What to Pack for the Pacific Northwest

I know it’s Tuesday but it feels like Monday to me since I’m freshly home after a whirlwind trip back up from Portland late, late last night (see my Snapchat [tovogueorbust] for more details, but hint: there were mud slides galore). Fittingly though, today’s post is all about how to deal with the unique conditions we’ve got here in the Pacific Northwest. One second it’s pouring rain and the next thing you know, the sun’s out, you’ve got rainbows in the sky and you’re desperately stripping down your layers. While I’ve got so much more to share with you from my incredible weekend away with Travel Portland, today I’m sharing the essentials you’d need to pack over a long weekend on your next PNW adventures. Click through to get your packing list!

1. Warm overcoat  2. Striped shirt  3. Nude tinted lip balm  4. Umbrella  5. White V-neck shirt

6. Chelsea boots  7. Ripped black skinny jeans  8. Knit turtleneck  9. Boyfriend jeans

10. Cross-body mid-sized bag  11. Sneakers  12. Neutral scarf  13. Flannel shirt  14. Dark rinse skinny jeans

15. Leather moto jacket  16. Brown ankle boots  17. Grey tank  18. Watch

The most important thing to keep in mind when you’re coming to our neck of the woods (whether that’s Seattle, Portland or my beloved Vancouver) is that layering is beyond crucial. Us Pacific Northwestern folk have a learned tolerance for getting caught in the rain, but ideally to avoid chills, you’ll want to have some light layers, lots of top options and hopefully an umbrella on you most of the time.

While wellies are absolutely key if you live here, I for one find them so annoying to pack (and I hate wearing them on long stretch trips too, not comfortable) so make sure you have treated ankle boots, rubber-soled sneakers, etc. The fact of the matter is you will likely get caught in a shower at some point or another, but as long as you’ve treated your shoes and switch them up regularly (why I included three options here for such a short period of time), you’re grand, as my Irish friends (another group who know something about rain) would say.

So all in all, classic, cozy but still chic will always get you by in style here on the PNW, and making sure you have items that easily mix-and-match is key. Finally, can’t stress enough how heavily I rely on my Herschel luggage. I used the small carry-on for my trip up to PDX this past weekend and the full-size suitcase was literally a lifesaver during my trip to London.

Speaking of which, I’m so excited to share my top 5 packing tips in a video soon! I’ve been working hard (with lots of help from my pal Alicia) to resuscitate my channel (Alicia’s doing the same too, you can follow her here!) and I’m so excited to have tons of great video content in the works for you! If you’re so inclined, give it a follow here so that you can see the packing tips vid as soon as it goes live!

Feel free to pin or save the above packing list for future reference and if you want to shop my picks to prep for your next PNW trip (or just because they’re cute, duh), shop the slideshow below!