To understand the sharp, concise style of journalist and literary it-girl Joan Didion, one must first look at her suitcase. In her 1979 essay collection, The White Album, Didion chronicles the social and political upheavals of 1960s California, supplemented by candid glimpses into her own psychological condition.Â
Among these personal installments, Didion infamously includes the packing list that she once kept taped inside her closet door in her Hollywood home, consisting of everything she would need while on a journalism assignment and allowing her to “pack, without thinking, for any piece [she] was likely to do.”
The list reads:
To Pack and Wear:
2 skirts
2 jerseys or leotards
1 pullover sweater
2 pair shoes
stockings
bra
nightgown
robe
slippers
cigarettes
bourbonÂ
Bag with:
shampoo
toothbrush and paste
Basis soap
razor
deodorant
aspirin
prescriptions
Tampax
face cream
powder
baby oilÂ
To Carry:
mohair throw
typewriter
2 legal pads
pens
files
house keyÂ
Interestingly, in the decades since The White Album’s release, Didion’s packing list has become aspirational for many women, evolving from a pragmatic list of necessities into the “gold-standard” of chic, minimalistic travel.
In fact, if you simply search “Joan Didion’s Packing List,” you’ll be inundated with articles titled: “How to Pack Like Joan Didion” or “Why We’re Packing Our Bag Like Joan Didion Did in 1979.”
I, myself, in the desperate moments spent staring at an overfilled suitcase, have envied the surety and unsentimental manner with which Didion was able to prepare for a trip. However, as we leave another busy holiday season in the rearview mirror, I was inspired to revisit the iconic list, doubting whether Didion would have wanted it decontextualized into a “cool girl” fashion guide.
The logic behind her choice of two jerseys and a bottle of bourbon only reveals itself when we look past the modern pursuit of the “Didion aesthetic” and back into the pages of The White Album itself. Often, when discussing the list, the context of its creation is notably absent.Â
However, just below her inventory of items, Didion offers a candid psychological examination of her packing habits, writing, “It should be clear that this was a list made by someone who prized control, yearned after momentum, someone determined to play her role as if she had the script, heard her cues, knew the narrative.”
This line reveals the true intention behind Didion’s packing list, born out of a calculated performance of composure rather than an aspirational aesthetic. It represents not the easy self-assuredness that we often associate with Didion, but rather a response to the chaos of her environment as she witnessed and covered the decay of sixties idealism.Â
From her coverage of the political tension surrounding the Black Panther Party and San Francisco State College protests to the aftermath of the Manson murders, Didion’s wardrobe was carefully designed for invisibility and functionality as she navigated the rapidly shifting front lines of American politics and culture.
The irony of adopting Didion’s list is that it was designed to make her a blank slate, someone who could blend in to any space as she felt her career demanded of her, offering her a sense of control in a time of societal upheaval. To pack like Didion is not only to ignore this context, but to erase your own identity in the process.
While we live in an era that is no less tense or complicated than Didion’s own, that doesn’t mean that we need to grasp for a script through our luggage or lose our own identities in pursuit of hers; even if it’s just for the duration of a holiday. Didion’s legacy lies not in her stockings or face cream, but in the sharpness of her gaze and the clarity with which she recorded the world around her. So, pack the essentials, yes, but don’t be afraid to throw in some bold colors, impractical shoes, or your favorite book. And if there is any aspect of Didion’s life that you are looking to emulate ahead of your next vacation, let it be her intellect rather than her suitcase.