Jane Shepherdson CBE is chair of mywardrobehq, the UK’s top luxury fashion rental service. She is former CEO of Topshop and Whistles, advisor and mentor of sustainable fashion businesses, and trustee of Smartworks, a charity that dresses women for interviews. She shares her packing tips for an upcoming girls’ weekend in Paris.
OK, so first things first, I always take my Away Carry On wherever I go, as I know I can take it as hand luggage and they are so stylish I won’t be humiliated at check in! However, I am not flying to Paris – Eurostar is one stop away for me, and so quick and easy.
I’m usually spontaneous in life, but when I’m packing I have to try each outfit on to make sure that I still feel good in it and that the shoes work and are comfortable.
I pretty much know what we’ll be doing in Paris – visiting the Gerhard Richter Exhibition at the LV Fondation, a little light shopping around the Marais, perhaps a visit to the newly refurbished Notre Dame, and dinners in local bistros, so nothing fancy required.
As it’s still early spring, a big coat is probably a good idea, and my navy Acne coat with shearling collar still looks so cool, despite being over 10 years old. I should say at this stage, that I have been following a fashion challenge called the Rule of Five, launched by the sustainability campaigner Tiffany Darke. It means I pledge to only buy five new items of clothing each year, to ensure that we don’t drown under clothing landfill in the near future! So the clothes I do buy are of good quality, last for ages, and I’m very good at wardrobe building.
I’ll wear the coat over my new Bella Freud jumper with jeans and boots for the journey, and will be comfortable but chic – obviously v important for a trip to Paris.
Hopefully the weather will be mild, so I’ll pack my Marfa Stance cropped bomber, which goes with everything, is extremely light, and makes every outfit look considered.
I’m a real jeans girl and usually travel with three pairs. This trip needed a cropped wide faded black pair from ARKET, a pair of Levi’s also cropped, and a dark denim barrel shape for the evening. I also love shirts, and have a wardrobe full of them, and they go so well with jeans – dressed up or down, hard to go wrong. This trip I will take a white collarless dress shirt for the evening, a black huge sleeved Isabel Marant shirt for another evening, a blue oversized one with a long collar from a vintage store, and a stripey blue and white shirt with a puff sleeve from ARKET a few years ago.
To look a little smarter, I’ll take my amazing The Fold navy blazer, as it is really sharp on the shoulder, and doesn’t crease – EVER! It’s a brilliant piece for every eventuality, and I would thoroughly recommend getting one.
The last piece of clothing to go in the case is a beige cropped cardi – part of a twin set from With Nothing Underneath – I love to layer, and it will work with every shirt. Trainers are a must for a city break, so my Nike’s go in last with an umbrella. Apart from that, my book – The loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai, and a minimal make up bag.
