Cold weather and packing

Monday the rain started. The temperature dropped and all of a sudden Cape Town has migrated into winter. Winter in Cape Town means wet, chilly weather with the occasional hot, sunny day thrown in to keep everyone from getting too gloomy. It also means whales, open fires, cheese with red wine and lots of winter specials at restaurants. Cape Town in winter is usually less touristic which is nice as you feel like everything is back to the locals and all the prices drop.

On the drive home, through the downpour, I realised two things. Firstly, I really need to get new windscreen wipers. Secondly, its time to dig out my long sleeved shirts and tops, my thick jumpers and coat and dust off my boots. My winter gear has mostly escaped the purges as they were packed away well. I started de-cluttering in winter last year but most items survived as I was not so critical when I started. I think quite a bit of my winter stuff might not survive the next cull though. I have decided to give myself a couple of weeks to ease into winter and get used to wearing my winter kit again first. That way I should have a better idea of what I still do wear by the time I want to cut.

My winter gear would have been pulled out of the cupboard this week anyway though. I am going on a work trip to Germany next weekend so will need to pack for that. I want to pack very minimalist. I will be moving around a fair bit on public transport (train mostly) and do not want to lug a huge bag around. The trip will need two distinct clothing groups though. The first half is work-related. We are going to a big expo and meeting many clients/suppliers so dress will be smart with very comfy shoes (trust me on this, if you ever go to an expo you need shoes that love your feet, you will typically be on them all day). Followed by a long weekend with family in Belgium. There I want to wear comfy, casual cloths. I figured a good first step will be to take bottoms and jerseys that would suit both situations and just mix up my tops. Here is my priliminary clothing packing list for a 10 day trip:

3 bottoms – Black, purple and jean pants
2 shoes – Black, flat boots and black moccasins (if cold switch to black trainers)
2(3) work shirts – black knit with white collar and long sleeved white (or long sleeved turquoise or pink striped) + grey thermal or white camisole for underneath
3 fun tops – long sleeved light blue, Pink, black thermal outerwear
3 jerseys: Grey jumper, navy cardi and (purple jumper = doesn’t go with purple pants? Replace with coral which is less warm?)
1 jacket- warm Navy coat or red lighter coat? – Depends on expected temp!
1 Scarf – white/grey
Gloves? Again weather dependent

I plan to put all these items next to each other and see how well they all mix and match, I have some concerns here and there (ie black top with black pants = too dark? Will my purple jumper work with my purple pants etc) so I might changeup a few items as I am determined to make every single combination work. Despite my previous skirt post I also decided to not include one here, mostly because I think it might be too cold and I no longer own warm tights for under a skirt (yes I have lived in a warm climate a while now :) ).