Four Months in a Boat

I was just going through some of my sweaters and thought about what most of them went through: four months in a ship traveling from Baltimore to Milan, packed in a box and with no protection other than the 4 walls of carton. One may ask what I was thinking to toss nice wool and silk sweaters in a box, and the answer is; I wasn't the one to pack it. In a moment where I turned my head, 2 days before flying out, my things got shoved in boxes. I was busy for a year finishing a degree, working full time, and getting my life organized to move internationally for love. It was worth it!

This sweet final point took years of effort, international paperwork and stress to bring together!

You see, my single girl apartment in Baltimore went from this

Fatty at the bottom. He loves hiding in paper bags!

to this

There is my stuff!

And I had to decide which vital pieces of my life to take in 2 suitcases and 2 carry ons. My travel list included treasured family pictures, vital documents like birth certificates and health records, my best clothes and everyday clothes, and also 11 journals that document my life from 7 years-old till now. When my practical husband-to-be arrived to pick me up he realized (while I was sorting out which spices to toss in the kitchen) that my luggage was overweight. He then found a few boxes, opened them, and crammed some clothes in there. Those crammed clothes were my best clothes!

The next few days were a blur: I sold my car, turned in my keys for my apartment, flew a few hours and was suddenly surrounded by people speaking only Italian, the world looked older, and there were no malls or retail stores on the roads. I didn't find out till we arrived to our house in Italy that I had 2 pairs of jeans, a couple of sweaters and 2 pairs of shoes to get me through the winter. The rest of my suitcase was filled with my treasured family pictures and bulky wedding dress (that did make it in the luggage but I was sure she was fine since I stuck my rosary in there!) and I couldn't wear that everyday! Living with very little to wear for 4 months did make me acutely aware of how much stuff I actually owned, and didn't really need to survive. The experience was a sort of "Survivor" experience for my wardrobe. We went to an Italian shop to buy a few essentials and I had to carefully consider the couple of pieces that I bought which cost at least five times more than they would in the US.

When my boxes finally arrived, four months later, I discovered what clothes made it, and which ones didn't on the trip. The surprising thing is that everything that I packed in a Space Saver bag did much worse than the "good stuff" that was crammed in a box. I jotted down in categories of who the winners are in terms of brands and materials that are now proven to last and last (even across the ocean in humid temperatures for 4 months):

1. J. Crew: double smiley face and two thumbs up! All, yes all of my J. Crew items arrived intact. However, my 100% wool skirt and 100% cotton pants arrived like new. These were crammed without protection into a box and I am so surprised they turned out so good. Good job, J. Crew. I will buy from you again!

100% wool is 100% resistant!

Look at those perfect seams that match up so nicely

2. Banana Republic: One smiley face and two thumbs up. My "hire me" suit that I bought after college graduation in 2006, came in flawless. This was sent in my luggage though, and in a garment bag. Additionally, all of my Banana wool sweaters came in great condition. They were sent in a box by my love.


3. Ann Taylor: double smiley face and two thumbs up! I worked at Ann Taylor for 1 year while I was in college so I could use their employee discount to get "real clothes" that I could use in my "real job" after graduation. I invested in silk sweaters, dresses, wool sweaters, and really lovely blouses. These were all carefully crammed into a box by my love, shipped 4 months and came out flawless, of course, after a trip to the dry cleaners. My investment back in 2006 is still paying off in great looking beautiful clothes that look new and feel great every time. Thank you, Ann Taylor!

A delicate silk blouse that came perfect. It is 6 years old and as good as they day I bought it!

4. Wal Mart: Smiley face! I'm not kidding. I bought a few pairs of flannel pajamas before coming, packed them in a Space Saver bag and shipped them here. They are super soft, warm and so much better than my Victoria Secret flannel pj's (of which I paid a lot more!)

I couldn't get this to turn. But these PJs are superb!

5. Ann Taylor LOFT: Annoyed face. Most of my LOFT items were carefully packed in a Space Saver bag and shipped here. The seams on most are loose, and the items are obviously of lower quality. They also cost about the same as their parent clothes at Ann Taylor, but the durability is much lower.

the edge of a LOFT sweater that is wavey now. Boo

6. Calvin Klein: Stunned concerned face. These were the best things I had for work and arrived ok but the fabric just feels flimsy now.

7. Victoria Secret PINK: Shipped in a space saver bag and is now all stretched out and discolored. Never again.

Cheap quality.

Best Places to shop in Baltimore: Charm City has some of the nicest consignment shops I've met. The nicest ones are in Atlanta and Stockholm (Sweden), but Baltimore is right behind them! Here are my two favorites:

1. Vogue Revisited: This little family owned consignment shop in the Roland Park community of Baltimore sells designer brands, and well known brands for womens clothes, purses and jewelry. I bought a brown leather Banana Republic purse (with the new $250) tag on for $40 five years ago and it is still my "travel purse" as it can fit a sweater, book, magazines, my cats and my neighbors mozzarella cow. This thing looks medium sized but is really huge! Vogue Revisited (link) also sells designer jeans like 7 jeans, True Religeon, Joes jeans, and Citizen. They only accept clothes in "like new" condition so all things look great!

2. Goodwill of Padonia Road (link): Everytime I've gone here I have found a steal! Once it was a perfect black Ann Taylor skirt suit for $6 and another time it was a wool Banana Republic skirt for $5. They are clean, organized and carry good things. There is a "high end" furniture consignment shop next door that is also very attractive.


3. Nordstrom RACK: The Nordstroms at the Towson Mall has the Nordstrom rack on the bottom level and they have a really great selection of everything from the normal store but at a much lower price! I got winter boots there, work shoes, and some home decor stuff at a much lower price! (Little did I know that my husband-to-be often shopped there when I did! Isn't that sweet? Ok, maybe it is just sweet to me)

4. Regular retail stores sale racks: always checked there first before venturing into the land where things cost $49.99 and up!

The best fabrics that made it through are all natural. I should not be surprised but for some reason still am surprised. They are:

100% wool
100% cotton
Handmade things that are 100% wool or cotton

Granny made this for my mom in the 1970's and it is still in new condition.

The worst things were anything with an angora and nylon blend like my AT LOFT sweater.

Rayon and Angora = no bueno

But by far, the best thing that shipped were my furs. They never stopped purring, and being my buddies while I packed up my house, flew 20 hours to the new one, and unpacked the boxes. My furs were sitting (or napping) there the whole time keeping me company. Definitely will buy one again!

My Chinchilla Fur

My Mink hiding in the back

My lessons learned are to buy items that are made with natural fibers, organize what I can in life, and when I loose control of what happens in my life the good will usually sort itself out from the bad, and if it is meant to be it is worth putting in all the love, time and effort possible then letting go of the control. (that one was the toughest to learn for both clothes and my life!)