Everything You Need For A Holiday Capsule Wardrobe

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I'm so excited because my mind is moving towards the holidays that I'm planning.

Yes, you know a few months ago you and I both went away, correct.

And it's like you look at a year and you think sometimes that's what helps you get through the year, and you go, Okay, well, I'm going to do this, and when I want to try and do this year as I want to try and do some time in Copenhagen, which I've always imagined and hoped to go and visit. We did that episode about my obsession with Copenhagen fashion. I get a lot of joy in planning my outfits and planning my pack.

You're packing, what is your general packing strategy?

Panic? No, So what I do. A game changer for me is to have a rack. I've got a little disposable rack that caused me like, I don't know, dollars or something that I haul out and I don't do this at the last minute. Usually in the weeks leading up to Every time I think about something that I want to wear or that would be good, I'll pop it on that rack so that it means that when I start, I've got that as an option.

Yes.

The other thing that I've learned, I know that people have those formulas like three tops, two pants. Oh no, I find that doesn't work in my brain. I can't do travel maths. So what I've seen a better way to do it is to plan actual outfits and then have a broad color palette.

So it's not a capsule but not capsule, which was my next question.

And then the mistake I don't make anymore is packing for a person who I'm not so holiday maya actually doesn't exist. If I don't wear it here, I won't wear it there exactly, no matter where there is.

What about you?

Okay, Well, a couple of months ago I did a big trip and part of it, well two parts of it were quite cold and the middle part was hot. That was stressful, But I was packing for a family. My husband, well, he's saw a pat for himself and a child. I have so many hacks, I have so many tips, so many what not to do.

That's a high degree of difficulty.

I hope you're not going to tell me that you all want with hand luggage, because then I have to leave the studio.

I had to purchase an extra suitcase to come home.

Thank you.

So firstly, depending on your accommodation and what was good. We had a mix of everything. So first stop, we stayed with friends in their house, second stop hotel, third stop apartment rented apartments. Yeah, I had every version. So I pack a little tupperware container with some washing powder, some pegs on top clothes, and that's for your hand washing if you desperately need to hand wash.

That's so clever because I stay in hotels, but I will always just refuse.

It's so excited. Like twelve dollars for a G string, you could buy another G string.

No, you hand wash and then you've got your little pegs and you just kind of peg wherever you can. That's a game changer. I know you like packing cubes. Yeah, I do compression packing cube. Yes, so I have several to explain to you. So compression packing cubes are great in that you know how your suitcase has the zip and then the extra zip. It's that right, So I use those for big things, and then I have smaller various things like what say, like a pile of jumpers

Oh wow.

Yeah. So if you've got puffy jackets or ski suits and you take that, or just jumpers in a coat anything, yeah.

Well that's it. And so they're fantastic. It comes in a huge kit. I think it's about fifty bucks. So depending on if you're going hot or cold, there's different cubes for your life.

I love cubes because then you can also just leave them in there. Yeah, because I'm not an unpacker.

Well yes, but then I found myself rummaging, I guess because I was trying to dress my son as well. So the ones that you can't really see through that the compression ones. I ended up putting a post it with like Alexander tops Lee jeans clever. That's important. And then Kmart have these fantastic packing cubes essentially for shoes. So it's a big zippy thing. You zip it open and it fits six pairs of shoes, slides in. It's soft like a packing cube fabric, and then you zip

Oh it does.

You've just got to pull on it a bit.

Do you.

Yeah.

I find the hair dryer will work in an emergency.

That's a good idea.

Clothes on and just blast yourself with.

The hair dryer, that's a great idea. Or not on, or hang it over the door, hang it over the back of the door. Because my husband tried to steam his shirt with the steamer with it on.

That's a trap.

Yes, he's got a lot of scars. I have these little fantastic things. They're called coat hanger extenders, because no matter where you stay, you get like four or five coat hangers someone. They look a little like a little figure eight and then you just hook it over that and then you hook the next run. And when I do whole outfits with these little extenders.

So do you have any garment bags that you like? Do you travel with any? I suppose it depends, like going to Melbourne for two days for work is different to going.

No, But do you mean garment bag like a big long dress Exactly.

Sometimes if I've got somewhere and I need a particular outfit, I'll hang it inside so that I can straight away just hang.

It on the whole outfit. I've never thought of that.

Yeah, but it takes a lot of room, Yeah, it does.

These little things are tiny, and they come a pack of like fifty and I use them at home too to plan my outfits. They're really handy. And my husband was like, they're the hangars, and I was like, here go, I've just turned one into four. If you're traveling with family, my biggest tip is and touch what. I've never had a missing suitcase yet, but put a few essentials for everyone in each suitcase, like Undy's. I mean, not a toothbrush, you can buy them, but Undy's in one set of clothes,

Yes, my daughter did that. When she traveled over so that's very useful.

