Being able to wear my clothes in various ways on various occasions is essential when I’m out choosing what to buy. Of course there are those moments when you find that dress that works for an event and you know for certain you’ll wear it once and never look at it again. But, in general, it’s kind of a rule that if I purchase something, I want to find several ways to put it together with outfits so I can make the most of my wardrobe.

Accessories are kind of the perfect segue when it comes to multi-wear purchases, so much so that some of my bags or shoes actually become a seasonal staple. In the case of my Zadig & Voltaire gold booties, I found so many ways to play around with the colour and fit that I made them work with everything from a laid back trouser look to a glam doll mini dress vibe.

Obviously a little black purse kind of matches with just about everything (navy included). But, then there’s the hidden detail of silver or gold hardware and in this case, the rock’n’roll feel that the Zadig back has due to the chains. I paired it with a ton of looks while at New York Fashion Week and although I didn’t have to pack the bag to bring it there (I snagged it at the pop up event and got it made custom!), it quickly became an essential… not sure what I would’ve done without it.

I recently started a new collaboration a fast friend and Montreal-based fashion stylist Atena Moshayekhi. Her vision is simple: as a personal shopper, closet editor (yes, that’s a job!) and traveling organizer, she believes that if you have the right pieces in your closet, your potential for stylish outfits is infinite. And that translates to the way we pack as well. So for me, no matter where I go, Fashion Week or a family vacation, I need to be efficient with space and find creative ways to double up on the way I put together outfits. Atena (@FabNStylishatena) has over 20 years in the industry so I totally trust her expertise when it comes to eliminating excess items I think I’ll need wherever I am. The truth is, taking the time to plan out my outfits before I left for NYC, and finding ways to repurpose certain accessories, helped me reduce what I packed by, um, let’s say, a whole lot!

Rather than bringing 8 shoes and 8 purses for the 8 looks I had throughout the week (plus unpredictable weather, outfit changes, mood changes), I was able to downsize – which, in an optimal case would make more room for shopping, lol! I wore a bunch of stuff more than once in ways that showed how versatile a piece can be. The utility jacket is a perfect example. Pairing the camo jacket with the NBA t-shirt (which sold out within an hour of the launch!) and the gold booties gave the look a grungy, street style mixed in with flashy contrast and lot of character. Then, doubling down and pairing the jacket with a flirty gold tone-on-tone leopard dress played with the whole masculine and feminine thing. Then matching the metallic together and adding a black purse for a slight clash, showed the flexibility of all the integrated elements.

There’s something to be said about blending staples with stand outs. Inn my closet, camo has become somewhat of a staple pattern. Then, mixing and matching patterns is a layered feel I like to play with as often as possible. I’m a big lover of all things metallic, so using and repurposing all of these pieces was as easy as pie. And, being able to see the looks in a flat lay (thanks Atena!) allowed me to shift around palettes and pack a more methodical way than I ever have!

Photography by Patricia Brochu