A friend of mine is vacationing in Napa Valley this summer and asked me for some advice about how to pack for California. I’ve put together a travel wardrobe for her week away, so that she can be comfortable and look chic at the same time.

There are four elements to my packing system.

1. I choose neutral bottoms such as black, navy, denim or white that coordinate with a multitude of tops.
2. I bring layering pieces to add or subtract based on the weather.
3. I select basic pieces, and use accessories to dress the outfits up or down.
4. I pick colors in the same family so that everything coordinates. For this post, I chose teal, grey and turquoise. They look great together and flatter every skin tone.

On the plane, I wear jeans with stretch for comfort, a tank top and a cardigan topped with a scarf. If I get warm, I can take the cardigan off and still look chic with my scarf and tank top. I always use the Longchamp Le Pliage tote as my travel handbag (see my post on Longchamp from June 7^th). It’s so light that it doesn’t add any unwanted weight to all the stuff I bring with me.

Here are my suggestions for my friend’s day-by-day travel wardrobe. She can switch it around depending on the itinerary, weather and her mood.

Day 1
Straight leg jeans (stonewash)
Teal tank
Turquoise T-shirt
Grey scarf
Navy sandals
Grey cardigan, if necessary
For dinner, change to maxi skirt and white wedge shoes. Change scarf for chunky jewelry and add belt. If wearing the cardigan at night, wear the belt over it for a flattering shape.

Day 2
Trouser jeans (dark wash)
Grey-striped T-shirt
Teal scarf
Silver ballet flats
Navy cardigan, if necessary
For dinner, change to white jeans, navy sandals and chunky jewelry.

Day 3
Maxi skirt
Grey T-shirt
Navy sandals
Chunky jewelry
White denim jacket, if necessary
For dinner, change to wedge shoes and add belt.

Day 4
White jeans
Purple tank top
Grey scarf
Silver ballet flats
Grey cardigan, if necessary
For dinner, swap scarf for chunky jewelry. If wearing the cardigan at night, add the belt over it.

Day 5
Straight leg jeans
Beatles T-shirt
Navy sandals
White denim jacket & teal scarf, if necessary
For dinner, change to grey T-shirt, wedges and add chunky jewelry.

Day 6
Trouser jeans
Teal tank top
Grey scarf
Silver ballet flats
Navy cardigan, if necessary
For dinner, add belt and swap scarf for chunky jewelry.

Day 7
Maxi skirt
Grey T-shirt
Belt
Navy sandals
White denim jacket, if necessary
For dinner, swap sandals for wedges and exchange scarf for chunky jewelry.

If you don’t find thong sandals comfortable to walk in, switch them out for a different pair. If you don’t like walking in ballet flats, you can replace them with a pair of athletic ballet flats (see my post on ballet flats from May 15^th for a great example).

Packing for a Napa vacation doesn’t have to be complicated. All the elements in this wardrobe are relatively basic (you probably have many similar pieces and colors in your closet right now!) and will fit in a carry on. If you want to pare down even more, leave out the Beatles T-shirt, the green tank top and the trouser jeans, and you will still have many great outfits. Since the pieces are basic, the key to looking really chic is the scarves and the chunky jewelry.

Stay tuned! Next week, I’ll show you how to pack light yet look stylish for a beach vacation.

Thanks for reading!

Illysia Neumann-Loreck