Traveling light this summer with all the stylish essentials you need

There’s freedom in traveling light – less stress, fewer bags, more room for spontaneity, and no need to wait for your hold luggage to come off the plane. We’re big proponents of less is more here at 40+ style – of carefully selecting a capsule wardrobe rather than opting for fast fashion and the latest trends. So, summer vacations are the perfect time to embrace this same mindset with your packing and put together a capsule you can mix and match during your trip. Below, you’ll find our best tips for traveling light.

In this article, we’ll assume you’re heading off on vacation for a week and will need enough outfits for 7 days of travel and sightseeing. Let’s unzip that suitcase and get started!

Rethink what you need

When you’re packing for a vacation, it’s tempting to throw everything you love into your suitcase. However, don’t focus on individual items. Instead, if you’re traveling light, think in terms of outfits and build a capsule wardrobe that you can mix and match each day.

Use a method that works for you

There are many methods for packing light, and each has its merits.

Our favorite is the 1-2-3-4-5-6 packing rule, so we’re going to focus on that, but we’re adapting it slightly.

The original ‘rule’ is 1 hat, 2 pairs of shoes, 3 bottoms, 4 tops, 5 pairs of socks, and 6 pairs of underwear. Now, given that you’ll be wearing sandals without socks much of the time, we would switch some of these out for your bras.

And, while we want to travel light, this is a a little too pared down for our liking, so we’ll be making it the 1-1-1-1-2-3-4-5-6 rule (not as catchy we know – but it is more practical). We’re adding 1 dress, 1 bathing suit, and 1 lightweight jacket. Plus a few extra accessories. Read on to see a vacation capsule we’ve put together with these guidelines.

similar top (another option here), shorts, sneakers, sunhat and sunglasses

Bring versatile items

Carefully consider how you can style items in various ways. For instance, a shirt can be worn as a bathing suit cover-up, a scarf can be used as a wrap, or a stretchy maxi skirt can be pulled up to serve as a dress.

Choose the right bags

Opt for a lightweight suitcase that exactly fits your airline’s cabin luggage policy. Choose a crossbody bag or backpack for heading through the airport and sightseeing. You should be able to carry this on your flight as well as your suitcase. However, if your airline is particularly strict, ensure you have room to pack it in your case so you’re only carrying one item on board.

Don’t forget your accessories

While you’re aiming to travel light, accessories don’t take up much room, and they help you change the look of the same outfit, allowing you to wear it again and again in a slightly different way.

What to travel in

Before you even start to lay out what you want to put in your suitcase, think about what you will travel in, and how you can wear those items again on vacation. A tank top can be worn with your shorts, a scarf as a wrap over your shoulders, and a lightweight jacket over your outfit if the evenings are cooler.

Rip Curl High Tide Fleece Button-Up Shacket – NEXT Monochrome Embroidered Cotton Rib Tank – Rhone Revive Pocket Flare Leggings – Veja Campo Sneakers

Your traveling light capsule

Now that you’re thinking strategically, let’s put together a capsule wardrobe that will take you through seven days of warm-weather travel.

1 hat

Unless you want to wear your hat through the airport or attach it to your bag, make sure to choose a packable option so it won’t get damaged and broken in your suitcase. A straw panama is stylish, perfect for keeping the sun off your face, and will go with anything.

Nordstrom Packable Woven Straw Panama Hat

1 dress

Of course, you can pack more than one dress if you wish, but we think one will be enough, considering you also have shorts, pants, and a skirt to wear later on. Consider how casual or formal your trip is likely to be. For sightseeing and meals out, a t-shirt dress is a great option, as you can dress it down with sneakers or add jewelry, sandals, or a jacket for a slightly more formal look. You don’t necessarily need to choose a neutral color. You just need to ensure your dress will go with most of the other items you are packing.

Eileen Fisher Crewneck Organic Cotton Maxi T-Shirt Dress

1 bathing suit

Choose a flattering one-piece bathing suit that you can wear with your shirts or under them. A ruched black one-piece is a timeless classic that you can wear vacation after vacation. We love the wrap-around style of the Miraclesuit (below).

Miraclesuit Solid Sanibel DD-Cup One-Piece Swimsuit

1 lightweight jacket

Just as with your dress, you can alter the formality of your jacket to suit your trip. A shacket, denim jacket, or a cardigan will be perfect for more casual vacations, while you could opt for a crease-resistant blazer if you want to elevate your look.

