 Hi everyone, welcome to today's video. My name is Katie, if you're new here, and I moved to Scotland in two days. Sorry, that was a weird noise that I just made, but sitting across from me is a gigantic pile of clothes that I'm gonna have to clean up. It seems like I've been working on this suitcase for two years, but I actually haven't. It's only been like two weeks, and I feel like I have actually narrowed it down to a good packing list of things that I'm gonna bring. I wanna maybe do an update video, so if you're finding this video six months from now, and you're like, I wonder how this went for this girl. There might be an update. We're just gonna get right into it. I'm gonna start with some of the things that I have bought specifically for my trip. The first thing, I ordered this sort of extra large hard shell suitcase from Amazon, but it's definitely the largest suitcase I have ever owned. I feel like it's gonna be a good investment because I am leaving for an entire year, and most likely when I fly home for Christmas, I will not be bringing this suitcase with me. The next sort of like packing essential that I got was this backpack thing, it has a lot of straps on it. This was also from Amazon, so the thing that they tell you to do when you're studying abroad is to bring one big suitcase and bring a carry on travel size item, and I decided to bring a backpack because a lot of the times in Europe, there's gonna be cobblestone streets and things like that, so it's better to just carry it on your back. Now into the fun stuff, clothes. So I really tried to narrow this list down. How I did this was I've been hearing about capsule wardrobes for a couple of years now, and I have personally done research into them before because I wrote an article about it a year ago. So I'm sort of familiar with the rules of a capsule wardrobe, so I tried to, I don't know if I necessarily created one because there's so many rules, and I get stressed when there's too many rules. What I really tried to do was I sat down with all of my clothes and I tried to pick pieces that went together in just a lot of different ways. Even in ways that maybe I haven't even put together myself yet, I tried to keep in a very neutral color palette because that is really what suits my skin tone. The other thing that I did was that I made sure to bring my favorite things. So I'm not just taking brand new things that I bought or things that I am thinking about bringing just for this specific trip. Like I really went through my closet and I looked for my staple pieces, like sweaters, that I reached for over and over again or t-shirts that I always wear every fall or my favorite pair of jeans. I really made sure to bring all of my most worn pieces. So yeah, let's just hop right into the video and what I am packing for Scotland. To start with my capsule wardrobe, I began with a good base and for me, that is always going to be pants. So I tried to go with jeans that I could either dress up or dress down depending on the outing. The first pair of pants I packed are my absolute favorite fall jeans. If you're wondering, they are the Cali Demi fit from Madewell with a chewed hem at the bottom. As a short girl, I really appreciate the way that the style fits me. The next pair I bought are these off-weight, wide leg pants from And Other Stories. I just bought them in New York a couple of weeks ago so I thought that they would be really great for multiple seasons and transitioning because they're not like a traditional, like crisp white, white pant. Then I just bought two pairs of regular denim jeans, one from Madewell and the same fit and a pair of Levi ribcage jeans. I did have to buy a belt for my pair because the buttons have stretched out over time but they're really comfortable and they give a lot of room. I also brought a pair of basic denim shorts which I thought I wouldn't need but it's actually gotten pretty hot in my first week in Edinburgh so I was really glad to have packed them. Next, I made sure to pack four nice basic tees to go with any of the pairs of pants that I was bringing. I went with one that like more fun, orangey stripe shirt, a classic white, a black and a gray. Then I brought four more shirts specifically for layering. I popped in this gray Henley and flannel shirt that I've had for years as well as a fun like silky green shirt and just a trusty classic white button up. I really narrowed it down to these 12 core pieces for everyday wear. By trying on a bunch of it together, I just spent some time in my closet. I just really wanted to make sure I could make an outfit with most combinations that were both casual and sometimes a little more fun. Because I'm staying for so many months in the winter, I made sure to pack winter essentials. I brought two of my favorite big oversize sweaters to wear with leggings and two nicer sweaters that are a little thicker. You know, if I wanna get a little bit more dressed up or dressed down too but they're definitely a thicker sweater. Then I also brought four thinner sweaters for layering. I made sure to pack basic colors so I could throw one in my bag throughout the day. I keep hearing how unpredictable the weather is here so I felt these little additions could help combat the uncertainty. For shoes, I decided to bring six pairs starting off with my favorite penny loafers from GH Bass. They are incredibly comfortable and they go with a lot of things that I packed. I've also been trying to figure out how to style with them with socks. I haven't figured it out yet. I'll keep you updated. It's a work in progress. I also packed a pair of running shoes, lace up boots for the winter and my favorite white sneakers for walking, hiking boots and finally some shower shoes for the shared bathroom. Now on to jackets. So I needed a new winter coat anyway so I purchased this one in July from the store Everlane and I bought it online. They were having a really great sale on coats. I think I got this one for about 50% off or maybe even more. And it happened to be waterproof and all the things that I really wanted. I wanted it to be just like a really like a tank of a jacket because it rained so much here in the winter and it's also a little bit longer. So if I like sit down, it just like covers any of anything up which I think is great. I also brought my favorite shirt jacket from And Other Stories because I just, I reach for it constantly. Some more specialty items I brought was this floral skirt, this plaid dress which is like totally friends vibes and corduroy skirt. I really liked that these fun options were not items that I technically wear all of the time but they also don't really take up that much room in my suitcase so I didn't feel too bad bringing them along. Then I also made sure to pack two of my favorite sweatshirts, tank tops for layering, pajama shirts, leggings, athletic shorts and undershirts for sweaters. For accessories I packed two hats, one baseball and one for warmth and a big belt and a blanket scarf. So some other miscellaneous items I brought were my journal, a school backpack, a water bottle, which you definitely want to empty out before you go through security. Headphones, an external hard drive which I recommend to any college student. Chargers, sunglasses and some granola bars for the plane and because I had a 12 hour layover those definitely came in handy. I also did bring some toiletries but not much. I plan to just go to the drugstore when I arrive and I did bring two pillowcases from home and a bath towel that way. I could just take a shower, no problem when I got there and I got there really late and was so glad to have had that towel. Thank you so much for watching this video. I hope it was helpful. I really tried to be really thoughtful about what I put into this suitcase because I have also been in quarantine for a year not wearing any of my clothes. So it was sort of like this weird battle where I was like, I want to be my most confident self and wear the clothes that make me feel really good and maybe push myself outside of my comfort zone but I also wanted to make a balance between things that I actually have worn in COVID because I don't want to just have a bunch of clothes that I won't be comfortable in. I tried to do a good balance because I will be abroad and I know that I'm gonna want to wear some of my cuter outfits some days but then other days, if I'm just doing online school for my dorm room I'm really glad that I have a bunch of sweatshirts and long sweaters to just cozy up in. General advice is to just really think on it and there's a million of these videos online of like packing lists and study abroad packing lists and what I will say is look at all of them. You know, do as much research as you want but at the end of the day really sit with what clothes make you feel the best and try to put those into your suitcase. I hope this was helpful. I post new videos every Friday and hopefully the next video you will see will actually be from Scotland which is so exciting. So thank you so much for watching and give this video a like and subscribe. Papa Papa Papa Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa