From Prada to Zara—Here's Everything I Packed for 7 Days in Monaco

It’s hard to believe that I was swimming in the Mediterranean Sea on the morning of my flight back to New York from Monaco just over a week ago, a practice I highly recommend as a pre-travel pick-me-up. I’d spent a total of seven days between the municipality and Nice, France, covering all things fashion and Formula One with BWT Alpine F1 Team for the Monaco Grand Prix. It was the trip of a lifetime, something I knew would be the case long before I touched down in the French Riviera. This is why I spent weeks meticulously planning my outfits. Before I’d even done my interview prep (stay tuned for that), I had built a Google Drive to organize the potential contents of my two Tumi suitcases. As this was perhaps the most significant dressing opportunity of my 28 years thus far, I had to do it right.

Everyone I asked ahead of my travels told me that Monaco pretty much epitomized the old money, quiet luxury trend. They said to expect a lot of white linen, neutral colors, and quintessential designer pieces like Hermès Kellys and Oran sandals, Loro Piana L27 mini bags, and Chanel cap-toe slingbacks. I did see all of those things on multiple occasions, but since my budget was limited and I don’t own any of those items, I pretty much chose to throw out all of the packing advice I was given and go rogue.

With 75-degree days on the forecast for almost the entire time I was away (with the exception of one very wet afternoon), I set out to plan outfits that felt like me, picking pieces I knew I’d be excited to wear and document. For the first few days, I set aside outfits that were easy and casual but still elegant and refined. Later, as the biggest F1 weekend of the year commenced, my looks got a touch more intentional. Scroll down to find out exactly what I mean, where I’ve laid out all eight of my hand-chosen ensembles from the week I just spent in Monte Carlo. There’s Prada and Zara, H&M and Tory Burch, Dissh and Bottega Veneta—essentially, I packed a little bit of everything. Shocker, no packed item, apart from one dress, went unworn. Impressive, I know.

Outfit 1: Explore Nice and Settle In

Since we flew overnight from New York to Nice, I definitely needed some downtime to get acquainted to the new time zone, unpack, and, of course, go to a French pharmacy and stock up on products that aren’t available in the States. Immediately upon arriving at the hotel, I changed out of my plane clothes—a charcoal cashmere sweater from J.Crew and my favorite Tibi Tuck Jeans that feel like sweatpants but look like they were on the runway (because they were)—and into a fresh, temperature-appropriate ensemble. I’d been eyeing this halter top from Zara for weeks because of how Khaite-like it appeared online, and I was beyond thrilled to discover that it is just as good in-person as it looked on Zara’s website. I paired it with long, dark-wash denim Dissh shorts, and together, the pieces felt easy but nice at the same time.