I've been in Paris several time, but always in spring or early fall. I live in Seattle and, based on Rick's comments, it seems Paris will have a similar climate in November. My concern is not so much what to pack as how the heck do I get it all into a 22" rollaboard.
I'm 65 and female, but not a fashionista ;-)
When we traveled to Amsterdam in winter I found my bag filled quickly adding a few more fluffy clothes. I wore my heaviest clothes/boots to travel and carried/wore my coat onto the plane. The rest of my clothes went into large ziploc bags (the kind you can attach a vacuum to) that I sat on to squish the air out. The ziploc's stacked neatly in my backpack plus they protected my clothes from rain during transit. They made all the difference in having a neat, slimmer bag that was easy to zip closed vs. a bulging lumpy bag.
I took more that trip but in retrospect I could have taken even less than normal during warmer months. Cool weather means your clothes don't get sweaty so you wash them less often and need less. Max for me now during winter travel is 2 bottoms, 4 tops, plus long underwear to protect from cold winds. That includes what I am wearing, though I don't wear the base layers on the plane as I will get too warm.
Have a great trip!
Roll your clothes and compress. It’s just a couple sweaters, leggings, socks stuffed into your shoes, a couple pairs of pants that are slightly heavier that season. You’ll wear your coat on the plane. Or, add a medium size backpack to your load. And if you decide to expand your rollaboard or take a 25” case and subsequently check it, it’s not the end of the world. Do what works for you. Not everyone here follows a strict tiny suitcase dogma.
I spent about a week in Paris in late November one year. The temperatures that time were around 8 or 9 C, (mid 40s F) so with gloves, a decent coat and a scarf we were fine. A nice woolen shawl would be handy to wear over your coat if the temps. go down. Buy one in Paris if needed. The sellers at the kiosks outside Printemps usually have them at a good price.
At that time of year I like to have a lightweight down vest that can be layered and compresses to almost nothing. Silk long johns take no space -- could be tucked in the second pair of shoes. Wear heavy pants, turtle, polartek or sweater and coat onto the plane and your heavy water resistant boots. Have one other pair of pants, and base layers, underwear etc in suitcase. Use a daypack as your personal item on plane and an extra sweater or whatever can tuck in there.
If you will only be traveling for a short period of time, you an probably wear the same pair of trousers (although it is prudent to have one extra in the bag) and one sweater or polartek layering piece and then focus on having adequate numbers of underwear, base layer shirts to change out and launder in the sink overnight if necessary. Camp stores like REI have good selections of base layers and underwear that wash and dry quickly.
In my experience November was grey and unlovely and often rainy but not crazy cold. I did fine with my water resistant trench layered with a polartek and base layers and with good water resistant lightweight hiking shoes.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I generally go through the winter here with a raincoat jeans and sweaters and it sounds like I should be able to do about the same in Paris.
Depending on how long you'll be gone, I'd just take one sweater. I'd add a puffy vest or a polarfleece vest but sweaters are so bulky. If you are concerned about pictures showing you with the same outfit on every day, you'll likely have your coat on. You'll have a shirt on under your sweater so you can change that out without having to wash your sweater.
I'd also only take 2 pr of jeans. Will you have a pair of non-jeans? I'd wear one pr jeans on the plane, pack another. Third pr of pants for a backup in case the zipper breaks as happened to another forum member.
I'll be in Paris in early November and have to pack even MORE lightly than usual because of vertabrae slippage called Spondylolisthesis. My 2 wheel pullman is under 22".
For my 8 day trip that also includes visiting friends who live outside of Dortmund, on the plane I will wear my warm coat so that won't take up space and warm/waterproof walking boots that have the comfort of sneakers. For an 8 day trip, I will pack a black merino cardigan which is a light but very warm sweater along with 3 blouses, 2 pairs of slacks, 3 scarves, a portable/collapsable umbrella and undergarments that take up nothing in terms of space and weight. Plus a travel-size toiletries in the 3-1-1. I will have laundry done midway on my trip. You don't need to carry a lot; you will be fine!
