Tuesday, July 12, 2011

What Should I Wear on My NY/Paris/Iceland Honeymoon?


So I thought you might need a break from the cunty bridesmaid emails and I need help figuring out what I'm going to wear to my October honeymoon. We've got a week in Paris, four days in Iceland, and 3 days in NYC. I'm most worried about getting weather appropriate shit for all three, AND being able to fit in all in carry-on.

Any suggestions for a girl who likes dresses, Mad Men, and Miles Davis?

-M



Since I've never been to Iceland (DAMMIT), and have spent but a meager five hours in Paris, I brought in a few experts....

Packing, Paris from Amanda

What my closet lacks in creative abundance it makes up for in aesthetic coherence; my clothing excels at presenting itself as a united front. This is exceedingly helpful when it comes to travel, and translates beautifully to packing for anything more complicated than a weekend away. Fear not thy carry-on, dear lady—I had four weeks in Paris plus two in the U.K. two autumns ago and fit everything into a single, small suitcase. Very generally, on packing and Paris:

1. For weathering variances in cities and skies, pack layers wot love one another. They’ll fold down and play an elegant Tetris in bags and on persons, in weather better, weather worse.

2. A beautiful, interesting jacket will get you through most of October in Paris and New York. I took a dark gray swing jacket with a good collar.

3. In the City of Light, avoid navy blue. I am wearing three—four!—shades of it as I write this, but in Paris it was my secret shame, and I jettisoned my navy coat in the face of mist and rain and the flu.

4. For foots: One pair of bitchin' boots, one pair of flats, and one pair of tennis shoes (Chucks or Bensimons). You don't need that second pair of boots, I promise. And buy Bensimons in Paris if you're going to buy them; the Bensimon store is a fantastic place.

5. Oscar Wilde’s grave and I are not going to tell you to pack red lipstick. We’re also not going to tell you not to.

6. On jazz: Buy lacy underthings when you aren’t busy filling your mouth beneath the city’s matching roofs. Jazzy unders are what Paris hums.

**

iceland from lauren

funny you should ask! i spent a (fantastic, life-altering) week in iceland in march, when the average temperatures (cool but relatively mild) and sunlit hours (9-10 per day) approximate what you'll be flying into in october. icelanders dress for comfort and amusement, and they have a high style IQ (albeit a weird one). M, kindly imagine that bjork has asked you along on a jewel heist and pack accordingly; you need close-fitting black (for stealth), your most commanding boots (for maneuverability), a bathing suit (for water landings), and ludicrous accessories (i repeat, bjork).

reykjavik's a small, walkable city, and you will be walking (and walking, and walking some more) in it. buy the dead sexiest, stealth-comfiest boots you can afford; you'll be able to put them to use on the paris and nyc legs of your honeymoon as well. i brought my gryson cornelias (via gilt) and wore them almost everywhere. you're going to the blue lagoon (not a suggestion; you ARE going there, preferably on the way to reykjavik from the airport), so you'll need swimwear appropriate for an extraterrestrial landscape (anything from VPL works). finish with a casually smashing day-to-night LBD to take you from museums to all-night bar crawls, a spirited trench, and mysterious jewelry. if captured, swallow these instructions.

**

New York from ME

You could wear this denim shirtdress for three days in a row and it would only get better with the accumulated grit. Perf with these killer Loeffler Randall wedges for cocktailing at The Jane and then taking a nighttime stroll on The Highline before the iron grates come down at 11pm. 

Note: A New York lady always carries a pair of flats in her handbag in case her wedges get too tipsy on the subway ride home.

cevd, who did the image layout for us, says she picked Sue London flats "because, well they are my perfect travel flats (they roll up in their own bag).... mine have been to iceland AND ny. if i had been to paris in the past 10 years, they would have been there as well."

23 comments:

  1. Love the advice. Those flats are gorgeous. Next mission; my 3 month honeymoon from UK to Germany and lots of places in between, like Croatia, Paris, Greece pending financial crisis and Dubai. We're Australian. Coats don't exist here, especially not in Perth.
    And I love MMOHIAC.

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  2. This is the best advice ever:

    "5. Oscar Wilde’s grave and I are not going to tell you to pack red lipstick. We’re also not going to tell you not to."

    I <3 Amanda

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  3. Agreed. As a NYer, wear comfortable flats. I went to Paris last year and black is always accepted. If you want to really fit in, throw a scarf on something: your neck, your purse, etc. Cliche but true.

    http://www.blackandblondeone.com/

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  4. Awesome advice. In Paris a beautiful, interesting jacket and the perfect pair of boots will take you far! Kiwi and I went in December and I wore my Cole Haan boots to pieces walking around the city.

    Since Amanda is our resident Paris expert... does she have any advice on what to wear to a wedding in Paris at the end of July? Kiwi and I are headed to his cousins wedding in a few weeks and I am totally stumped on the outfit front!

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  5. The shoes are fabulous, but none of them look terribly comfy for lots and lots of walking, besides the boots maybe. I would trade style for comfort if you plan on covering some miles on foot in these cities (which is the best way to see them, of course!)

    When I went to Paris I was kinda like, Ok, I'm never going to be as chic as REAL Parisians, so I'll opt for being comfortable and just wear what is practical for the activities I am doing. I enjoyed myself immensely! Bring one or two hot outfits for nights out, but don't skip the comfy exploring clothes and shoes!! The Eiffel Tower is way less impressive if you're battling blisters from cute shoes on all those steps...

    Sounds like a great honeymoon!! Enjoy!!

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  6. I love the advice for all three places. I'll add, expect rain and wind. I have never experienced wind like I did in Iceland and fall can be rainy in both NY and Paris. Also, scarves are awesome for layering, adding variety to your limited wardrobe, and keeping you warm on the plane.

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  7. Thanks for having me, lady. I may need to buy that denim dress myself.


    @iheartkiwi: Sure! I would consider the following:
    1) Look at the invite. It will likely reflect the fanciness quotient of the wedding even if it lacks copy pertaining to dress code.
    2) I tend toward single-color dresses for weddings (violet, navy); in your shoes, I would choose a fine French gray.
    3) On lusty angels: Cover your shoulders if the wedding's in a church.
    4) My research suggests that you may need a slightly different outfit for the reception. Tote flats and your modesty-enhancing jacket/sweater/scarf, just in case.

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  8. @Amanda that was the most beautifully written style advice ever

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  9. Thank you Amanda, that is so incredibly helpful! You are an advice giving goddess. Off to look for French gray shoes!

    P.S. Sorry to distract from the topic at hand... I want to see photos from the Icelandic honeymoon! It sounds amazing.

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  10. @iheartkiwi: Ha. I meant if *I* were in *your* shoes, I would choose a gray dress. But I'm sure gray shoes would be equally lovely.

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  11. Enough about you. What is H going to pack?

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  12. Also, melatonin helps with jet lag.

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  13. @Amanda- That is too funny. See how clueless I am in regards to outfitting myself for this wedding?! I'll let you know how it all turns out :) Thank you again!

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  14. As we're looking for advice what does one where in Ireland in August?

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  15. GOD I f*cking love those girls. And since you asked, here's my packing list for Jaipur:

    -exceedingly loose-fitting, figure-hiding, light cotton (read: you will SWEAT YOUR BRAINS OUT) muumuu/kaftan/Snuggie
    -pepper spray
    -Xanax
    -Beano

    Sexy, right?

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  16. Could I put in a vote for more MMOHiaC emails? They're deliciously naughty...

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  17. @Anon i haven't gotten any lately. i guess all the MOH's are behaving :/

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  18. Oh god, for NYC and Paris at least (I have no idea about how transportation is in Iceland, and she didn't seem to mention where in Iceland she'd be...) YOU NEED REAL SHOES WITH REAL SUPPORT. For daytime, at least. You will walk at least five miles a day in NYC, more if you visit the outer boroughs (and you should visit Brooklyn and Queens, at least!).

    Bad shoes can truly ruin your trip (the last time I visited Berlin, for Christmas 2010 and New Year's 2011, my Camper Spiral boots didn't have great traction, and it kept snowing and snowing and snowing. Unbeknownst to me, no one there shovels the sidewalks, because you can't sue for damages should you slip and fall. So the snow melts a bit and re-freezes into pure ice, leaving you to fall freely. The sidewalks are also seemingly never salty or sandy to help with traction. I was terrified I'd break at least a few bones the entire time I was there. Lesson learned).

    After living in NYC for 11 years (I just moved back to Chicago for reasons beyond my control), I cannot emphasize enough how important comfortable, WORN-IN shoes are! I have the world's highest arches (my old Pilates teacher told me ballerinas would be jealous; a nice sentiment, but they cause a great deal of pain and it's only now that I'm finally going to get some old-lady style custom orthotics made and hope--no, *specify*--that they must fit into my all-black Converse).

    If you are lucky enough to have small feet (unlike me!), there are a million vintage-inspired or classic sneakers with much better support than Converse or Bensimons (I don't mean to dis the other commenter, sorry!) with good allover support that can be styled with just about anything casual. Some of my other, more modern-looking favorites are the new monochromatic black Adidas Fluid Trainer Light 2.0s, though I can't personally vouch for ball/arch/heel support because I haven't tried them on yet.

    At night, if you're going somewhere not within a few blocks of a subway and are wearing your dressier shoes, splurge on a cab, at least TO the subway if you need to consider cost. Your feet and joints will thank you greatly.

    I realize what a huge nerd I am and how long this comment was, and trust me, I am appropriately embarrassed.

    p.s. are you allowed to bring pepper spray on a plane/into Jaipur, BigBang Studio? I can see it getting taken away, even if your bag is checked. In Vienna, an unopened ginger ale bought directly across from the gate, receipt included--to take medication with!--was judged deadly enough to be confiscated! It was the world's most expensive ginger ale, too: 4 Euros for like 8 ounces!

    p.p.s. I really am the biggest nerd ever. Sorry.

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  19. @Laura you may, in fact, be the biggest nerd ever.

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  20. Thank you EVERYONE for all the suggestions! I will definitely check out the Bensimon store, and be on the look out for some good jazz in Paris. Let's hope for a stronger dollar by then! I cannot wait to hit up the flea market when we go!

    This was a perfect respit from wedding planning. We are less than 2 weeks out, and it has all been a breeze until now.

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