Holiday Packing

So, what do you pack? A wetsuit, a ball gown and sneakers? Perhaps, if you are going on a cruise. We all want our holiday wardrobe to be suitable to our activities, and comfortable if possible, and why not even enjoyable to wear from an artistic point of view. You are going for fun, after all, the contents of your suitcase should make you happy to see them. And, you want it all to fit in a certain amount of space. Some people try for a carry on, some people have their own large suitcase and half their other half’s as well. It’s all good, as long as it works for you.

Great Summer dress for hot weather can be dressed up with heels

I fondly remember my first trip to Malaysia, it was on our way to South Africa and we spent a week in Penang. It was lovely. It was the height of the summer season, being March. I had two pairs of bathers and that was about it for appropriate clothing! Otherwise, I had jeans, a midi denim skirt, a few long sleeved shirts (lightweight thankfully, and sneakers and big black heavy shoes that looked great with boot cuts but were a trifle warm. I was young and didn’t really care, although I do remember feeling a little warm.

So, how do you pack successfully for where you are going? Let’s run through it all in detail. How I do it, how other people do it, and then a few extra tips for everyone that that hasn’t covered. And I will be talking about packing for a summer holiday, because I am writing in Australia in December. If any of my Aussie readers are off to the snow for summer(maybe, Europe is always great, even when it is freezing) then you will just have to use your wits to apply the advice to your situation, or wait for May when I will put out a winter packing guide.:)

MY APPROACH TO PACKING

I believe that the serenity prayer applies to this situation as well as a lot of others in life, so let’s adapt and use it.
“First, determine the things that I cannot change. The things in which I have choice. And hope for wisdom to leave the kitchen sink at home unless I have a big car, no kids and am taking a trailor.”

THE THINGS THAT I CANNOT CHANGE:

• The likely climate of where you are going
• How your body tolerates heat and cold
• The compulsory activities of the trip
• Packing restrictions
• Any real non negotiable comfort issues
• Will facilities allow of much laundry

THE THINGS IN WHICH I HAVE CHOICE

• Capsule or standalone outfits
• How I want to look
• Whether to use laundry facilities if available
• What activities I am going to choose to do

Things I cannot Change

LOCATION, CLIMATE.

Firstly, do you feel heat/cold or do you wear a t shirt and shorts all year, regardless of temperature.
If you feel the heat and you are going to be spending your summer holiday in 35 to 45 degree heat, will you be flopping by the pool or beach or in air conditioning, or will you be sightseeing, say in Thailand visiting buddhist temples?
If you are going to be experiencing extreme temperatures in a non air conditioned environment then you really need to pack for that.
If you are going to be spending every day lounging by the pool and only getting dressed for dinner, then pack for that. Say, three pairs of swimmers (two minimum) and a few evening outfits suitable to the dress code.

COMPULSORY ACTIVITIES OF THE TRIP

Say if you are going on a bus tour of europe you will need clothes suitable for sightseeing. If you are going on a cruise boat then there might be compulsory formal events such as the captains dinner. If you are travelling to attend a wedding then you will need to have an outfit suitable to dress code and climate.If you are going on a cycling or hiking holiday then you will need appropriate clothes. I like to make a list of the known compulsory activities and make sure I have them covered.

PACKING RESTRICTIONS

If you are flying then luggage costs money. And if you are travelling with children who cannot manage their own luggage then it can save stress and money to pack as lightly as possible. So I would work out your essentials for everyone first, and then you might have room to pack some extra fun stuff if you like.

NON NEGOTIABLE COMFORT ISSUES

Easy Summer Dress with Sneakers, comfortable enough for giving piggybacks

This makes me think feet. In my case, if I am going to be walking a lot I want suitable shoes. But I can also imagine some people like certain fabrics in certain weather, such as cotton or linen in the heat. If you will be walking a lot and you need a certain type of shoe such as a fashion sneaker or some kind of comfortable flat to do it, like me, then I recommend choosing the shoes first, and picking clothes that you like to wear with those shoes. Sneakers aree prevalent and a lot of us are useed to seeing sneakers, at least fashion ones if not true sports shoes with dresses, jeans, other casual pants and shorts and in some cases we would even wear them with dressier clothes such as checked suit pants and create a nice creative tension between the dressy pants and the on trend sneaker. So if this is you, then packing comfortable shoes may not impinge upon having a wide range of wardrobe choices. If you do not like the look of sneakers, even fashion ones, with every thing, then you will want to pick clothes carefully to go with sneakers, or make sure you have some comfortable non sneaker options. Good comfortable non sneaker options for warm weather include lems boat shoes, birkenstock sandals, various ecco shoes and many others. Google comfortable shoes to get you started, or keep your eyes peeled for my next post where I will talk feet.

THE LAUNDRY SITUATION

are you going to be able to wash clothes/want to wash clothes. Certainly if you are going more than a week and taking one suitcase, someone is going to want to be washing something! Or you will need to buy clothes and another suitcase to bring them home. If you are going for a while I recommend clothes that wash and dry easily, unless you are going to use hotel concierge facilities and dry cleaners etc.

