The me of five years ago would not have been able to write this post. The me of five years ago would have indecisively packed for a two-week trip to Italy by throwing her entire closet into a large backpacking pack because...ya know...you never know when you might need silver sequin pants + a fringe purse while abroad. I am sure Italians throw one hell of a disco party, no?

Now I am older, wiser and no longer the owner of sequined pants or a fringe-laced purse.

I also have a boyfriend who prides himself on his minimalistic approach to packing. Every trip that boy takes, all he brings with him is one duffle bag—no luggage to check, no risk of lost luggage and perhaps most importantly, no pesky extra luggage charges. For a few months leading up to our trip, he kept teasing me there was no way that I could or would be able to do the same. It is as if he knows the best way to get me to do something is by telling me that I cannot do it.

Game on manfriend.

To start, I did what any girl of the 21st century would do: consult Pinterest. I found a few minimal travel packing guides, which were both helpful + inspiring, but in the end, thought it best to just sit down with the ol' pen and paper to sketch things out. I figured if I was gone for 14 days, I would need roughly 10 outfits for the trip ( allowing a few repeats )—mostly casual daywear with one nicer outfit + workout clothes thrown in for the more active days.

I stuck with a neutral color palette—blacks, whites + grays—and brought a few of my favorite brightly-hued lipsticks for a pop of color. While some find neutrals boring, this was the key to my success. My outfits were so easy to mix + match, it made getting dressed uncomplicated and let me use all my brain power to decide which café we were going to drink espresso at each morning.

A tough decision in Italy, let me tell you.

A few others things I learned : One-piece outfits ( i.e. dresses, jumpsuits + rompers ) are a traveler's BFF—easy to pack and even easier to wear. For shoes, one pair of walking shoes, dressy shoes + active shoes each is perfect. Any more than that, and your body will suffer old lady back pains from the extra weight. You always need way LESS than you think. A few key accessories should do the trick—for me a fun necklace + bracelet was enough to spice up my outfits ( along with the lipstick ). And sunglasses! Do not forget a good pair of sunnies.

As you can see, there are only 18 items. I brought two of each of the tank ( 02. ) + tee ( 03. ). Also, my 20 items doesn't count bras or underwear, so rest assured, I brought them.

Clean ones too...mom, aren't you proud?

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[ top photo courtesy Everlane ]