Yes. And then there's this little watch you can buy with an air tag on the back of you're traveling with your child, so I put the air tag on the back of him and he wears his little watch just because he's a runner.

Clever.

Yeah, so your valuable things, your child got a runner exactly, so they're handy.

Now.

I got so many questions about safety and handbags and walking around. So my main tip is if you're going to a busy city and you know, not the tourists particularly obvious, but you know oftentimes you're looking at maps and people like there's a tourist. So I would do a crossbody bag at the front, or quite a cool bum bag verstsy do this awesome crossbody that then changes into a bum bag, but it's still their thatched leather like it's awesome.

See with bumbags, I never wear them around my waist. I always wear them across body so that the bum part is there across your chest.

I wear it to the side. And then if it's if you're going somewhere cold, I suggest putting your crossbody or your bum bag on venue coat. I mean you've got to have your wits about you, but you just don't want something to go missing. And in there is obviously my wallet and my phone or whatever. If you are shopping in the EU, take your passport if you're going to buy something fancy, so you can get the

And also leave some time at the airport when you're coming back.

Well, I was going to do that and the line was literally like four hours, so I just do it as I go okay at the shop. Oh yeah. And then my other bag that I just have and my husband and I share is just a big canvas toe. I've got a long shomp, one of those zip shut ones that's twenty years older.

It's a brand new falls into nothing yep.

And with that there's water, bottles, snacks, sunscreen, umbrella, whatever you need. So if someone happened to steal that, not the end of your life. But everything's really safely on you. I always pack a few large garbage bags. You need them. It might be wet clothes, it might be dirty clothes. There's a reason to have a few large garbage bags in your suitcase.

But if you're away for a long time, what do you then? Do you just carry around garbage bags of wet clothes.

For two weeks?

Sorry? What I mean is say you're changing hotels or something. No, no, no, you get to the next location and then you hang them up. Or if it's swimmers, you know oftentimes like for example, we didn't fly or six pm, but my son w to swim all day quickly change in wet.

So when you say garbage bag, you don't mean like a big, like fifty liter bit I really, yeah, why not?

Just like a plastic bag. Not that we're meant to have them, That's.

What I's gon to say. Where you're gonna get them from? They're impossible. Everything's paper, which is good. And that's another tip. It's raining and your shop at ZrH and M forget it. Those bags just melt to the pavement. So plastic bags are handy. A big reusable garbage bag. I always pack a small stain remover pen. This is very organized.

Wow.

Yeah, Because if you're like you know, going out for fancy dinner and you're wearing a nice white shirt or whatever, also I have a child, So you can get this little kit from Woolies and it's a tiny pan and a tiny spray.

I don't understand how anyone can travel with anything white.

I wore mostly white, and I got so many questions about that. How but what do you mean, like, what's the difference between white and black?

Because every time I wear something white, I have my trick where I spray hair spray the collar, which sometimes will give me two wears out of a white thing, but usually it's one where per white rabbit.

But I wouldn't wear a T shirt twice anyway, would you? Okay?

When I'm traveling, Hell, yeah, I'm shitzy.

Really, I wash everything anyway. Okay, yeah, so a little stain remover thing is always handy. Check your hair tools to make sure that they're compatible if you're going to the US, usually UK and Europe, and I think all the Asian countries are fine. But I have the little GHD travel hair dry. It's tiny, folds in half goes like that and it's fabulous, just as good as a normal one. That's really good. You can buy take my I'm so addicted to my dieson air straight that I

So what do you do do you literally stick it to your armpit? No, you stick it.

To the jacket, so the absorbent pad pit is under your arm. You don't put a sticky bit to your armpit.

It got confused, Okay, I thought you stick it to your arm pit.

They're also a great way to feel. But then when I was overseas, I thankfully was trying to find a bathroom and couldn't wander into this weird old arcade came across his vintage shoe store and bought the most beautiful vintage shoes from the seventies that had never been worn. Twenty yero Happy days. Then we'll go out to dinner that night. But they haven't had that resoling thing he done, which is also like fifty dollars when they put that kind of rubber thing on the bottom of a leather salt.

So hang on. You stuck the sticky side onto the shoe.

Yeah, onto the leather, and then I wasn't gonna slip on the pavement because it had like panty liner.

That's very clever.

Panty liners will change your life. Just have them on you all the time and you will see they're like the Magiva of travel.

Okay, it's the only permissible use of the word panty loud.

It's true. It's so creepy.

And lastly, before we go into actual outfits, I just have a lot of little small mesh bags. These are from Amazon for like five cents. That's my little makeup that's my teeth, floss, hair ties. It just keeps everything.

Source the keys that you can see into them.

