Sharing-Style

A lot depends upon how long of a trip you need to pack for is going to be. Most of my trips are 2-3 days. I also, have a couple of different “go-to” suitcases that I turn to, based on how many days I will need to pack for, however, I typically fly out of a smaller airport and across multiple airlines (so I have lost all status) so the smaller the bag the better off I am in being able to find overhead space for it.

Before I pack for any trip I visit weather.com and check out what I am going to be dealing with at my destination.

As a general practice, I typically pull out a couple of different looks in advance of the trip and make sure I have all of the accessories and shoes figured out.

Shoes. There are a lot of considerations when deciding on your shoes – and these considerations can directly affect what outfits you choose. The ideal solution includes having to pack as few shoes as possible, since shoes eat a lot of space in your suitcase. If you workout when you travel, you will need a pair of sneakers – can these double as your comfortable shoes? I ALWAYS bring a pair of comfortable shoes when I travel – I have spent way too many hours walking around in the airport killing time waiting on flights. The next shoe challenge is, can you build two or more outfits around one pair/color of shoes. (Remember my challenge around building your outfit from the bottom up? This is a great place to repurpose that trick.)

You can never go wrong with a classic pair of black dress pants.

Handbag vs. computer bag? Again, my goal on business trips is to bring everything on the plane with me, so that I can hit the ground running as soon as I deboard. Because I have to travel with my laptop, I travel with a backpack and shove my handbag in my backpack before I board. So the bag I bring needs to be small enough to fit in my backpack.

Toiletries, the best solution is to keep a separate set of everything you use packed for travel, but of course that doesn’t always work. In the case of having to pack the things you use, put each item to the side starting the night before, and again in the morning – then pack all of the “thing” after you have finished getting ready in the morning.

I’m never fully sure about black shoes with navy pants, but I always feel extremely comfortable and polished when I wear this look. What is your position on black shoes and navy pants?