Now, I don’t want to sound smug but the fact is I am rather good at travelling light. I can virtually guarantee that my husband Nick and I will have the smallest, lightest bags in the airport check- in queue. Back in the day, we used to travel with a single suitcase between us until we realised that if it went astray we would literally have nothing to wear! Nowadays we split our packing between two suitcases.
I think, for some people, a sense of mild panic sets in when it comes to packing and there is a tendency to throw things in “just in case”. In fact, particularly if you are going somewhere hot, you really need relatively few clothes; you just need to do a bit of planning beforehand.
Factors to consider are:
- How long you are away for.
- What sort of holiday you are going on – beach holiday/city break/cruise/walking holiday etc.
- What activities you need to dress for -sun bathing/sight seeing/ shopping/eating out/ dancing the night away – and for what proportion of the time.
- The weather – day and evening temperatures.
Top tips for keeping clothing to a minimum
- Focus on three accent colours and a couple of neutrals – your most flattering, obviously.
- Make sure every top works with at least three bottoms and vice versa.
- Shoes are bulky to pack but you can probably get away with two pairs (yes, really!) A pair of flats for walking and heels for evening, plus flip flops/beach shoes are all you should need for a typical beach holiday. If you have them in neutral or metallic colours they will go with just about everything.
- Use accessories to ring the changes and dress outfits up; for example, adding heels and some statement earrings to the maxi you wore with flip flops during the day can take you through to dinner in the evening.
- Wear your bulkiest clothing and layers to travel to the airport.
Other packing tips
- Pack your underwear last of all. That way you can use it to plug and little gaps left by other items.
- You can pick up miniatures of most toiletries — shampoo, shower gel, toothpaste, deodorant and wipes — at Boots and elsewhere, as well as small versions of holiday basics, from sun cream to insect repellent. Or why not decant larger lotions and potions into reusable plastic bottles.
- When it comes to holiday make-up, less is more. Colour Me Beautiful do sleek customisable magnetic compacts that can accommodate eye shadows, blushers, highlighters a bronzer and lip tint, so are perfect for taking away with you. You can find all these at my online shop
- Take an E-Reader rather than books.
Sample packing list
Here is my holiday packing list for a fortnight’s beach holiday. I have actually managed to pack this within a cabin luggage allowance of 10kg weight and suitcase size 56cm x 45cm x 25cm, but do check the allowances of whichever airline you’re flying with as they do differ.
- 2 pairs trousers
- 1 -2 pairs shorts
- 2 – 3 skirts
- 10- 12 T-shirts/tops (with a selection of different necklines & sleeve lengths to avoid tan lines)
- 2 cardigans/wraps
- 3 dresses (1 of which a maxi)
- 3 bikinis/swimsuits
- 2 kaftans/sarongs /cover-ups ( Not white – stains too easily with sun tan lotion)
- Sun hat & sunglasses ( click here for tips on which sunglasses will suit you)
- Underwear – nude so that it doesn’t show through.
- Nightwear
- Jewellery
- 2 pairs of shoes + flip flops for beach/pool
If you’d like help with your holiday wardrobe or make-up, please get in touch.
Wishing you a fabulous holiday, wherever you’re going!