The issues in which we have choice

CAPSULE DRESSING VS STAND ALONE OUTFITS

Do you want to use a uniform, or are you going to create different looks for different situations? An example of a uniform is skinny jeans, ankle boots, a drapey tunic jumper, a coat and a scarf if you are going somewhere cold. You could take two pairs of blue jeans in slightly different washes, three jumpers, a pair or two of ankile boots and a jacket and that is one capsule if all pants and jumpers are interchangeable and the boots and jacket can be worn with each jumper and pant combination. Obviously you will also need socks, underwear, top to wear under jumper etc.

This suits some people, they can grab any shoe, bottom and top and the outfit will work.

It does not work so well for people who want to show case particular outfits or who require greater outfit variety or precision. Let me give you some examples.

The White dress I would take to South Africa, covered, comfortable, and I like the way it looks

If I were travelling to South Africa to visit my husband’s extended family then I might want to pack my two favourite summer dresses that I use for day wear. One is white, high necked and slightly prairie style, being made of cotton voile. It is a unique style of white dress at the moment, and I do not like it with my white all birds fashion sneakers. I like it with brown sandals. But it washes in the machine and dries fast, and does not require a petticoat so it is great for summer wear and I can wash and wear it on repeat, so I feel that it is great outfit value. Dressy enough for a dinner out that is not too formal and elegant enough for relaxed day wear. My other summer dress that I want to take is a washed red mesh lace dress with a cotton shift under dress. It looks good with the all birds and with sandals and can also be dressed up and down. I would also take a pair of jeans with a lacey shirt, and an aline pink skirt and light weight cotton drapey sweater top. I would use both the sandals and all birds with both. I would add a warm jacket or cardigan that can be used with both dresses and the other outfits plus a warmer jumper to wear with the jeans outfit. I would be in a bit of difficulty if the weather was very cool, so I might add another pair of long pants to cover me, and another warm jumper, plus an evening outfit – probably my lace dress, cape and heels, because last time I was there there were a couple of formal family dinners. Just because!

So, some of those things can be mixed and matched, but I selected them as stand alone outfits that I love, because that appeals more to me. I would rather know that I have outfits that I really love and that I feel cover all the situations that are likely to pop up – some gentle sight seeing, family engagements etc.

WHETHER TO USE LAUNDRY FACILITIES IF AVAILABLE

If you choose not to, then you need enough outfits to cover you. Depending what you are doing, how much you sweat etc you might be able to wear certain items in a summer holiday wardrobe a couple of times before packing, but maybe not. the good thing about summer packing is that summer outfits require less fabric, than winter ones, so you could fit quite a few summer dresses in a suitcase if you did not want to do laundry while away.

WHAT ACTIVITIES YOU CHOOSE TO DO

So, with the above example of my south african holiday, if I decided to add some wilderness hiking, say a three day hike, even though I can hire camping gear there such as tent and bedding, I am going to need some different kinds of clothes, some hiking pants or shorts, appropriate tops and boots. Plus light weight foul weather gear. Instantly I have added some extra wardrobe requirements.
So, that summarises my approach to packing. I ask myself what is going to be happening, what will the weather be like and how would I like to look. I always take my foot comfort into account when planning my day to day outfits and I like to be sure that I have more dressy events covered, as well as possible cold weather if I am going somewhere changeable like cape town.

OTHER APPROACHES

A lot of fashion/lifestyle writers are big advocates of the capsule wardrobe, and it makes sense from convenience of having many possible outfit combinations. A lot of people who do the capsule start either by choosing their couple of pairs of shoes appropriate to the holiday’s activities and then select clothes that work with the shoes.

Another common choice is to pick a colour scheme, say navy blush and tan and to have all their choices fall within those colours. This gives a very neat and pulled together result and can be nice.

Another option is to take an empty suitcase and shop there. This can work if you are going to a climate that is substantially different to your own and for which you do not have appropriate clothes. For example, if I were taking my children to a very cold climate for a holiday I would buy their cold weather gear there, as there would be a better variety of appropriate stuff. Tasmania does not get cold in the same way as Winnipeg and it is often hard to find a decent warm jumper for small girls in a hobart department store. When I was an exchange student years ago in Germany I bought my winter boots when I got there.

This plan can also work well if you are going to a place where clothes are cheap, say thailand, you could pick up some new summer dresses if you like. Try and be sustainable and choose clothes for which you have a further use.

The other scenario where this works well is if you are travelling for business. I have a family member who went to America a few times for work and she always bought a suit and got her hair cut on arrival as she said it made her look more american and therefore people didn’t have to get over her appearance when they met her. It saved everyone mental space and time and showed that she was there to get along and work as part of the team. I thought that that was a fascinating strategy.
I hope that this has covered us all in our holiday packing. If you have any further questions then pop me a line!