Happy travels ladies! Summer and early fall are the times of the year that we look forward to a long awaited vacation. Most of us take short weekly trips to the beach or mountains, so packing is a breeze. But what about those longer trips? The ones that last 2 to 3 weeks and your hopping country to country or city to city. Airlines have made it super difficult to travel these days, so we have to pack lighter than we would like for our longer trips It costs a lot of money to check multiple bags and you don’t always trust that you will get your stuff when you arrive (I have been here before). The hassle of it all causes you to only take one big bag to check-in or a carry-on bag and a purse. If you can do it with just a carry-on than go for it! Another consideration to make is how many bags do you want to lug around with you?
THE BEGINNING ESSENTIALS:
I have spent some time helping a client figure out what to pack for a trip to Scandinavia. She is going to be gone for over 2 weeks and visiting multiple places. She will have, in tow, one great Away suitcase and an overnight bag (with an extra change of clothes just in case). I am a huge fan of Away suitcases and hope that one day I will need one. Their suitcases are so light weight and very sleek and stylish! You can check them out here. The overnight bag is so cute and versatile and has a compartment for a pair of shoes! It is by Sole Society and came from Nordstrom.
She will be checking her suitcase to allow herself to take more stuff and have room for things she purchases while she is there. We started the packing process 2 months before her trip so we could make sure she had what she needed. Waiting until the last minute would cause added stress and might leave you with a mediocre travel wardrobe. It is essential to figure out what would be appropriate to blend in with the culture and find versatile pieces that can be worn more than once. Also, try to find pieces that do not wrinkle easily. We will talk more about this in next travel article.
SHOES SHOES SHOES:
The first agenda was to figure out what shoes she was going to take. I recommended she take a pair of all weather booties, a comfortable yet fashionable pair of tennis shoes and a pair of flats. These options provide comfort and style to her travel wardrobe and are the most important pieces. There is nothing worse than wearing a pair of shoes that make your feet scream at the end of the day. If you are going to a nice restaurant or two you may also want to add a dressier shoe option if the flat will not suffice.
If what is needed does not currently exist in your wardrobe, you will need to purchase the shoes. Doing this a couple of months before your trip will give you time to break them in. New and unworn shoes for a long trip are a very bad idea. The actual shoes we chose were Sorel All Weather booties and a really cute red New Balance tennis shoe. Some people may be afraid of the red but with a neutral wardrobe this is a great option to add a little pop of color and not be too overbearing. We are still on the hunt for a cute, comfortable neutral flat shoe so I don’t have one to show here. I will add it to the next post with the outfits so you can see what we decided on.
SMART ESSENTIALS:
Make sure you check the weather! My client is traveling at the beginning of September which means the temperatures can fluctuate and it can rain at any moment! Be prepared for rain! Make sure you pack a rain jacket or a travel umbrella. If you have room in your suitcase bring both. The umbrella can be carried with you in case it decides to rain the the middle of the day. If you have an entire rainy day ahead of you, wear your rain jacket. The jacket we chose is a North Face Rain Jacket from Nordstrom (no longer available but similar one is available on North Face website). It is very flattering and has a removable hood. The versatility of it makes it a great option for an everyday layering jacket as well.
The type of purse that you decide to take with you is very important. I recommend a cross-body bag, (ours is from Madewell) for two reasons. First, it will be more comfortable to distribute the weigh across your body. Shoulder bags, when carried for a period of time, can put stress on your neck and shoulders. Second, it is a much safer option. When you are around a lot of people you can keep your belongings at the front of your body to prevent them from being stolen. Some people prefer to just have a pouch they can hide under their clothing and if that is your preference that works as well. But for those that want to take their phone, camera, lip balm, credit card, ID, passport, and umbrella a little pouch is just not going to work.
ORGANIZATION ESSENTIALS:
Organizing everything in your suitcase is also important. I recommend some kind of packing cubes that can divide up your clothing and keep everything nice and neat. The ones I recommended for her are Eagle Creek packing cubes. These packing cubes are inexpensive and allow you to easily organize your items and minimize the wrinkles. The cubes also have the ability to compress your clothing down so you can fit more in your suitcase!
Once you have done your research and figured out these essential things you will then need to concentrate on what outfits your should bring. The next travel post to follow up with this one will be on how to choose and put together several outfits with 10 to 15 pieces of clothing (maybe a little more :)).
1 Comment
Pingback: Capsule Wardrobe for Travel – Style By Jamie Lea