Kate Leonard is M.M.LaFleur’s Head of Virtual Styling. She spends her days building wardrobes for customers whose closets, schedules, and lives she has gotten to know intimately, both virtually and in person where she is based in Chicago. This summer, she got to test her own instincts in real time.

This June my husband and I embarked on a two-week trip through France that we built around a wedding in Aix-en-Provence, in the south of the country. This was an interesting one to pack for, and while I wish I could say I did it all with a carry-on, packing our wedding formalwear unfortunately made that a nonstarter. However, even with checked luggage it was a puzzle like the ones my team solves for Bento clients each day.

It had five distinct legs and nearly as many temperatures: damp and overcast in Burgundy, warmer in Lyon, full sun for a wedding weekend in Aix-en-Provence, and finally, a brief stint in Paris that evolved into a detour to Dublin to escape the heat wave (more on that below). Starting out, I knew I needed a wardrobe flexible enough to survive not only a wedding weekend, but also multiple cities, formalities, and a shifting forecast. So that really meant building a capsule around pieces that could be re-worn, re-styled, and crucially, washed in a hotel room sink as needed.

Below, more details on what I ended up wearing the most, along with some of our favorite new places that I hope you bookmark for your next trip.

Thanks for reading The M Dash by M.M.LaFleur! Subscribe for career advice, styling guidance, and more.

Subscribed

Stop 1: Dijon

We flew into Paris and took the train directly to Dijon, where we spent two nights. These first two days were quite overcast, with a little rain, and the city was fairly quiet. Day one was purely about staying awake after our red-eye, but on our second day, we rented e-bikes and rode out into the vineyards of the Burgundy countryside, which I’d only ever seen in photographs. They were just stunning.

For both days, I focused on layered looks that could form a protective shell against the wind. The Scotte jacket really was the star here; I wore it over the Malley top and Frame jeans, in black head to toe so I fit right in with the French! The Scotte is one of those pieces whose praises I often sing to Bento clients; it’s extremely versatile because it can read either casual or more polished depending on what you pair it with, and in either case the crop makes it a bit more interesting than a typical trench coat.

Stop 2: Lyon

Lyon felt much more like a city immediately: busier streets, warmer air, far more going on. We had a fantastic couple of days and a few recommendations to leave you with. The first is that you must visit Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, an enormous covered food market. We loaded up on picnic supplies and spent a long afternoon in Parc de la Tête d’Or, which is one of the largest urban parks in Europe and has a small lake. How amazing is it that basically every baguette, everywhere in France, is 1 euro, by the way?

Kate in M.M.LaFleur Rina pant

We stayed at L’Abbaye, a hotel built inside a former Augustinian convent. The building is from the ninth century and the cloister is still intact. The hotel was situated on a small courtyard across from a church, so it was very quiet, which made morning cappuccinos feel very relaxing before being out and about all day.

Our favorite dinner in Lyon was less than a five-minute walk away at Café Comptoir Abel—a classic bistro. Go here and make sure you order the Saucisson Chaud aux Lentilles (sausage and lentils), an unexpected favorite dish, and the Fameux Poulet aux Morilles (Famous Chicken with Morel Mushrooms)

Kate in M.M.LaFleur Rina pant and Scotte jacket

I leaned on the Rina pants the most across both days, and switched up my look with my shoe choices, which is one of the reasons I love this style: the cut and drape allow you to pair it with basically any shoe, including sneakers, sandals, and Mary Janes, all of which came out on this leg of the trip. The Rina also happens to sneakily be one of our most comfortable pant silhouettes; I sat on the grass in them and truly didn’t think about the waistband once.

For dinners, I switched into the Clemens top to take the formality level up just a notch. Another win for machine washability: enjoying incredible French wine without needing to worry about any drips.

Stop 3: Moustiers-Sainte-Marie

This was the stop we were most excited about—shoutout to my husband who did the research that led us here. Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is a small mountain village in Provence, perched above the Verdon Gorge, which is sometimes called the Grand Canyon of France: it’s a massive gorge and lake with water so intensely turquoise it looks like someone adjusted a filter. We drove from Lyon through lavender fields to get here, and at a certain point on that drive I just stopped talking and looked out the window.