And mesh takes up no space, so you know, put meds in one, make out whatever. These will change your life and you can buy them on Amazon in all different color and what's good.

I'm often asked about how I change bags. That's how I do it, say a lot, that's how I change bags. I've got that much my key. I want to ask you about the plane, what to wear and what to pack? How do you decide what to wear? Because I always imagine that I want to look nice in an airport, but then I always just need to be comfortable, agreed?

Do you have to be comfortable? Honestly? Also on the whole holiday, you're not going to wear something uncomfortable.

Also, who cares seeing you in an airport?

Who cares? Well, Australia's so far away. You pretty much get off anywhere feeling very disheveled. Yes, see what I feel as best disheveled as you can. So my recommendation, after so much trial and error, is a knit pant, but they have to have pockets, so you know. Toglow have a famous pair that they've just recently added pockets to because everyone said, please pockets, so drawstring. They're lightweight enough.

Right, they won't crease.

No, no, no, they won't crease. And they're like them their pants, but they're knitted. Correct. There's another pair that are great. They're not knitted, but they're buy Lululemon. But they're not for exercise. They're just a really comfy, like a lounge wear pant. Yes, and then they've got pockets as well, and then they're not tied at the bottom because I want to wear a trainer.

Do you always do them in black?

No?

I don't. Actually I do like a car Qui or a gray. I feel like black shows up dirt almost as much as white.

And it's true. And what do you wear with them?

So then I'll wear a tea and then over the top to look relatively smart, I often do a knitted cardigan blazer hybrid. So what I wore on my latest trip was like a Zara oversized knitted cardigan, but it had some structure and I wore it a lot on the trip. There's heaps of brands doing them at the moment. Cos has a beautiful knit blazer.

Because you want to be comfortable and be able to sleep. I'm always either boiling hot or freezing or.

I was boiling hot. But then I wore a lot on the trip because it wasn't total sloth vibes.

And it didn't stink because could you wash it or you just had your palty liners in the I.

Actually ended up taking it off. I was hot and just wearing my tea. Yeah. Right, And then I've got socks and trainers and trainers that I'm gonna wear a lot on the trip because I'm not wasting them.

How do you choose which trainers to take?

Oh?

This was hard for me. So I ended up taking New Balance and my hon A Suker Tigers. I didn't take any of my summers or my added asks because they're not comfy enough. And they were great. So I wore New Balance on the plane, and the knitted pants kind of covered it enough so if it's tight, it kind of looks like you're going to the gym. Yeah, but they were fantastic. And then in my carry on, I will pack a change of tea, a change of bra and a change of undies. Yeah, and panty liners.

Can I go back to the knit pants. Do you wear them just on travel days and on planes or do you also wear them through the trip?

And if so, for what?

Interestingly? That was good? So we're staying with friends at the start, and I forgot I always just love a lightweight cotton robe to get ready, and like, I've got pjs and stuff that we're going downstairs playing with the kids, So I would wear them a lot quote unquote around the house or in the rented apartment, around the apartment because that's no road. The outfit that I always forget to pack, yes, which is the mooching mooching Yeah, so.

That's kind of fat.

Yeah, and then you just wash it before and I wear the same one back, So that's so handy. Do you wash all your clothes on the road, you must have, Well, it depends. I mean I didn't hugely overpack. I just didn't pack correctly, so I did wash what I needed or really wanted to wear.

Again, tell me a little bit about overpacking because I'm going to be general here, but the big difference between men and women men in my experience feel that if there's anything that they pack that they don't wear, somehow they've lost, whereas I never.

Feel like that. I like to have options agreed.

And you know what, that's interesting because had my husband not said every second day I want to wear this is dady, and I wouldn't have done as much washing. But he packed like three T shirt. It's on a pair of pants. I slightly overpacked, but I also challenged my shoes when you travel, Yeah, he doesn't know how to one. Well, I've also doing Alexanders, I may sort of do it all at once. He could the five year old. Now, so back to what you take. No,

Keep that on me. Anything that you couldn't better lose.

Correct, because you don't want to go through travel insurance. Yes, I masks, earplugs, those waxy ones that you can shove right in. Because I've got my big long shop in my suitcase for later, worst case scenario I do too much shopping. I've got that little suitcase and I can use the long shomp on the way home. Okay, so that's pretty much each. I mean that's a lot. Maybe a book, No, I don't actually take a book. Lollies, snacks, that's it.

So travel with a kindle.

Yeah.

What about devices and charges?

Yes, make sure they've still got the USB. That's what plugs into the thingy and then whatever device works. I take that, I take a battery pack. Charges are a punish honestly, but now you can get different charges power banks that go into the wall in your hotel or whatever, and then you've just got to plug the thingies. But it's annoying that some USB some USC.

I buy from Amazon, the ones that have both in the same.

