Packing List for a Woman Who Plans to Be Charmed in Copenhagen

Let me be clear that this is not a list of things you need. It is a list of things that make you feel like someone worth charming, which is a different category and, I would argue, more important than a spare charger. I packed for Copenhagen the way I edit: ruthlessly, but with a soft spot for one indulgent adjective.

First, the coat. A good wool coat in a color that flatters you under gray skies, because Denmark will supply the gray. Mine is a deep green I bought during the divorce as a kind of promissory note to myself. Second, boots you can walk eleven kilometers in without looking like you have been punished. Cobblestones are not a suggestion.

First, the coat.

Third, one dress that moves. Not clings, moves, so that when you cross a room it keeps a half-second of conversation with the air behind you. Fourth, a single perfume, applied less than you think. I wear mine at the wrists and at the very back of the neck, a spot I am told is under-appreciated. I will not be elaborating.

Fifth, and nobody puts this on packing lists: a ready answer to the question, would you like to join us. I rehearsed mine. In practice it came out as, oh, if it is no trouble, which I immediately regretted, but a woman with a pastry and a window seat at a Nyhavn cafe was kind enough to treat it as charm. We talked for an hour. No one proposed marriage. Everyone was pleased.

The carry-on closed on the first try, which I took as an omen. If you are packing for a different kind of trip, one from the sofa with the lights low, Emma and Hannah both have voice confessions on TheFriend that make good company for a hotel evening. Bring the coat anyway. It does half the work.