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Personal Styling Tips for Holiday Packing
Hi, anyone going on holiday? Short break or long getaway, I have some personal styling tips for you to make it a little easier to plan the perfect outfits.
I’ll be discussing how to make sure you have everything you need, picking the right pieces for your destination, and how to make outfits that can be mixed and matched.
What do I need?
So you’re going on holiday, woo that’s great! I’m jealous, I hope you have a nice time. Wether it’s a long weekend away or a month somewhere, you’re going to need to plan.
No one wants to go away and feel like they wish they’d brought something. Or that they’ve packed too many items they don’t need and have no room for cramming funny shaped pasta into their case.
If it’s a holiday where you plan to shop a lot, you’ll have to asses what your essentials are and what can be worn more than once.
How many days are you going away? Where are you going? What will you be doing on this holiday and what will the weather be like? Great questions to ask before you even get to filling a case.
Something my mum has always liked to do before she goes away, weeks before, is make a list of everything she might need to pack. Her list is always written on paper with things like tops x6.
You can do this in any way that helps you personally plan if that’s digital or analogue. You can tally, or name clothes or whatever works for you.
If you leave good time before your holiday to think about this you can then go to your wardrobe and see if you have what you imagine yourself wearing in your holiday snaps. As well as identify what’s missing.
It’s also good for knowing which pieces to wash before you go away and what not wear too close to departure. As we well as knowing you haven’t left anything behind when you pack back up at the end of your trip.
Picking the right pieces for your destination
A good time before your holiday, you’ll want to think about if you need to buy anything for it so that you have plenty of time to try and refund.
Have your good walking sandals broken? Are all your beach clothes in a good state? Are you from the US coming to the UK and not used to how much colder and rainier it is over here and need something water proof?
Your destination may be cooler in the evening than in the day time, how will you warm up an outfit? You may need to dress more modest where you’re going. There may be smarter outfits you want to wear in the evening. Do you have a tuxedo? Is it a pair of heels you want to just walk down to dinner in your hotel in?
Perhaps you know you’re going somewhere with colourful buildings and would like to look more colourful to match. Sometimes it’s nice to coordinate with the vibe of the destination so your pictures can look good.
It may be that it’s been a few years since you’ve been away or to that type of destination. Your beach clothes may not be in a good state any more. Or your body, lifestyle and taste may have changed. The pieces that were right a few years ago may not suit who you are today.
If you’re going on a destination wedding holiday, do you have the right pieces for it? Can you able to make parts of that outfit work for your holiday outfits around the wedding? It may be your suit can be worn casually, your dress can take a casual top over it or your accessories work for other evening outfits. And if you’re buying new pieces for this wedding, try and get more uses from them.
Making outfits
This is the fun bit. At least for me, but I believe we can all enjoy it, it doesn’t have to be a chore. Put on some music if you need to, have the person you’re going away with there for support and advice. Perhaps they can coordinate outfits with you.
So you’ve identified all the earlier questions. Time to get out those pieces you want to wear and lay them all on the bed before they hit the case.
I like to put things on my bed folded in outfits. Jackets, and cardigans first row all together. Then tops and dresses, then bottoms. Shoes on the floor, bags on the side and accessories being the final step.
You can start to think of if the jacket enough pieces to justify packing it. With bulky pieces, you want as little as possible so make the ones you bring count. You can travel in a heavier one and pack the lighter. It may be you realise with the cardigans that you don’t need that many that are similar to each other. Perhaps a few outfits can match the same cardigan.
The same goes with bottoms. Those jeans may work with a bunch of tops, this colourful skirt may go with all your monochrome tops for example.
After removing superfluous items, you can then think about spares. On holiday you tend to change outfits more and may want extra t-shirts for sweaty walking days.
Accessories and bags can then tie this all together. Some people have 1 bag they use for everything. I have a range that I swap around for outfits in different colours and sizes. Sometimes I want to carry a lot, or maybe it’s just my phone and keys. It can be like this on holiday too. You may want evening bags that are small, bigger ones for days out and something for the beach to carry a towel and get a little sandy.
People have different advice on how to pack a case and there are many videos out there with folding hacks. I’m a personal stylist, I advise on outfits rather than organisation. I’ve seen people that like to roll things, put underwear in shoes and such. It’s also quite nice to have a canvas bag to put your dirty clothes in to separate them so you’re not confused when you unpack.
I hope you enjoyed this blog! There’s also a video version I’ve made on YouTube which you can check out here.
Still need some more personalised help? Book a free discovery call with me and we can have a chat about how I can work with you ahead of the of your holiday to find the perfect holiday outfits for you.
