We Put Joan Didion's Iconic Packing List to the Test to See if it's Truly Possible to Travel Lightly This Summer

There’s something so painfully revealing about filling luggage for travel, especially when we begin the process with one desire—figuring out how to finally pack light for a holiday.

Everything seems possible when confronted with an empty suitcase. We lie to ourselves that, if the contents are meticulously curated, the time we have at our destination will be enhanced purely because you had the foresight to bring along the “right” combination of clothes. (As if the proverbial capsule wardrobe could unlock something life-changing while abroad.)

Style Notes: Naomi Campbell en route to Marc Jacobs's debut collection for Louis Vuitton during Paris Fashion Week in 1998.

In truth, we expect spontaneity while on holiday, but account for everything. That all begins before we arrive at our hotel, touch down on the tarmac, or even check in at the airport. Indeed, it starts with planning the items we carry with us. Joan Didion was conscious of this plight.

While the seminal author was travelling throughout California in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, documenting the civil and political unrest that defined the West Coast at the time, she did so with the bare essentials. In her now-famous packing list, which was published in her sophomore essay collection titled The White Album, the writer chronicled her sparse travel uniform with brevity. Of the mohair throw, two skirts, jersey, leopard and pairs of shoes she brought with her, Didion explained that the starkness of her belongings allowed her to pack without thinking.

Style Notes: Joan Didion pictured at home in 1987.

Why Do We Overpack on Holiday?

It almost seems that Didion's school of thought is incongruous with the way we holiday these days. Irrespective of how long we’re away from home, we’re compelled to bring our entire wardrobe with us in our carry-on, much to the chagrin of checked baggage weight limits.