Smart and Stylish Packing for Winter Break

Having visited Scandinavian countries each year now (you can read my Norway and Iceland blogs), I have been perfecting my skills of warm and practical, yet stylish winter dressing. After all this blog is all about travelling in style, right?! I think the key to successful winter dressing is layering and choosing options that are light but warm. In this post I am sharing my packing tips and tricks for winter holidays.

Based on my experience, I created a quick and easy packing list for winter holidays.

PACKING LIST

City break:

Base layers: thermal underwear, thermal leggings/long jones (or brushed tights for girls), camisole (for girls) followed by long-sleeve t-shirt, wool socks or knee-high socks (for girls). These items can be layered for warmth as needed (e.g. if it’s colder than I expected, I may add a camisole under my long sleeve t-shirt).
Mid layers: wool jumpers and cardigans or fleece jackets, jeans or trousers.
Top layer: down coat or jacket, preferably with a hood, that is water repellent and wind proof. This layer will act as a shield and should protect you from changes in weather be it snow, rain or shine. Down coats may seem bulky but are usually lightweight and can be easily collapsed into a thin layer in your luggage.
Accessories: wool scarf and wool hat, gloves (bring both liner gloves and thicker winter gloves). I also bring packable backpack, like this one, and a cross-body bag (for girls) so you can free up your hands and keep them warm in your pockets. Sunglasses come handy for cutting down on the glare off the snow and protecting eyes from harsh winter wind.
Shoes: winter water-proof and anti-slippery boots with a good traction on snow and ice. I prefer taller ones to make sure snow doesn’t get in, while my calves stay warm. There are few good brands, such as Sorrel, Ralph Laurent, Moon Boots and Ugg (just make sure they are waterproof).

For outdoorsy activities add:

Ski pants: for anything that involves snow.
Thin down jacket: this may be added as a mid-layer in cases of extreme cold.
Balaclava: if your scarf is not enough for covering your face in case it gets too cold and windy, balaclava might be a good option.

Now on to a fun part! My husband and I put together three stylish but warm and practical looks for male and female travelers and suitable for city exploring and out-in-nature kind of activities.

HERS

LOOK 1: reversible down coat (Zara), turtleneck jumper (H&M), jeans (River Island), wool scarf (Asos), beanie (TK Maxx), boots (Ralph Laurent), suede gloves (Accessorize) and sunglasses (Ray-Ban and H&M).

LOOK 2: shearling coat (Zara), mohair jumper (H&M), biker jeans (River Island), leather water-proof boots (Ugg), sunglasses (Ray-Ban), beanie (Asos) and gloves (Norwear).

LOOK 3: light down jacket (Uniqlo), turtleneck jumper (H&M), ski pants (Gelet), scarf (Zara), boots (Ralph Laurent), sunglasses (Ray-Ban) and hat (Asos).

Pictures on the right are from my Oslo trips in 2014-2015 and the one of the left is from my December 2016 trip. I buy my down coats and parkas at Zara. Both down coats have been really warm and hood with faux fur comes handy when it gets very cold and you want to protect your face from chilly wind. I also brought Uggs (middle photo) before to Oslo, which are fine for city walks but weren’t fully water-proof for walks in the snow. So now I only bring my Ralph Laurent boots that are well-insulated, water-proof and have great traction soles.

HIS

LOOK 1: down parka (Penfield), jeans (APC), turtleneck jumper (Nudie jeans), boots (Ugg), scarf (John Lewis), beanie (Thom Browne) and gloves (Armand Basi).

LOOK 2: shearling jacket (Abercrombie & Fitch), turtleneck jumper (Massimo Dutti), jeans (APC), boots (Common Projects), beanie (Paul Smith) and sunglasses (Saint Laurent).

LOOK 3: leather jacket (Nudie jeans), wool jumper (Nudie jeans), jeans (APC)), trainers (Common Projects), hat (Paul Smith), scarf (knitted by me!), gloves (Armand Basi) and sunglasses (Ray-Ban).

Here are some examples of what my husband wore on our recent trip to Iceland. Over the years he has built a great collection of high-quality wool jumpers and winter accessories (hats, gloves and scarves) that can be easily mixed and matched for various looks. He also recently invested into a pair of Ugg boots which are super warm yet trendy looking. I think he looks very cool, don’t you agree?

I hoped your enjoyed the post and our suggestions for packing and dressing for winter holidays. While being warm is essential, playing with winter fashion can be fun!

Happy travels! xx