Rip Curl High Tide Fleece Button-Up Shacket

4 tops

Moving on to tops, these are what you want most of, as they are more noticeable and need to be refreshed more often due to heat and sweat. Pack a t-shirt, tank top, shirt, and a more formal top, such as a blouse or waistcoat.

Nordstrom Everyday V-Neck Pima Cotton Blend T-Shirt – NEXT Monochrome Embroidered Cotton Rib Tank – Open Edit The Curator Notched Lapel Vest – Nordstrom Oversized Cover-Up Shirt

Nordstrom Everyday V-Neck Pima Cotton Blend T-Shirt – Open Edit Everyday Pleated Linen Blend Shorts – ECCO Flowt Wedge Cork Sandals – BAGGALLINI Central Park Sling Bag – Nordstrom Packable Woven Straw Panama Hat – Open Edit Cord Pendant Necklace

3 bottoms

You can wear your bottoms a few times before you need to wash them. Choose neutrals to ensure you can wear them with all your tops. A pair of shorts, a lightweight pair of wide-leg pants, and a midi skirt will enable you to create lots of different outfits. Choose natural materials like linen or cotton to keep you cool and comfortable.

Open Edit Everyday Pleated Linen Blend Shorts – Favorite Daughter Linen Wide Leg Pants – Eileen Fisher Bias Cut Organic Linen A-Line Skirt

2 pairs of shoes

We’ve stuck to two pairs of shoes: a pair of sneakers for travel and a pair of sandals to increase your options upon arrival. But, given you will only have one pair in your suitcase, you can probably break the rules if you want to and take one more pair. Consider shoes that will complement all your outfits, rather than just one pair for everyday wear.

ECCO Flowt Wedge Cork Sandals – Veja Campo Sneakers

Rip Curl High Tide Fleece Button-Up Shacket – Eileen Fisher Crewneck Organic Cotton Maxi T-Shirt Dress – Veja Campo Sneakers – BAGGALLINI Central Park Sling Bag – Open Edit Chubby Enamel Hoop Earrings – zestt organics The Dreamsoft Travel Scarf

Accessories

As we mentioned, your accessories won’t take up too much room and can make all the difference to your outfits. Wear your scarf as a wrap for travel, and pack a few stylish statement pieces of jewelry.

Open Edit Cord Pendant Necklace – Open Edit Domed Geometric Hoop Earrings – Open Edit Chubby Enamel Hoop Earrings – zestt organics The Dreamsoft Travel Scarf

bags

Choose the bags you put your clothes in as carefully as you do your outfits. You’ll need a cross-body bag for traveling and sightseeing, a lightweight suitcase that meets the requirements of your airline, and packing cubes to help you keep everything organized. The Baggalini bag (below) slings across your body for security, and it comes in a vast choice of colors, so there should be one to complement the colors in your capsule.

BAGGALLINI Central Park Sling Bag – Béis The 21-Inch Carry-On Roller – BAGSMART Compression Packing Cubes for Travel

Open Edit The Curator Notched Lapel Vest – Eileen Fisher Bias Cut Organic Linen A-Line Skirt – ECCO Flowt Wedge Cork Sandals – Béis The 21-Inch Carry-On Roller – Open Edit Domed Geometric Hoop Earrings

Streamline beauty products

If you want to travel with carry-on only, you’ll likely be limited in the amount of liquid you can take with you. So, choose smaller versions of your favorite products or look for travel bottles that allow you to decant a small amount of your shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and so on.

Additionally, you can always hand wash items while you’re on vacation, so don’t forget to pack a small bottle of laundry detergent.

Origins Bestsellers 6-Piece Travel Size Cleansing & Moisturizing Set – Clinique MVP’s Skin Care & Makeup Mini Set – Tocelffe 18pack Travel Bottles – PURSONIC Portable Electric Toothbrush – SinkSuds Laundry Detergent Travel Size

Brands to look at for your travel capsule

We hope we’ve inspired you to put together a capsule for your next trip. For these looks, we’ve drawn from these brands:

• Nordstrom
• Open Edit
• Everlane
• Eileen Fisher
• Caslon
• Cotton On
• Pact
• NEXT

Your traveling light outfits together in one capsule

Below, you can see how you can put together the clothes, shoes, and accessories we’ve featured to create enough outfits for your trip. You can wear any of the tops with any of the bottoms, switch around the shoes, and you could wear the waistcoat over the dress.

What are your tips for traveling light? We’d love to hear them in the comments below

Continue reading:

1. How to make your wardrobe basics shine
2. Stylish summer shoes built for sunshine and travel
3. Sailing into style: Celebrating the maritime trend

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