These blog posts always end up being the most helpful for me personally so I’m always happy to pull them together. This one will be short and sweet because we’ll only be in Chicago for three days, but if you have any trips coming up, my hope is that you’ll see this and be inspired to make your own capsule wardrobe and skip the overpacking this time around.

The tricky thing about this trip is that we’re going straight from Chicago to Family Camp in the mountains in Colorado. So along with this little capsule wardrobe is a Colorado capsule wardrobe…except that one is heavily country themed which means cowboy boots and cowboy hats for the entire family. This is not carry-on friendly and if you know me, I have strong feelings about this. ALL OF THAT TO SAY, I’m not showing the workout shorts and leggings and Stanford tees and jackets and umbrellas but they’re in there, y’all. And I’ll be sharing an, “Everything I Packed for a Week of Family Camp” as well so don’t worry.

It’s incredibly unlike me to travel without a dress, but I do have a few in there and I know aside from one fancy one, I won’t wear the others until we’re in Colorado so they’re not included. If this was our only stop, I know I’d have a maxi dress and a mini tee-dress packed as well so do with that what you will. Lastly, I am only actually going to wear the first three outfits, but I shared a few more options if you’re taking a little bit of a longer trip and want some ideas for versatility so please, enjoy.

the exact items in my suitcase: sunglasses. clip. hat. bodysuit. black linen shirt. cropped tee (size up). striped sweater. black linen shorts. denim shorts. cream trousers. belt. necklace. mini chubby earrings. birkenstocks. black leather sandals. (my sandals were made in Capri for me for about $45 but these are identical.) converse. (some changes- my black linen set sold out many moons ago but these are substitutions. okay, moving on.)(oh, one more side note, I know these pants are obscenely expensive but if you ask me the best pants on the planet, I’ll tell you it’s this pair right here. I have many trousers just like these so I would never call them an essential. But if you’re in the mood to invest in a splurge…look no further.)

We’re likely flying in our cowboy gear which certainly isn’t ideal if you’ve ever landed at Ohare in the Summer, but here we are. Once we get settled in the hotel, I’ll promptly change into this outfit. I love packing a linen set because you can wear them together and tuck in the linen shirt or tie it, but you can also wear the shirt alone with other bottoms, wear it over a swimsuit, tie it over a dress- whatever you please. I like having a top layer because air conditioning is positively freezing, but I like wearing the bodysuit underneath if outside feels like the surface of the sun. Gotta be prepared, you know? And of course- my favorite jewelry and $13 pair of sunglasses is coming along for the ride.

Day two is a bit of a signature outfit for me. I packed the sweater to have options, but it’s usually sweltering in Chicago during late June so it might just sit on my shoulders (or in the car, to be honest.) These converse are so worn in that it feels like I’m barefoot and I love that so much. My favorite jewelry always pulls together even the simplest of outfits and the belt serves the same purpose.

I actually packed a fancy outfit because the reason we’re in Chicago in the first place is to celebrate my cousin’s engagement, so this is an outfit to run to breakfast in before changing into a dress that’s sold out and old but wonderful. This is such a go-to for me. If you know me, you know this outfit well except my Birkenstocks are fuzzy and my feet will be extra hot and yet it’s worth it.

And now, for some other combinations to put your summer capsule wardrobe to work: