0007: WHAT NOT TO WEAR

I don’t know if you ever saw the TV show “What Not To Wear.” It was a reality series where to fashionistas ambush a person nominated by a family member. This person had its own unique fashion but in the eyes of American consumerism they had no fashion sense at all. It was the job of the fashionistas to bring them up to date with what I like to call, pretension capitalist American living. The American show was based on the UK show and it lasted for 10 years. Needless to say, and as expected, the series was a hit.

As the day to my infamous trip gets closer and as I plan the many different stops I will be making throughout Italy, I have a dilema. My trip will start in the middle of winter and end in the middle of spring. This means I’m having issues packing what to wear.

If I were to stay in one single location, I wouldn’t have any issues packing lots of luggage. But since my trip will start in northern Italy, quickly move to southern Italy and then slowly back up north, I can’t take a winter suitcase, a spring suitcase, a carry-on, a backpack and my cpap. Or I could, but that would be insane. 

As I buy train tickets from Point A to Point B and make room reservations for the different cities I must visit, the thoughts floating in my head are all about how to combine winter and spring clothes in a way that I’m able to withstand the cold but also not to be completely overdressed during spring time. Not an easy task, at least not for me. 

One thing is spending winter time at home, where I can protect myself from the elements and another is to travel to a place, colder than my own hometown where I need to navigate the streets at daytime and nighttime. As I research what not to wear during the cold winter days, I’m finding out that wool socks, for example, are something I should wear. But come spring, those wool socks would not be ideal. I can wear different warm layers during the winter days but at some point, the sweaters and jackets would have to be left behind, so yes, I’m facing a conundrum. 

At some point I thought of simply taking whatever I can fit in my carry-on and just buy clothes in Italy, as needed. Then I remember a millionaire I am not, so that idea was quickly scratched. Then I thought, “how about just taking spring outfits and top those with just a winter coat.” And while I don’t care about fashion, (if you know me you know I don’t.) I do care about comfort and overall, my health. And that along brought me to think about shoes. SHOES! I have traveled for periods of one to two months at the time and I have only taken one or two pairs of comfortable walking shoes. That has worked fine because I have been in mild to hot weather climates. This time however, I will be in winter (with possible rain showers) and spring seasons during the trip, so the shoes have to fit both situations. Now I’m also stressing about that. 

As of the writing of this travelog entry, I’m thinking of simply taking three pairs of jeans, layering my upper body, and a very good pair of waterproof, all-weather shoes that can also feel like I’m wearing sneakers. Of course there are also the toiletries and other personal items. At the end, everything makes me think like I need more than one suitcase and a carry-on.  

And did I mention that my traveling companion is a fashionista? That’s right, matching the colors of the shoes with colors of the belts and the colors of the socks with the colors of the sweaters is, in fact, “essential and an integral part of being human,” (their words not mine.) I don’t even want to think how many suitcases will have by the time we leave. 

Maybe driving is the solution.