You don't need a new wardrobe every time you go on vacation

3 weeks in Greece with 1 Carry-on

I’m decently well travelled. I moved to Florence Italy when I was 18 to be an Au Pair and ended up staying for 2 years, I solo travelled South America at 22 for 10 weeks, I’ve been to 15 states, I lived in Mexico when I was 2 years old and spent every summer in the Sierras above Guanajuato until I was 14… you get the idea.

But because of my thrifty mom (read more about her here), I never was exposed to the idea that we need to buy new stuff to go on vacation. I never felt the urge to shop for a trip, not even just the urge - but the entire concept was foreign to me.

This was until I became an adult, and started existing online, and I realized this is actually an incredibly pervasive idea. You build a whole new wardrobe just to go exist in a new place on the planet for a week or 2. Then you come home and probably never wear those things again, or wear them sparingly.

It’s almost as if we have the desire to be someone else when we’re traveling.

While I do understand the allure of wanting to look the part, or have something special for a special trip, or even the more pragmatic need to buy specialty clothing for specific activities, I think this trend deserves a critical look.

Do we really need to build a new wardrobe just for a trip? If we do buy something new, is it filling a gap that genuinely exists in our closet? Is all of this just contributing massively to our overconsumption culture in fashion?

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So with that…

Here’s how I went to Greece for 3 weeks with 1 carry-on bag.

I start every packing journey with the following process:

1. What “blocks” are happening on your trip?

I define “blocks” as different locations and activities you’ll be doing on your trip. For this Greece trip we had 2 distinct blocks:

• City Greece - we were spending about a week in Thessaloniki visiting my in-laws who live there, going to fancy restaurant, generally doing city things, and walking a lot.

• Island Greece - we were then spending 10 nights on Skopelos island doing island things, this was going to mainly consist of sitting on the beach all day, eating, and some light sight-seeing.

2. Any special occasions?

Do you need to specifically bring an outfit for an event? In my case, this trip we had my husbands 40th birthday and I wanted to wear something befitting the big milestone. So I decided to use precious carry-on room for one of my favorite gowns, even though I knew I’d only use it once.

Dress - Shoes - Bag - Watch - Necklace - Bracelet

3. Pull & Try

I always start my packing journey by pulling out items from my closet, and trying everything on. What outfits can I build? If an item is only working with 1 outfit, and it’s not a special occasion outfit - I ditch it. I try and make as many combinations as possible. This also helps me narrow down in each category. I ended up getting down to just 1 pair of pants, and 2 shorts.

4. Map everything out in the Indyx App

I create a specific “collection” for each trip, and then add every item to the collection. This allows me to see everything together, and start building outfits in the app. It also helps me quantify how many times each item is being used in an outfit, and if any pieces are super low usage, I ditch them. Shoutout to

Harriet Hadfield

for teaching me about this app! I’m obsessed.

5. Fill gaps if needed

Inevitably there may be a gap that you do need to fill before your trip. Last summer I bought 4 swimsuits for my new postpartum body that I just re-used this year. This year I realized that my summer dresses category was sorely lacking and the majority of my dresses were fall/winter focused, I also knew I wanted a pair of big dark sunglasses to protect my eyes since all my existing sunnies were wire framed.

I ended up buying 3 new items before Greece. 2 I loved, 1 was a miss. All 3 were bought from my favorite consignment shop in Austin TX - MOSS Consignment.

1. The black linen jumpsuit - this was my mistake piece. I only wore it twice, on the plan there and back. Ultimately I feel like the fit was slightly off, and I didn’t bring the right shoes to style this jumpsuit. Ultimately I think I’ll love this in my wardrobe once I style it correctly, and I do think I’m going to get it tailored to fit better in the bodice.

2. The Celine Sunnies - These were an impulse buy that worked out really well. I was at the counter checking out, and tried these on and they had to come home with me. I loved the “fuck off, don’t talk to me” persona they gave me, and knew they would be a staple for me at the beach. As someone with highly sensitive eyes, I also wanted a very dark pair. Instant classic, I wore them almost every day.

3. The white linen dress - this one was worn a lot less than I anticipated. It’s super heavy and flouncy with a luxurious amount of fabric, but ironically didn’t get as much wear as I thought it would. It wasn’t quite a city dress for my first block, but we also didn’t do as much sigh seeing on the Island as I thought we would - which is where I envisioned wearing this. Still love the dress though!

6. Packing Cubes!

Packing cubes are my new best friend. Not because I want to cram as much as possible into my suitcase - but because they keep me sooo organized. These make it so I’m not a hot mess in my hotel room with clothes strewn about. I use these packing cubes from Cotopaxi.

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In the last few years I’ve used a version of this methodology to pack my carryon for every international trip we’ve been on, in fact I ONLY own a carry-on bag. And I’ve never felt like I wish I could have bought a whole new wardrobe before my trips. So to all you out there worrying about what you’re going to wear on your trip - I promise you, you probably already have the majority of what you need.

xoxo

Rich Mommy