We stayed at La Bastide de Moustiers, a 17th-century country estate which is now owned by legendary chef Alain Ducasse; it boasted a pool, beautiful old grounds, and a restaurant that shares the same name as the hotel. It was our one real splurge dinner of the trip, and totally worth it; I’m still dreaming about the cheese course with a healthy serving of lavender honey.

The temperature turned really hot by the time we arrived. The Agatha pant, which is designed in a super-light voile, became my go-to: I’d throw it on over a wet swimsuit after the pool and it would dry in the time it took us to walk into the village. The highlight of this leg of our trip was was chartering an electric boat to explore the gorge; it capped out at around ten miles an hour, which is about the right speed for scenery that beautiful anyway.

Kate in M.M.LaFleur Agatha pant

For dinners, either at the hotel or a short walk into town, I wore the Aliza Vest and my Tinsley trousers in Cloudweave, both of which were light enough to withstand the heat. Insider tip: Aliza vest is secretly one of our most versatile styles, and if you’ve been intimidated by a vest style, I’m here to change your mind (before it sells out again). Worn with the Tinsleys for a nicer dinner, it looks really crisp, and is way more interesting than a traditional suit. Paired with barrel jeans for a more casual day, it looks intentional and unfussy, but still polished. The same piece unlocked two completely different formality options for me on this trip, which is exactly what you’re packing for when packing space is limited.

My afternoon snack for our entire stay was lavender gelato from L’Étoile Givrée, right in the heart of the quaint, medieval village. Multiple times. I have no regrets.

Stop 4: Aix-en-Provence

The wedding weekend took place at a villa near Puget, and the forecast was brutal: high of ninety on the ceremony day, full sun, completely beautiful but no joke without AC.

Between wedding events, I wore the Bronwyn dress in OrigamiTech pretty nonstop; it was substantial enough to feel dressed among the other wedding guests, but also quite breathable. OrigamiTech is also really wrinkle-resistant; I’m all for linen in the summer but I was not really interested in looking like a sweat-drenched crinkled paper bag at the end of each long celebration day. The day after the ceremony, the wedding group gathered for a pool party at the villa, which was the perfect excuse to reach for the Agatha pants (again!).

Stop 5: One Night in Paris, Then a Change of Plans

Our original plan was to spend three nights in Paris to close the trip. On the trip back from Aix-en-Provence, we checked the forecast, which had continued to climb. Not only that, every travel account I followed was reporting multi-hour delays out of Charles de Gaulle airport. We decided to come in for one night, have dinner with friends, and then reroute our flight home through Dublin the next morning.

Kate in M.M.LaFleur Gracie dress

I wore the Gracie dress for that night. One thing that surprised me about it: it required no steaming after two weeks in a suitcase. I hung it in the bathroom while I showered and it came out perfectly. For a trip that was already logistically complicated, not having to think about wrinkles was a real gift. I felt so chic the minute I slipped it on, and I fit right in with the local crowd at the very hip wine bar in the Third Arrondissement where we had dinner plans.

Such a funny story about this dress: We were standing waiting for a table when I heard my name. It was Jessica Erickson, a longtime M.M. VIP customer. She’d actually spotted the dress from across the street before she registered that I was the person wearing it. This was such a fun moment, one I’ll remember for a long time.

Stop 6: Dublin

Dublin in late June is not reliably seventy degrees and sunny. It happened to be both when we arrived, which was most of the reason we’d changed our plans. After Paris, it felt like stepping into a completely different trip, cooler and quieter and green; exactly what we needed to cap off our journey.

Day one, I walked the city in the Aliza vest paired with Frame vertical jeans and the Scotte jacket layered back on, the first time I’d needed it since Dijon. If you’re passing through the city soon, do not miss the cardamom buns and tomato Danish at Elliot’s (I might venture to say they were the best pastries of our whole trip… controversial! I know), and you’ll want to book a reservation at Fish Shop for the best fish and chips of your life. We also of course made time to sit and listen to some live Irish Trad music—I did Irish dancing as a kid, so this was a particular treat for me!

Day two, we took the train twenty minutes out to Howth on the coast. And this is where I’ll put in a word for our Organic Ribbed Pima Cotton: it drizzled, and the layer I was wearing in it dried almost immediately. For a country where the weather changes every forty minutes, there’s no better material.

Subscribed

Want to be featured on the M Dash?

Email [email protected] with your 2-3 sentences about your story or M.M. connection, and we’ll get back to you!