Packing with Four by Four: navy and coral

I have borrowed this idea (ok, "pinched"  it if you want to be pedantic!) from the imaginative Janice of "The Vivienne Files". I'm sure that I'm not the only fashion blogger who has been inspired by her blog and I bet that I won't be the last. Her latest post made me think of my upcoming holiday to Ávila and Madrid and what to pack.  I suggest that you read her post first and then come back to see how I've interpreted it using my own wardrobe - Janice's version.

This is what I will probably wear for travelling. I haven't quite decided between this cardigan or my new coral jacket. It may be cool on the train if the carriage has good air conditioning, plus we have been told it could be cooler at night in Ávila because of its high altitude. I will certainly need only one of them, as it will be hot during the day.

The navy and white striped trousers are good for travelling as they hardly crease and the navy sleeveless top is loose and lightweight, making this a perfect combination for the train journey.

Here are my own versions of the four dark neutrals and the lighter four that Janice showed.

I don't have many lighter neutral tops, as I do love wearing brighter colours, so I have included a yellow vest. Reflecting on this, it might be a good idea to add a tan or light khaki top to my wardrobe. I do have a cardigan that would have matched the bottoms shown, but I'm hoping it will be far too hot to need it!

Janice added a pair of jeans, but I think it will be far too hot for them even in the evenings, so I have included a dress in my final four items, plus a dressy top for going out at night. I will be carrying a beige tote bag that has a clutch bag attached, which I can unzip and use in the evening. My other additions will be a pair of low heeled shoes for a smarter look at night and a couple of pairs of shoes for traipsing around during the daytime, similar to the ones from Decathlon shown below. I have an older grey and turquoise pair plus a dark brown pair, that are ideal for my delicate feet when doing a lot of walking on holidays.

Although I haven't gone through the number of possible combinations the way Janice did, I suspect that my version has far too many clothes for just one week, even allowing for the fact that we like to change if we are going out for the evening. My final version will probably have just a couple of pairs of trousers and maybe one skirt, though I may be tempted to take all the tops so I don't have to wash clothes while we're away! 

I think this is a good exercise to do prior to packing for any trip and particularly helpful if you are flying to your destination and don't want to exceed the airline's weight limit. I laid all the clothes out on the bed prior to packing for our UK trip to see which tops and bottoms went together and I even removed a couple of items once I could see all the possibilities I had for different outfits.