It’s holiday season, and to celebrate many of us are heading away to spend time with friends and family near and far! But before you can get on with your getaway, the stress of packing for the trip can set in…
To make the packing process a little easier, we’re sharing some tips on how to pack for a vacation. If you follow these suggestions, we’re certain you’ll have a smile on your face when you open up your suitcase at your destination!
How to Pack:
Step 1. Check the weather and the cultural expectations
Although an obvious step, you need to do this to ensure you know what type of clothes you’ll need. Obviously you need more clothes for travel to colder destinations. Add jackets, tights, hats and boots as required. It is also useful to do a Google search and check whether the culture at your destination will mean it’s a place where you should be more covered up. There’s nothing worse than arriving somewhere and feeling like the unfortunate centre of attention. When in doubt, always take a few conservative pieces just in case and check out what the women are wearing when you arrive.
Step 2. Gather Your Basics
Without fail we always take the following things with us – light blouses, black and white singlets/tees, khaki hooded cotton jacket, leather shorts, denim jeans, one LBD (black bodycon number usually works well) and a white silk collared shirt. As in every day life, good basics are the foundation of a versatile travel wardrobe.
Step 3. Add key colour items
Choose a colour palette for a few additional pieces. This reduces the likelihood of having mismatched outfits. Depending on what we have in our wardrobe we usually add a maxi skirt (great for travelling), long sleeved shirt, a few mini skirts and a pair of shorts in a chosen colour palette. You can of course choose a couple of colours for your palette, just try to make sure they are all compatible.
Step 4. Rationalise your shoes
Shoes are the most bulky part of your luggage and if you can restrict the number of shoes you take with you, life will be much easier. But you don’t want to feel like you lack shoes either – we usually take one pair of classic black patent heels (maybe a second pair if we am going somewhere dressy like New York or Paris), a pair of ballet flats, ankle boots, a pair of comfortable shoes like converse and a pair of gladiator sandals.
Step 5. Complete with Accessories
We usually take a few nice statement pieces of jewelry which we can throw on in the evening to feel a little bit more dressed up, such as a pair of tassel earrings or a gold coin necklace. Floppy fedora hats always come on holidays with us, and we almost always take a bag with a long shoulder strap so it can be worn cross body. It allows us to relax when wandering around busy train stations and streets.
Extra Step 6. How to pack for colder-climate destinations
Traveling from Summer to Winter can feel especially overwhelming. Not only are there so many more items you need to remember to take, but this increase can quickly add up to oversized (and expensive) luggage. When traveling to destinations that we know will be cold, we spend extra time seeking out designers who’s collections have been made for traveling in-mind.
dE ROSAIRO’s Fall/Winter 15 collection is one we particularly love, featuring a mix of travel staples in gorgeous fabrics that require minimal to no ironing. The inspiration for this collection came from Designer/CEO Nishika de Rosairo’s hectic work schedule which includes a lot of travel. You can expect to see lots of garments that can be worn multiple times and that transition well from day into evening. Some of our favourite must-have travel pieces from this Fall/Winter collection are the 5-Way Cardigan and the Power Slacks.
dE ROSAIRO 5-Way Cardigan
Other tips?
Do a layout – when packing make sure to lay everything out on your bed so that you can visualize the outfits and how they will go together. This has been the one single factor that has helped us create better holiday wardrobes.
Other key things to take? A good book , ear plugs and an eye mask, a notebook for writing down ideas/travel stories, a good camera, and a great attitude. Oh and finally, make sure to roll your clothes up tightly so all of the above can fit in your carry on!
Safe travels everyone!