I used to be the person who would come back from a trip with lots of unworn clothes, yet still felt that I had nothing to wear whilst I was away, I packed a huge suitcase, only to find I couldn’t close it, and I hated lugging it around. On my last big trip 3 weeks in the US, with 3 different temperatures and 4 different purposes, I decided this had to change. The only common activity in the three locations was jogging in the mornings. In the end my case weighed in at 18kgs and was not even bursting at the seams. Let me share my process with you First stop for me was Florida for an Image Consultants Conference. Being in the Image Consultancy business, it was important for me to look great. The dress code for the conference was “business wear” with a gala dinner on one of the nights. With shoes taking up a lot of space, it was important that the only pair of shoes that I took with me could be worn with all 5 outfits. I took 5 tops and 2 bottoms that all coordinated with each other. You can create a completely different look just by changing your tops and accessories, as tops are the items that people remember the most. The most important travel packing tip, therefore, is to always pack more tops than bottoms. They are also great for layering in different climates. I chose black as the colour for my core items, but it could just as easily have been chocolate brown, a dark charcoal or a navy blue. My next stop on my US trip was Orlando, where I stayed with my brother and his family – tropical weather, relaxed ambience, pool, theme parks, shopping malls, out to dinner. Shorts, T shirts, summer dresses, swimsuits. I wore joggers when there was a lot of walking to do, but “thongs” the rest of the time. On to Boulder Colorado to visit family, where it had just snowed the week before leaving Australia! Thank God I had packed jeans and a jumper as I knew that I could layer the Florida casual items. I wore my joggers most of the time as the weather had warmed up to the high “teens” so it was beautiful. For more dressy outfits I combined business wear with my casual wear and just changed the accessories. Final stop was Los Angeles for some time on my own with my husband. The temperature was a cross between Florida and Colorado so the clothes worked well in different combinations. They were all clean as I had the chance to wash my clothes in Colorado I confess that I did buy some clothes on my trip, so my suitcase was a little heavier on the way back. However, because I had planned my travel wardrobe well, the purchases were more a case of taking advantage of the exchange rate than from an urgency stemming from not having packed the right travel wardrobe. It pays to get organised! Top 10 Tips
Annalisa Armitage is the owner and principle stylist at My Image Consultant based in Lilyfield. Her passion is to mentor people to help them find their own individual style and through this assist them to simplify their lives and save time and money so they never have that ‘I’ve got nothing to wear’ feeling ever again. She is also the founding President of the AICI Sydney Chapter (Association of Image Consultants International) and is committed to the science as well as the craft of showing people how to look great so they can feel great! |
