The art of packing light: creating your perfect capsule travel wardrobe

The art of packing light: creating your perfect capsule travel wardrobe

• January 29, 2020

Are you guilty of overpacking when you go away travelling? Most of us are, when you love fashion, it’s so easy to get carried away with clothing- especially when we’re travelling to a climate that allows us to have fun with our look in ways that we can’t always do at home. However, if you want to keep things more simple, avoid excess baggage costs or save space in your suitcase for holiday purchases, then there are some steps you can take to slim down your case without having fewer outfits. The capsule wardrobe allows you to use every piece you take to its best potential, and despite bringing fewer articles of clothing, you still get a huge mixture of different outfits. Here are some ways you can go about it.

What will your ‘staple items’ be?

Your capsule wardrobe will need to be started off with a few ‘staple items’. These will be the pieces that you will be wearing each day so they need to be relatively plain making them versatile as possible (don't forget, you want to be able to dress them up or down accordingly). That way, it always feels like you have lots of different outfits without needing lots of clothing items. Take a plain white linen summer dress for example, during the day this could be worn with a big floppy hat and oversized shades, some flip flops and some boho jewellery for a fun, relaxed beach or day look. Then in the evening, pop on some heels and a waist belt, add a statement necklace and a blazer and you instantly dress it up. Other staple items could be denim shorts or jeans that could be paired with different tops or some skirts which again are easy to dress up or down. Just keep it to a minimum, the idea is that you can create lots of outfits from just a few key pieces.

What will you wear on your feet?

Footwear is really important to get right when you’re travelling. It might be tempting to throw in a bunch of flip flops into your case but think of the practicalities. If you’ll be doing a lot of walking then some sneakers or comfortable sandals like Birkenstock are likely to be your best bet. Heels or smarter shoes will instantly make an outfit look more suitable for evening wear, but you don’t need lots of different types, choose footwear that goes with all of the clothing staples you’ve picked. For example, if you go with black, white, neutrals or metallics these will go with most things. Since you’ll have both size and weight restrictions with your case, finding the right footwear can be the trickiest part of holiday clothes packing. A couple of decent pairs that will get you through the day and the evening will be your best bet.

How will you accessorise?

Finally, the accessories you put with an outfit can help you tailor it to whatever you’re doing. If you’re going out for the evening, some dangly earrings or a statement necklace will make what you have on looked more dressy. For the daytime, some chunky beads or a colourful ring could work well. A sparkly clutch bag for a night out again will make any outfit look much different to a brightly coloured crossbody bag in the daytime. Cover-ups are practical, even if you’re travelling to a hot country you still might get a cooler day- plus it will cool down in the evening no matter where you go. On top of this, your jacket is another easy way to accessorise. For example, a plain dress will look much different with a blazer then it will with a lightweight cardigan or shawl. You probably won’t want to go with anything too heavy for a holiday, so go with white or pastel shades that will match the outfits you’ve picked.

What’s in your cosmetics case?

Cosmetics and toiletries can take up a lot of precious case space for the average female. One way you can travel a little lighter is to streamline this. Instead of big bottles, use travel-sized ones or even free sachets. Lots of us have these kinds of things at home somewhere that we don't know what to do with, so travel is the perfect opportunity to make use of them. Most of us have a big box of free samples of things we don't know what to do with. They take up hardly any room, and you could try out lots of different products while you’re away! If you’re going to be travelling to a hot climate, you probably won’t want to wear lots of makeup and products on your skin, so think carefully about what pieces you will need and avoid overpacking. Remember that once you have a bit of a tan, you’ll have a healthy glow without having to fake it with makeup!

Packing for a trip away can be tricky, especially if you love clothes and want to have lots of different options for outfits. But pack smart and you’ll look stunning in your holiday snaps without having to deal with fees and hassle from overweight baggage. Worst case scenario, you could always buy one or two pieces while you’re away if you really feel like you’re missing something when you arrive.