The Well Dressed Woman

                        

My chic Belle-Mere (Mother in law,) knows how to pack. Whenever she comes to visit us she arrives with one small suitcase. It doesn’t matter if she is staying a weekend or two months, the suitcase never changes. She amazes me with her packing skills, I cannot figure out how she packs everything that she does into that one small bag!

Let me give you an example. If I say we are going to go hiking in the Alps, and it happens to be snowing, she pulls out hiking boots, thick wool socks, snow pants, a polar vest, even a water bottle and day pack!! If after hiking I say we are going to the beach to swim! Poof, she pulls out a straw hat, flip-flops, a swim suit and a beach towel! You might think that is understandable, sporty as her son is, why wouldn’t she pack that type of gear when coming to visit him?

But let me tell you in the same suitcase she can pullout an evening dress, jewels to match, high heels, beaded bag and an evening wrap. I have seen that suitcase unfold many a perfectly planned outfit! I have tried to stump her, (yes I have!!) I have tried to outwit that suitcase of hers…but as of to date I haven’t! That suitcase is bottomless…and she doesn’t even wear black!

photo: A suitcase spills out vintage bits and pieces, nothing to do with my Belle Mere’s well packed bag! My Belle Mere is with us for the next two weeks…and if I stump her I’ll let you know!



Comments

40 responses to “The Well Dressed Woman”

  1. Is it a magical bottomless suitcase?

  2. ahh let’s think of some places that she could go – hee, hee, we could have fun with this.
    maybe she is Mary Poppins?

  3. I would love to be like that. If I go for 2 days or 20, it’s always the same…unorganized, lol. Love the photo…Nel

  4. Ah, I remember you mentioning this on one of my posts. I love that suitcase and all the bits and pieces how I would love to rummage through all that stuff, it’s like finding treasures in grandma’s attic. Your chic Belle-Mere sounds like an amazing person.

  5. Ah the magic of your words and postings. I adore you!
    Love you Sugar Plum
    I will have to take lessons from your MIL, as me when I pack I swear the entire contents of everything I own goes with me I can never pack enough.
    My husband just rolls his eyes.
    Giggles!

  6. By now she must realize that she should be prepared for anything when she visits her sporty, adventurous son and her let’s-have-fun-doing-anything daughter-in-law! She’s just trying to keep up with you two ๐Ÿ™‚

  7. Have fun with Belle Mere. Can’t wait to hear about this visits “ensembles”

  8. It’s a portal to boutiques all over the world. You can’t stump her.

  9. how magical this little suitcase is!
    BTW, susannassketchbook.typepad.com and i were wondering over chai this sunday how your husband feels about all the attention he gets on your blog. and does it bother you?

  10. she is obviously a relation of mary poppins’.

  11. how delightful! i am in admiration of such a skill. i have travelled all over and still find myself without some of those things which i need when arriving. i agree with skeeter – mary poppins like!

  12. Paris Parfait

    Your mother-in-law is an example of how French women know how to pack – and how to dress – on every occasion. Lovely photo. Enjoy your visit!

  13. I am packing right now for a trip to England tomorrow and wondering how to get it all in … I am off to remove quite a bit of it. A timely post for me.

  14. The magic suitcase! How wonderful.

  15. My theory is that she’s a sorceress and that suitcase holds a fold in the space-time continuum so that she reaches through that rift and accesses her closet at home. ๐Ÿ™‚

  16. Could she really be Mary Poppins? That’s amazing seeing as how I ALWAYS over pack and then find I don’t have something I need when I get there. My mother was like that with her handbag…just say “I wish I had a ….” and voila, she would produce it. I think your mother-in-law may be magic!
    XOXO

  17. If you figure out how she does it, do let us know! At the moment, it all sounds rather mysterious.

  18. Oh, there’s an art to packing that I can’t even begin to understand. I’ve heard there are classes and books that promise to teach how to pack the perfect suitcase. The problem is I don’t travel enough right now to push me into learning. When I do travel I take as little as possible – and it’s still too much or the wrong things.

