What to Wear to the French Quarter in November

When you're in New Orleans you start to wonder if the weather report is full of lies and exaggeration. How could it possibly be humid and hot, but also with an expectation of thunder showers in the same day? Well, let me tell you it's not lies. The weather is pretty unpredictable, and therein lies the packing challenge: what the hell do you pack when you're going to be walking miles a day exploring a city with buildings that date back to the 1700s with a possibility of humid hot rain showers? You're looking at it up top, my friends. I only took a carry on with me because if the trip is less than 5 days I just don't see the point in checking in a bag — plus, the airlines always lose bags, and the scenario where the airline loses my bag with my wedding guest attire in it was too stressful to think about. The furry Mongolian thing is just in case it was pouring, by the way. My thought was that I would wrap it around my Mansur Gavriel bucket bag since in my tourist haze it was deemed my most valuable thing on my person to be saved from the rain.  The rest of my outfit is a mix of super old stuff from my closet (my dad got me this coat when I was 16), and comfortable quality basics. If people want to knock Target and the fact that I love their long sleeve tissue tees, then come at me bros and girls. I like to be a sweaty and touristy in $10 tees, so as not to ruin a finer shirt with pit stains and BO. For the record, I liked New Orleans, but I didn't love it. There is something about drinking in the streets always kind of bothers me (which is why Vegas is not my favorite place either), but man oh man is it a pretty city. Bring your walking shoes people, we walked around 6-7 miles daily to get around on beautiful cobblestone streets and sometimes a little bit of dirt.

Sidenote: I'm wearing makeup in the above a la Glossier Phase I set. This is what wearing that make up looks like — like you're wearing absolutely no makeup. I surmise that this is the intended purpose of Glossier, which works well for me at least on days when I'm feeling ...what is the word...simple? (I think that's the best word for it, meant as a positive, not in the dismissive sense). Could I have layered on more cheek and eye stuff? Sure! But I was really sleepy this day and I didn't even want to bother with getting super dolled up. So there's that.

Wearing:

Vintage long wool coat

MANSUR GAVRIEL mini bucket bag

ZARA faux fur stole

(not pictured, but detailed to give you an idea of the layering)

TARGET long sleeve tee

MADEWELL moto jeans

TARGET cardigan

FIORENTINI + BAKER Eli boots

NOLA

Nick and I are in New Orleans for the weekend celebrating our friends Natalie and Cliff's wedding at the beautiful Race & Religious venue just blocks away from the French Quarter. The weather is unpredictable so I over packed like a crazy woman. One minute it's pouring rain, the next it's a sunny 75 degrees with humidity. This unpredictability means I've pretty much relied on black-on-black favorites in various layers and incredibly walkable shoes (I can't stress that point enough).  Hide your heels, sneakers and weather proof boots are pretty much your best friend here. 

Grayscale

SOL SANA slip ons (c/o), MADEWELL overalls (small), MANSUR GAVRIEL mini bucket bag, MADEWELL cardigan (medium), EVERLANE tank (medium)

Just a little check in from Colorado. This outfit is probably all I should have packed, but instead I packed 2.5 bags, like and idiot. I swore overalls were out of my closet since I last tried them in leather (yikes!), but these proved to be too comfortable to pass up. I legit bought them on an impulse trip to Madewell during my lunch hour.  Now I wear them all the time. Why? Because since I bought them I've been on vacation, and as far as I'm concerned I can do and wear whatever the hell I want and make huge fashion mistakes. So we shall see how useful these comfortable puppies really are when I get home this weekend. 

Elevation 5,000 Ft.

VINTAGE LEVI'S  shorts  /  URBAN OUTFITTERS  jacket  /  ZARA  sandals  /  TARGET  tee  /  THIERRY LASRY  sunglasses  /  BEN SHERMAN  belt

What else do you wear when it's over 100 degrees outside, and you're thousands of feet closer to the sun, and your muscles ache from the previous day's hiking and swimming activities, and you're thirsting for some real city-coffee, not whatever Nescafé concoction they've got going on here in the Sierras? You wear this. The anti-outfit, in my opinion; no makeup, no shoes, a super sheer tee, and pants that are about 2 men's sizes bigger than your body. When the view is as beautiful as it is everywhere in the Sierras, you'll see why there's really no point to getting all dolled up around here. I highly recommend a trip like this.

SFO / JFK / LAX

Packing for slush and sunshine in a carryon is probably the worst kind of torture known to man. Actually, no, to women only. Nick is packing in the other room, mere hours before the flight like it ain't no thang, and that just makes me realize there is a profound and fundamental difference between men and women. We have "outfits" while men generally just have a pair of pants and an endless assortment of shirts that just "go with" said pair of pants.