What I Packed And Wore On My Trip To Spain

Let me preface this post by apologizing for the quality of these photos, many of which are screenshots of videos I created for Instagram and Facebook stories. I recorded most of them in hotel rooms with my portable tripod but without any ring light, hence the lighting is pretty, for lack of a better word, bad!

I want to give you an idea of how and what I packed into my carry on luggage, an expandable carry on suitcase by Briggs and Riley. I cannot sing the praises enough for this little carry on bag, that has taken me all over North America, and parts of Europe. It is my number one go-to for any trip under 10 days in the winter and 2 weeks in the summer, when clothes are lighter weight and hence, easier to roll into the luggage. Yes, I roll my clothes, because that enables me to take advantage of every nook and cranny.

For this particular trip, I packed 2 pairs of jeans, one dark wash and barrel shaped and one regular washed and cuffed at the ankle. I took a pair of faux leather cargo pants that I wore on the plane for first leg of the trip to Philly, as I changed into PJ’s for the overseas part of our journey from Philly to Madrid.

The main reason for traveling carry on, is that I don’t want the hassle of checking a bag and possibly losing it in transit. In addition, when you are traveling from city to city, the less you pack, the better. For this trip, in addition to the two pairs of jeans and faux leather pants, I packed a dressy jean by Hellesy, one pair of boots, gold leather Solebliss sneakers which came in handy for the rainy days, old Prada silver flats, and my Brooks sneakers, for all of the walking we did. The footwear is packed along the bottom of the suitcase, followed by t-shirts (three graphic), one long sleeved black Fabiana Filipi t-shirt, one black Alaia cropped cardigan, a Liat Baruch red cropped cardigan, a Ganni black satin jacket and a cropped Moussy denim jacket. I packed two large scarves (Hermes and Louis Vuitton) for warmth and style, a red long sleeved sweater by Sandro, a grey polo cashmere short sleeved sweater, also by Sandro, a black short sleeved sweater, and three blouses because they are easy to pack, don’t wrinkle and easy to layer. I also packed a James Perse long sleeve t shirt dress, and cute two toned skirt that I bought at Zara just prior to our departure. All the clothes are easy to mix and match: neutrals like black, grey and white with red as the accent color. I used a red/black reversible sling bag by Gold No. 8 and I packed a fabulous Loewe bag that scrunches into into nothing for when we went to dinner. I also packed a black lightweight down jacket because the temperatures were supposed to drop towards the end of our trip, which they indeed did!

Here are photos of these pieces and how I styled them.

Ganni jacket, Hellesy jeans, Maje blouse, Loewe bag (worn crossbody), Prada flats

Susy Mix sweater, Zara skirt, Gold No 8 Sling (use code Lesley 15), Loewe shades and belt, Prada flats

Purchasing bags and boots in Europe is always a good idea for the following reasons: the bags are often priced lower than in the US, and in most countries, you get a tax refund!!

It was a rainy day in Bilboa, so I layered! Sole Bliss sneakers (use code Lesley 15) saved my feet from the rain and I purchased these barrel shaped jeans (which I cuffed) from the Zara store in Barcelona.

I know what you are wondering….where did I pack my purchases? While in San Sebastian, we bought an inexpensive hard cased suitcase which was checked and made it back to Los Angeles without getting lost! Olé!