Yes, two of each or whatever. I agreed, agreed, that's fantastic. So yeah, that's what I do on the plane.

Packing regrets.

Yeah, my trip really snuck up on me. Even though I was so excited, I didn't try my footwear on with enough combinations or consider how much we'd be walking around. So I got some really comfy off white ballet flat that looked great and I was so comforted to walk in. But after thirty thousand steps that day, I could not move through a killer. Well, they didn't hurt my feet my back, because that's.

What I mean. Yeah, I've got no padding.

Yeah, that's it. So they didn't hurt my feet at all. That's a great I mean, oh, I honestly was never the same. And I think also just be mindful of where you're going if you're doing several locations. I was most excited for the warmth because we were coming out of winter in Sydney at the time, So I packed way too much for that part and not enough for the cold bits and that's where you need stuff. So just be really realistic. We always talk on this podcast

Do you wear your bulkyost things on the plane? Definitely on the way home like you coach.

Yeah, well no, I wore the cardigan, but yes if I'm overweight. And that's another really handy little tip. You can buy on Amazon or even k might do them. It's a little handheld wayer. Yeah, and it'll weigh your case. And if you do do a lot of shopping or you know, take something home for a friend or you know, whatever it may be, soven is make sure you book extra luggage on the website before getting to the airport,

Shop, Yes, relaxation.

Like I said before, take your passport with you, guard it with your life. If you're going to buy something relatively expensive to get the tax back, the Aussie dollar sucks in the UK and the US and the EU right now, So go with that in mind, do some research. I took a lot of photos in like Zara, Nature and m of the tag and then found it. Yeah, so I only bought things that were really really special that I couldn't get at home, that were really unique or brands or whatever.

Because even the so called cheap things and not.

Cheap like you tango, it was almost double. So that's why I also did a lot of thrifting, because it's souvenirs from your trip and that's kind of one of a kind. And on that. If you do fall in love with something, just buy it. You're not going to go back to that shop, You're not going to walk all the way down there. Just buy it. And also don't forget we're in opposite season, so if you are going to the Northern Hemisphere, it's a great time to look for sales. If you're deep in a season, they

How wondred percent? So bougie and budget I need advice?

Okay, what did you what's spend on?

What's budgety?

When we landed in London, I went straight to Selfridges, Selfages and Code is a huge department store, a bit like here David Jones, and they sell Victoria Beckham beauty. So I got the relatively new concealer and I got the Bronzer because the shipping here is outrageous and I just wanted them, so they were my bougies. I didn't really buy anything really expensive fashion wise because it just wasn't worth it. But my budget, you're not gonna like.

But now I hear so much about Crimark. I never understood what it was.

It is very hit and miss, but the hits are so good and it's massive, it's home, it's everything. And then there was one in Spain and there's one in Paris. Now they might be big everywhere, but I used to go in the UK. So I bought some Barrel Legg jeans. Sorry maa A two brute. I love them. They were sixteen your own. They do collubs with a lot of celebs, so the Reader Aura Club is amazing and I bought Barrel Leg trousers. There were twenty. I know their stuff.

I like that tip about looking at labels that aren't sold here. Necessarily, you might also have access to a bigger range and then you don't have to play shipping.

Well that is one thing. So in Zara over there, you can see on their tag it says US and UK market only or witch market. So some of the stuff I was like, oh, I really like that, and then I saw that on the label. I was like, well, now I really want it because it's not coming to Australia.

Well, often Australian Zara is it just the stuff that doesn't get sold anywhere?

It just gets such we get a lot less and so do some research. You can even use chat GPT now to ask it to make you an itininary or tell you the shops where you are. A yeah, it's fantastic.

So I go and live in Copenhagen for a month.

Well, I'll move to Paris and we can visit each other. Thank you for letting me share my tips. One last thing though, I've got a lot of Instagram dms going. How can you be bothered? And I'm like, it's not extra effort. Most of the time. I had the phone over my face and I don't wear make up. I really did my hair, and you know, I've put the outfit together in my head.

So what do they mean? How can you be bothered to do what to put.

Together a relatively nice outfit? I guess, but for me it was mostly sip skirts, teas, a trench and trainers.

That was the other thing that I always remember is that so often when we're getting dressed at home, we're seeing the same people, so we've got to have different outfits. But when you're away, you're really seeing the same people two days in a row, so you can wear the same thing.

I wore the same cream slipskirt with five different tops cream Ania. Yeah. No, I'm just brave. Thank you for listening to Nothing to Wear and don't forget you need to sign up to the Nothing to Wear newsletter. There's a link in the show notes and it'll hit your in box for free. And if you loved this episode, we have an episode on the best Australian made favorites to keep you cool this summer. There's a link in the show notes to that episode. See you next week.