Have you picked your vacation destination and now you're wondering what clothes to take? Many people experience a lot of stress around this and there are the ones who pack a week or more ahead of time because they fear forgetting something and then there are the ones who cope by waiting until the last minute, not wanting to think about it. Allow this list to get you going and ease the stress of travel:
First, check the forecast for the place and time of year you're going. Just because it's summer where you are, doesn't mean it's summer where you're going. I live in Florida, and when we're 97 degrees F June - August, Argentina is in the throes of winter, with temperatures reaching as low as 23 degrees F.
You can find the temperatures and forecasts for your vacation paradise by internet or by visiting the encyclopedia or geography section of your local library.
And by all means, if you're going to go to a place where the climate can be snow one week and 107 degrees Fahrenheit the next, then layer, layer, layer to create warmth, rather than bring bulky sweaters that are useless for half of your trip.
Next, PLEASE coordinate your wardrobe around just one or two main colors. For most men, this is pretty easy to accomplish since blues, browns or blacks tend to predominate. For women, though, this is probably the best advice I can give in this entire article, because women's clothes come in every color of the rainbow. If you limit yourself to 2 main colors, it will significantly cut down on the amount of shoes, handbags, jewelry and other accessories you'll be enticed to pack.
Third, you can generally get away with wearing the same pants for several days, but not so much shirts unless you're in a cold climate and have no vigorous exercise or adventures planned. For women, this advice ties in to the suggestion above, because choosing one or two main colors doesn't mean you have to go with blue, brown, black, and/or white, but if you're going to go with a bolder color such as red or purple, make sure you have enough shirts to use that bright color multiple times. I have a pair of purple jeans and I can pack those because I have 4-5 shirts that will go with them, whereas I don't have much that will go with my red capri pants, so it doesn't make sense to bring them and only be able to wear them once.
Jeans. Only take one pair, unless you have no other pants in your drawers or closet. They are heavy and bulky, making them less convenient to fit in the suitcase and haul around. If you absolutely insist on 2 pairs, then wear one pair your first day of travel so you only have one pair to pack. Slacks are thinner, lighter, and more adaptable to different situations, so I encourage more of those than jeans.
Silks make an awesome choice because they don't wrinkle in a suitcase and dry quickly if they get wet. They're also as light as a feather. I always thought silks wrinkled terribly and they do if wet, but for dry packing and wearing, they're the bomb!
Limit your solid colors. With solid pants or skirts, wear shirts with patterns. With patterned skirts or dresses, wear solid tops or undergarments. Patterns don't show wrinkles or dirt as much, so you can get away with wearing them more.
Bottom line? Everything you bring, from clothes to shoes or purses and jewelry, it all MUST be able to do double or triple duty during the trip or you shouldn't be taking them. Trust me, you don't need as much as you think and as my husband and I like to say, if there's something we forget that IS that important, there's always the handy credit card or traveler's checks to buy what you're missing.
Ask yourself this - does it look like I'm bringing everything but the kitchen sink? If your answer is yes, you've probably packed too much and it's time to pare it down. Follow the suggestions above and you'll get the suitcase to close.
First, check the forecast for the place and time of year you're going. Just because it's summer where you are, doesn't mean it's summer where you're going. I live in Florida, and when we're 97 degrees F June - August, Argentina is in the throes of winter, with temperatures reaching as low as 23 degrees F.
You can find the temperatures and forecasts for your vacation paradise by internet or by visiting the encyclopedia or geography section of your local library.
And by all means, if you're going to go to a place where the climate can be snow one week and 107 degrees Fahrenheit the next, then layer, layer, layer to create warmth, rather than bring bulky sweaters that are useless for half of your trip.
Next, PLEASE coordinate your wardrobe around just one or two main colors. For most men, this is pretty easy to accomplish since blues, browns or blacks tend to predominate. For women, though, this is probably the best advice I can give in this entire article, because women's clothes come in every color of the rainbow. If you limit yourself to 2 main colors, it will significantly cut down on the amount of shoes, handbags, jewelry and other accessories you'll be enticed to pack.
Third, you can generally get away with wearing the same pants for several days, but not so much shirts unless you're in a cold climate and have no vigorous exercise or adventures planned. For women, this advice ties in to the suggestion above, because choosing one or two main colors doesn't mean you have to go with blue, brown, black, and/or white, but if you're going to go with a bolder color such as red or purple, make sure you have enough shirts to use that bright color multiple times. I have a pair of purple jeans and I can pack those because I have 4-5 shirts that will go with them, whereas I don't have much that will go with my red capri pants, so it doesn't make sense to bring them and only be able to wear them once.
Jeans. Only take one pair, unless you have no other pants in your drawers or closet. They are heavy and bulky, making them less convenient to fit in the suitcase and haul around. If you absolutely insist on 2 pairs, then wear one pair your first day of travel so you only have one pair to pack. Slacks are thinner, lighter, and more adaptable to different situations, so I encourage more of those than jeans.
Silks make an awesome choice because they don't wrinkle in a suitcase and dry quickly if they get wet. They're also as light as a feather. I always thought silks wrinkled terribly and they do if wet, but for dry packing and wearing, they're the bomb!
Limit your solid colors. With solid pants or skirts, wear shirts with patterns. With patterned skirts or dresses, wear solid tops or undergarments. Patterns don't show wrinkles or dirt as much, so you can get away with wearing them more.
Bottom line? Everything you bring, from clothes to shoes or purses and jewelry, it all MUST be able to do double or triple duty during the trip or you shouldn't be taking them. Trust me, you don't need as much as you think and as my husband and I like to say, if there's something we forget that IS that important, there's always the handy credit card or traveler's checks to buy what you're missing.
Ask yourself this - does it look like I'm bringing everything but the kitchen sink? If your answer is yes, you've probably packed too much and it's time to pare it down. Follow the suggestions above and you'll get the suitcase to close.
Kellie Blackwell, MT, ASCP has had a passion for travel since the summer of her junior year in high school, when she had the pleasure of spending an entire month in Europe through the encouragement of her Humanities teacher and a school-sponsored program. Since then she has had a job traveling the world teaching hospital and lab staff how to use computers in their day-to-day jobs, married a bloke that hails from England, and traveled many more places both in North America and abroad.
Considering her career started by working in Microbiology for 9 years, nobody would have guessed this introvert would love meeting new cultures and enjoying the adventures of new places, but the "travel bug" bit her with that first trip at age 16. Now, she chooses to spread the joy of travel to others through her passion, knowledge, experiences, photographs, and crazy adventure stories, so that they, too, can catch the bug.
Considering her career started by working in Microbiology for 9 years, nobody would have guessed this introvert would love meeting new cultures and enjoying the adventures of new places, but the "travel bug" bit her with that first trip at age 16. Now, she chooses to spread the joy of travel to others through her passion, knowledge, experiences, photographs, and crazy adventure stories, so that they, too, can catch the bug.
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