We just returned from a week-long trip to see my sister-in-law get married. We were in Winnipeg, MB, Canada for the event, somewhere that I’ve never been. Despite having grown up in Canada, I had never been east of Ontario. So I was definitely excited to see what Winnipeg had to offer, although we didn’t get to explore the city as much as we would have liked due to wedding commitments.

My plan for packing for the trip was pretty simple. My travel capsule included pieces that were versatile and comfortable, while still being chic. I was a bridesmaid in the wedding but luckily my sister in law just asked that we wear black dresses with tan/beige/nude sandals. Back in November, a few months before Elizabeth Suzann retired her Mara jumpsuit, I had asked my sister in law if she would be okay with me getting it for her wedding. It’s a piece that I had eyed for quite some time and I figured that the wedding was the perfect justification to spend that much money on a jumpsuit. Luckily for me, she loved it!! So I ordered it and I’ve been wearing it ever since! Aside from the jumpsuit, I chose a few more pieces that would work well while traveling.

My process for picking items for my travel capsule is outlined below, and can be broken down into the following steps:

⥤ Determine the weather forecast

⥤ Determine the activities that we would be doing

⥤ Identify key travel capsule pieces that would work with the weather and activities

⥤ Plan daily outfits

⥤ Fit the travel capsule in a backpack

The Weather Forecast

The days that we were in Winnipeg were definitely a mixture in terms of weather, but I guess that’s the kind of spring we’ve all been having! Most of the days were warm with cooler evenings. There was one really warm day (Friday) but it was also breezy so it made it more tolerable. I definitely wanted to pack pieces that were light and airy for the day with some nice layering pieces for the evening.

I think the trick with a travel capsule is to take items that can do both day and night duty. And with these kinds of temps, natural fabrics are a definite must. Since most of my clothing is made from natural fabrics, this wasn’t too difficult. One thing that I have focused on in past 1+ years is to build a wardrobe of natural fabrics. The reason for this is two-fold: they’re more comfortable and they are biodegradable. Even though I will have these pieces for a very long time, I like to think about what the end of life will look like and what impact they will have on the planet at that point.

To combat the chill in the evenings, I grabbed a couple of layering pieces…namely dusters, because we all know by now that I’m a fan ;).

The Activities

Before heading on our trip, I made sure to ask my sis in law about any activities that we would be doing. We had just a few wedding related activities that we had to attend. The rest of the time was spent catching up with family that we hadn’t seen in a while, and we did take the kids to the Assiniboine Park Zoo one day. We also had a family birthday to celebrate on Friday.

Our itinerary looked a little like this:

Wednesday – all day road travel

Thursday – part day road travel / meet everyone at hotel / bbq at the groom’s house

Friday – birthday breakfast / pedicures / birthday dinner / early to bed

Saturday – hair appointment / afternoon wedding / evening reception

Sunday – family brunch (for those healthy enough to attend lol), spend time with family, take kids to the zoo.

Monday – all day road travel

Tuesday – part day road travel

Identify Key Travel Capsule Pieces

As I mentioned above, I bought a silk jumpsuit to wear for the wedding on Saturday. Luckily, this jumpsuit can be easily dressed down and I was able to wear it again on Tuesday. I brought another jumpsuit to wear on Thursday evening. I also wore it for a few hours on Saturday morning while I was getting my hair done and I wore it again all day on Sunday! I brought a beautiful black silk dress to wear on Friday. This was the one item that I packed that I knew I would only get one wear out of. And that’s ok. I think it’s nice to take one fancy item just in case! On the rest of the days, I made use of the separates that I had brought to make new outfits.

My travel capsule included the following items:

Plan Daily Outfits

I am really happy with the outfits that I was able to create from my little travel capsule. With the 8 items of clothing that I brought, I was able to create 7 outfits that felt fresh and fun.

Days 1 – 4

Day 1

Road trip outfit – – layered and comfy! Chambray pants that I thrifted at the end of last summer (this is their first wear this year), an old merino wool running tank (that I never use for running ha!) and a linen duster that kept the ac chill away! I added my converse which are turning out to be a great addition to my wardrobe! I’m pretty sure that these will be my car trip pants from now on…more elevated than leggings but just as comfortable because of the elastic waist.

Day 2

I wore the Day 1 outfit for the remainder of the road trip and changed out of it for the evening wedding festivities. The weather was so beautiful for a pre-wedding bbq (79F), so I decided to wear my raw silk jumpsuit because it’s cool and breezy (I’ve said this before but I love anything in raw silk – not precious and oh so interesting with the little nubbys!) but the evening was a little cooler so I was glad that I brought a duster to keep the chill away when the sun went down.

