that I packed in August 2025, intended for a 1 month roadtrip across the country with my dog and plans to visit friends and family along the way. Seven months later, I’m still living out of that exact suitcase. The WHY is irrelevant here, what I want to talk about is the absolutely impeccable job I did of packing pieces that have held up over constant rewear, even though I absolutely loathe putting them on now.
What did I pack? A mini-capsule (I hate that I said that but honestly that’s what I did and I’m proud of it) along with multiple vintage (read:oversized) tees and sweatpants. Sadly, not one blazer was packed.
For me, the goal when I’m on the road is to blend as much as possible. We’re on the road a lot and often going all across the country. It’s only me and my dog and people are…people. Unfortunately for us, Sunnie is kind of a star and that pretty much guarantees at least one interaction, so I end up going a step further than blending and aim to repel. That essentially means oversized everything.
Here’s the thing though, while oversized everything is comfortable for hours in a car and the occasional stroll through a national park, it’s not so much fun when it quickly becomes the only thing you have to wear. For months.
*I have to elaborate here because I did have some Oversized Blindness in 2024/2025 so yes I own a lot of oversized pieces, but the pieces I packed were all the biggest and most unflattering. Think not cute size XL t-shirts and wide leg sweats, not a cool blazer. I talk a bit more about my overall “blah” phase and oversized clothes here.
Of course, these are all things I wore before moving and while I don’t subscribe to the idea that you need to dress to flatter, I do subscribe to feeling good in what you’re wearing and using fashion to express yourself.
Q: Why didn’t I buy more clothes?
A: I’d made some life and career changes over the past few months and was living off of savings to supplement a phase of less clients, there were also a few months where I had barely any income at all and new clothes weren’t a necessity. This isn’t something I’m proud of but it’s also something a lot of us (especially freelancers) are/have/will go through so I think transparency is important. Also, I do have a bunch of clothes I love, they’re just currently hanging out in a storage unit 2,000 miles away.
Anyway, I’ve since come to the realization that it’s all temporary and while I am very much over constantly re-wearing the “human-repelling” clothes that I’ve packed, I also really appreciate how well they’ve held up and how I really did pack the perfect capsule. (For a 1 month trip.)
So how did we get here? I rediscovered my ShopMy shelf, “My Suitcase” and seeing everything laid out like I was Cher Horowitz picking out her clothes made me realize what a great capsule it actually is…and maybe even got me a little excited to get dressed again?!
NOTE:
I also really enjoyed how each row alone tells a perfect (short) story. It’s like every row is curated to fit a facet of me and that just made me really happy. (This was just a happy accident, not an ai thing.)
I’m Obsessed:
Another thing caught my attention and I think it’s worth sharing: When you take out the concert tees you’ve held onto forever, the vintage finds, your grandpa’s old flannel, and whatever else you have from the life you’ve lived, when you whittle it down to only what is completely linkable, it’s so boring. That’s probably a topic for another day but take it as a reminder to mix some old stuff into your life.
Back to the blazers though, I have a secret: I miss my coats, but I don’t really miss my blazers so much. 🌀 iDeNtItY sHiFt 🌀