  19. Oh, she is great!
    I love the suitcase in the photo. I have a passion for suitcases like that.

  20. Oh how I wish I could have Belle Meres skill.I tend to pack too much or even worse too little!

  21. I do so admire this skill she has. I am learning, but always wish I had something I don’t have, and end up unpacking things I didn’t use when I return.I think less is more………isn’t it?

  22. I can only agree with the others who have suggested that your belle mere must indeed be Mary Poppins. And I do believe her sister just left chez moi with her one small bag, after staying two weeks with my girls in my absence.
    ps: thank you for your recent kind thoughts ๐Ÿ™‚

  23. Oooooohhh… she will be a role model for me… I have been working on that skill for many years. Oddly enough, I seem to pack more efficiently for longer trips (for a few months or longer) than small ones. But my packing skills improved dramatically when I started traveling with carry-on luggage only, because I forced myself to make more, and smarter, choices. The hardest part about packing light and covering all occasions, however, is the shoes. Shoes take up a lot of space.

  24. The paper lining that suitcase is absolutely gorgeous!

  25. This reminds me of Mary Poppins, pulling out floor lamps and mirrors for the walls from her carpetbag.
    I was so surprised that the link from your photo didn’t go here:
    http://www.amazon.com/French-Women-All-Seasons-Pleasure/dp/0307265234/sr=1-1/qid=1163535100/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-3845241-9283944?ie=UTF8&s=books
    (I thought of you as soon as I saw it advertised.)
    Best wishes for a lovely time with Yann’s mother.

  26. It must be a magical Japanese suitcase ’cause they certainly know how to wrap up anything so that it appears smaller than it actually is…and they do it so beautifully, too! Wouldn’t that make a great kid’s story? Grandma’s Magical Suitcase (and the treats that lay within).

  27. Sounds like a magical bottomless suitcase to me too…
    Now, where can I find one of those?
    take care, grache

  28. Ahh she is a woman after my own heart! I pack the same way however my suitcase is 3 times the size of hers!! Must leave room for*~ my purchases~* while in France!!

  29. Ahhhh…c’est jolie! I’d like to say that a) your MIL ROCKS. b) I’ve been by here from time to time, but I linked you on the basis of that entry.
    Thanks for making the blog world a more refined, civilized place to be.

  30. The legendary chic of Frenchwomen!
    I love that suitcase (and its contents). I have a similar one, though not as attractive, in which I keep my large watercolors.

  31. That makes me laugh!

  32. a complete french lady =))
    with a ‘je ne sais quoi’ addition .. to ordinary woman we are..
    this must be genetics..
    I would love to have such a stylish mother in law though.. enjoy..

  33. Corey I love the images this post produces part mystical, part fairy tale part envy. If only I could travel with one suitcase.
    xo-
    Kristen

  34. I travel with 1 suitcase all the time..not enough stuff for 2. It’s the ONLY way to go ๐Ÿ™‚

  35. I just adore that photograph and your Mother sounds amazing, enjoy your time together.

  36. This is my first visit to your blog, I love the visual images of France!
    Your writing style is also delightful, making me smile and want to hear more!

  37. How many times I have tried to pack like this! I believe I learned my lesson on my last trip to Paris (I had 3 suitcases!!) and now will only travel with one.
    Beautiful blog.

  38. that is definitely amazing to pack so efficiently & chicly as she does!
    & i just love the vintage case…i have a collection of old suticases varying in sizes that look very similar to yours.
    have a grand time with your belle-mere!

  39. You must spy out your belle mere’s secrets and share them with us.
    Somehow, I can manage to get myself across the pond to France with one suitcase, a carry-on bag stuffed to the gills, and a purse.
    My dh can’t figure out why I also need at least this much, if not more, for a mere twenty-four hour trip to a destination only two hours away. It’s not the clothes, themselves, that I have trouble keeping pared down. It’s all the extra “stuff” that I think I’ll need.
    Elizabeth, the Merry Rose

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