Traveling Truly

Why it is the ultimate travel tool and how you can build your own

Hey friends! I mentioned briefly in my post about moving abroad how much I love my capsule wardrobe. I knew for about a year where I would be moving after I graduated college, and was able to spend some time tailoring my wardrobe to a few versatile, classic pieces that could travel with me without taking up much space.

Despite being the klutz I am, I’m a sucker for wearing white. I knew white and black would be the main neutrals in my wardrobe along with nude/camel tones. I also tend to gravitate toward light pink or a kind-of olive green for accents. I spent about six months shaping my wardrobe to fit this color palette and it has been SO useful for me throughout my move.

I did not bring many clothes with me overseas. Like, at all. Come back later for a post with an exact list of the clothing items and extras I packed, but for now just trust me that it was not a lot.

I definitely brought more than I would’ve on, say, a backpacking trip, but I was moving to one country to settle down into regular life and work here for a year, so there was obviously no need to bring a bare-bones backpacker wardrobe.

As you can (kinda) see in the picture, I have a couple of dresses, a couple of nice-ish jackets, and then just lots of basic stuff. However, because each piece coordinates with the rest of the wardrobe, I can take these few basic pieces and make so many outfits with them!

The jackets and a couple of the tops I bought once I got here, and the rest came with me in my little suitcase. Of course, this is not all of the clothing I brought. I also brought a few pairs of pants, some athletic wear, pajamas, etc.,.

Why do I need to minimize my clothing for travel?

Well, to state the obvious- baggage fees are outrageous, especially if flying overseas. Actually, even just for a short intra-European flight from Wizz Air, the baggage can easily end up costing twice as much as your actual plane ticket!

Luggage is also just a hassle. If you will be doing much hopping around from place-to-place, keeping your belongings to no more than a carry-on makes a HUGE difference. No one likes hauling a suitcase around town or onto the subway or bus. It gets old REAL FAST.

Another thing to consider:

If you will be traveling anywhere where laundry will not be readily accessible or convenient, you typically want to pack clothing that can be mixed and matched together to create many different outfits with ease. Traveling with too many clothes can really end up being more of a burden than a help, even if you’re not backpacking.

For example, I spent 5 weeks in China last summer. I thought I had packed as little clothing as I could possibly have gotten away with, but when I got there I discovered that I would be doing all of my laundry in the sink of my apartment and hanging my clothes to dry on the balcony.

This was fine except I somehow had way more clothing than felt manageable to continuously wash by hand in our tiny sink. It didn’t help that it rained allll the time, so it took forever and a year for our clothes to dry. Basically, be mindful of your laundry situation- it will definitely affect how many clothes you can manage.

Okay, so how do I get started?

The good news is, if you’re traveling short-term, you probably already have all of the essentials for a small capsule in your closet. Anywhere from a week to a couple of months can likely be packed for easily with the basics you already own.

Look into your closet and find the staple pieces you have- blue or black jeans, a white tee (risky if you’re clumsy like me), a striped tee (my Breton is one of my favorite clothing items), and a black tank are just a few pieces that can go really far in your travel wardrobe!

For an exact list of How to Pack for 10 Days in a Carry-On, come back later! For now, let’s just talk about the general concepts:

• Find clothes that mix and match well together – I stick mostly to black and white and pink choices in simple, classic styles, but this can be in any color palette or style you like!
• Start with a few versatile neutrals – Build the foundation of your travel wardrobe with a few bottoms and tops in neutral colors that pair well together, and then decide on some versatile accent pieces (a colorful scarf, a fun patterned blouse, a bright purse, etc.)! These will add some pop to your wardrobe and keep it from feeling tired.
• Lay out what you want to bring, cut that pile in half, and then cut it in half again. – Unless you know yourself to be a chronic under-packer, this super extreme-sounding tip will completely change how you pack for the better. If you pack strategically, you will be amazed at how few clothing items it takes to have a full wardrobe!

I’m not going to lie, I have no idea how Instagram influencers keep their sanity with the seemingly endless wardrobe of flowy dresses and and ball gowns that they somehow lug with them around the world. I guess that budget travel comes with enough of its own hassle that bringing enough clothes for 3 wardrobe changes a day would just be too much!

If you’re like me and think less is more, I hope that this post has been helpful! For more slightly more long-term travel, check out How I Packed to Move Abroad for One Year.

If you have any thoughts on building or using a capsule wardrobe for travel, let me know in the comments! Happy Travels!