my greatest fear, besides taking a face dive on an escalator, is losing my suitcase in transit. i can't really think of anything more horrible than turning up somewhere new (or returning home with a bag filled with new purchases) and having to face losing all your careful planning and thought. Vogue_London recently tweeted about their panic when the carousel at the airport stopped and they thought their bag might not arrive - Milan Fashion Week and only 1 outfit! (luckily said bag did materialise). However the bulk of us end up stranded at an airport with nothing but the clothes on your back, quite literally. Superficial and materialistic? Yes. Undoubtedly. But hey, that's who i am! And that's why whenever I travel I always stuff the clothes i really, truly can't live without (as well as a spare pair of knickers) into my carry on luggage, so in the event of a lost luggage situation at least I will be able to survive until the insurance cheque comes through.
So, in the name of preparation, this is how you could make do for a couple of days in a foreign country with only the clothes you put in your carry on. For me these items are the ones that i just CANNOT STAND to lose if, hypothetically, my bag does. Think - anything i bought at Lands End and other sentimental or much loved things (like my josh goot tye dye skirt and mad cortes sherbert orange overshirt). I also wear something comfortable, yet much loved by me, that would be my checked skirt for which i have endless, lionel richie style love, and something comfy up top - a tunic top or something like that. Hopefully after a couple of days either your bags have materialised or they've been lost to the ether and you're out looking for replacements. oh god, i'm getting nervous just thinking of it...
Day 1: The Flight
joseph jacket, marc jacobs top, forever 21 necklace, twiggy bangle (items within bangle are carry on baggage) - richard nicoll dress, lanvin skirt, christopher kane t-shirt, american eagle belt, yves saint laurent ring, rick owens shoes, vivienne westwood skirt, proenza schouler ps1
You board the flight feeling pretty confident. You're off to the shows and you couldn't be more excited - think front row seats, champagne reception and tons of goodie bags (not to mention shmoozing with the fashion glitterati). Your suitcase is filled with the beautiful clothes you've amassed throughout your life and you can't wait to show them off - starting now, a relaxed but not sloppy plane outfit of parka (the utilitarian is tres chic right now), checked skirt and silky tunic. But when you land in Paris you wait for your bag... and wait... and wait... 'Desolee, Mademoiselle, mais votre valise n'est pas ici' a kind french guard tells you. You sniff. Your eyes water. Your pulse quickens. What are you going to do? You have tickets for everything from Dior toDion Lee in less than 2 hours? and more importantly... what are you going to wear?
Day 2: Acceptance
items as before
oh woe is you!!! you stride off to the shows confident that you will never have a good time, not knowing that gone forever are your chanel ballet flats, artfully squished and moulded to your feet, gone forever is your yves saint laurent trench coat, sourced from an op shop for a tenner, gone forever is your favourite pair of pleated plants that fit you so well they might have been tailored to your body,.. you are happy to have somehow preserved your christopher kane tee shirt, however, you do love this print (so clever!) and this lanvin skirt is something fabulous, darling, look at those drapes! in fact, here's an upside to dressing from your carry on (the it-bag, the proenza schouler ps1), you would never have put the two together, too too too contrasting. but they are quite simply striking together. you even get stopped for a streetstyle photograph for which you manage a smile. lovely!
Day 3: Salvation
You have managed to scrounge an outfit together even though despair is setlling in. You have belted your richard nicoll tee-shirt dress with the marc jacobs silk top over it and are going to just bare the legs, goddamit. the colour combination is so remarkable, and when toned down with the parka you certainly cut a lovely figure. But oh, your suitcase! how can you have fun, even front row at chanel, when you know your suitcase and its beloved, chic contents are lost to you forever. Your cell phone rings. Everyone at the show glares at you. So what, the show hasn't even started yet! You answer swiftly. 'Hello?' You whisper. 'Mademoiselle, it is Mr X From Charles De Gaulle. Your suitcase has been found, we are sending it to your hotel toute suite.' You grin from ear to ear and rush back to your room as soon as the show is over. You get to the case and find a note tucked into the front zipper content 'Forgive me, i picked your case up by mistsake. Mine is filled with suits and dress shoes, and not alaia dresses, to my great regret. To make amends I propose dinner, tonight, at the Plaza Athenee. Shall i meet you at 8 oclock? Looking forward to meeting the owner of all those gorgeous clothes. Max.'