Day 3

As I mentioned earlier, when my sister in law asked the bridesmaids to wear black dresses, I immediately sent her a picture of the Elizabeth Suzann jumpsuit and asked if I could wear it and she approved, so I ordered it. Back in January. And I’ve worn it ever since. But I really wanted a pretty black dress to wear for the day before and I found this gorgeous silk number on the Real Real and I love it. It’s flowy and swishy and fun! I wore it with the same black sandals as day 2 during the daytime but I switched into the tan sandals for a birthday dinner with lots of family!

Day 4

Wedding day!! I finally wore this jumpsuit for its intended purpose. To keep it a little more modest, especially for dancing at the reception, I layered a low back black bodysuit underneath. The bride had requested that the bridesmaids wear tan or nude sandals. Since I already had these cuties in my closet, they were the obvious choice!

The most sustainable option is the one you already have in your closet!

I kept the accessories simple with a couple of gold layered necklaces, my everyday watch and simple gold hoops. The ceremony was held in the English Garden of Assiniboine Park and it was absolutely beautiful there. We did get rained on but it was kind of lovely and romantic. Somebody on Instagram pointed out that “a wet knot is harder to untie” and I love that!

Days 5 – 7

Day 5

Sunday was a pretty laid back day and I wanted my outfit to feel that way too. We spent most of the morning hanging out at the hotel, first with a family brunch and then at one of the hotel rooms to open gifts. Following all of that, my husband and I decided to take the kids to the Assiniboine Park Zoo. They were such troopers throughout all of the wedding events and it felt like a nice outing for them. We were also curious about seeing the zoo as well since we had been to the park the day before for the wedding ceremony and had viewed the zoo. I thought that it was really nice. It wasn’t too big and the animals seemed to have nice, large habitats, which I think is important in a zoo!

Day 6

We got up early, said our tearful goodbyes and hit the road. Since we would be spending most of the day in the car, I went back to my tried and true pants and sneaker combo. I changed up Day 1’s travel outfit by wearing my striped tee. I did grab my tan linen duster to wear as a blanket in the car as needed.

Day 7

The last day of our road trip! It was kind of a disaster really, but at least I was really comfortable! We ended up with an extra 2.5 hours added on due to a highway closure, a detour and downpours. But I couldn’t ask for a better outfit! I know that I said that the chambray pants would be my new travel pants but this jumpsuit (with a top underneath) might become my new travel outfit, honestly! It’s truly been such a great addition to my wardrobe that I’ve already gotten so much use out of! Check out this post to see how else I’ve worn it, or scroll through @uncomplicatedspaces.

Fitting my Travel Capsule in a Backpack

No matter what the duration of the trip is, I always use a backpack to travel. I purchased this Eagle Creek backpack prior to my 2-week trip to Scotland and Ireland back in the fall of 2018. Check out this post to see how I packed. I really like how it has 3 compartments, and 3 extra pockets on the front.

For shorter trips, I like to pack clothing and shoes in the middle compartment. I pack my makeup and toiletries in the bottom compartment and I pack my pjs/underwear in the top compartment along with any extra accessories. For longer trips (like to Scotland/Ireland), I use the bottom and middle compartments for clothing and shoes and I put makeup and toiletries in a separate bag (my “personal item”, as we tend to do longer trips to places that we have to fly – might as well make it worth it, right lol).

As you can see below, I like to roll my clothing. I find this to be a great space saving technique. I put my shoes in separate bags to keep things sanitary. I also put my pjs and underwear in a separate bag as it helps to keep everything organized. I put any extra accessories in whatever small bag I’m taking (usually my Cuyana belt bag) and place that in a separate bag too for protection.

I usually use the front pockets to hold a book, my glasses and phone charger. This bag has a laptop sleeve in the bottom compartment as well but I haven’t used it yet.

Well, there you have it friends! It was a doozy of a post and if you made it all the way to the end, I’m giving you a virtual high five!

I hope you enjoyed seeing my travel capsule for a week long trip! I’d love to hear how you pack for trips…do you take a few items to make lots of outfits or do you take an outfit for every possible scenario (this used to totally be me!!! We had the largest suitcase you could find and we often went over the weight limit and had to pay a fee or transfer items into our carry on in the middle of the airport ha).

And as always, if you have any questions, let me know below.

Until next time,

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