You smile. Things are looking up. You'll wear the alaia tonight.
here's to never having to lose your case (and if you do, having a handsome stranger return it to you!)
X
So, in the name of preparation, this is how you could make do for a couple of days in a foreign country with only the clothes you put in your carry on. For me these items are the ones that i just CANNOT STAND to lose if, hypothetically, my bag does. Think - anything i bought at Lands End and other sentimental or much loved things (like my josh goot tye dye skirt and mad cortes sherbert orange overshirt). I also wear something comfortable, yet much loved by me, that would be my checked skirt for which i have endless, lionel richie style love, and something comfy up top - a tunic top or something like that. Hopefully after a couple of days either your bags have materialised or they've been lost to the ether and you're out looking for replacements. oh god, i'm getting nervous just thinking of it...
Day 1: The Flight
joseph jacket, marc jacobs top, forever 21 necklace, twiggy bangle (items within bangle are carry on baggage) - richard nicoll dress, lanvin skirt, christopher kane t-shirt, american eagle belt, yves saint laurent ring, rick owens shoes, vivienne westwood skirt, proenza schouler ps1
You board the flight feeling pretty confident. You're off to the shows and you couldn't be more excited - think front row seats, champagne reception and tons of goodie bags (not to mention shmoozing with the fashion glitterati). Your suitcase is filled with the beautiful clothes you've amassed throughout your life and you can't wait to show them off - starting now, a relaxed but not sloppy plane outfit of parka (the utilitarian is tres chic right now), checked skirt and silky tunic. But when you land in Paris you wait for your bag... and wait... and wait... 'Desolee, Mademoiselle, mais votre valise n'est pas ici' a kind french guard tells you. You sniff. Your eyes water. Your pulse quickens. What are you going to do? You have tickets for everything from Dior toDion Lee in less than 2 hours? and more importantly... what are you going to wear?
Day 2: Acceptance
items as before
oh woe is you!!! you stride off to the shows confident that you will never have a good time, not knowing that gone forever are your chanel ballet flats, artfully squished and moulded to your feet, gone forever is your yves saint laurent trench coat, sourced from an op shop for a tenner, gone forever is your favourite pair of pleated plants that fit you so well they might have been tailored to your body,.. you are happy to have somehow preserved your christopher kane tee shirt, however, you do love this print (so clever!) and this lanvin skirt is something fabulous, darling, look at those drapes! in fact, here's an upside to dressing from your carry on (the it-bag, the proenza schouler ps1), you would never have put the two together, too too too contrasting. but they are quite simply striking together. you even get stopped for a streetstyle photograph for which you manage a smile. lovely!
Day 3: Salvation
You have managed to scrounge an outfit together even though despair is setlling in. You have belted your richard nicoll tee-shirt dress with the marc jacobs silk top over it and are going to just bare the legs, goddamit. the colour combination is so remarkable, and when toned down with the parka you certainly cut a lovely figure. But oh, your suitcase! how can you have fun, even front row at chanel, when you know your suitcase and its beloved, chic contents are lost to you forever. Your cell phone rings. Everyone at the show glares at you. So what, the show hasn't even started yet! You answer swiftly. 'Hello?' You whisper. 'Mademoiselle, it is Mr X From Charles De Gaulle. Your suitcase has been found, we are sending it to your hotel toute suite.' You grin from ear to ear and rush back to your room as soon as the show is over. You get to the case and find a note tucked into the front zipper content 'Forgive me, i picked your case up by mistsake. Mine is filled with suits and dress shoes, and not alaia dresses, to my great regret. To make amends I propose dinner, tonight, at the Plaza Athenee. Shall i meet you at 8 oclock? Looking forward to meeting the owner of all those gorgeous clothes. Max.'
You smile. Things are looking up. You'll wear the alaia tonight.
here's to never having to lose your case (and if you do, having a handsome stranger return it to you!)
X
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