Pack Ingredients not Outfits

I subscribe to Malcolm Gladwell’s notion in Outliers that when you’ve applied 10,000 hours to something, you become a pro. I am a packing pro. I’ve traveled the world - as a professional, as a mom, as a fashion designer. I’ve seen many countries through many lenses while wearing many hats. And I get abnormally satisfied when I return from a trip having worn every piece in my bag while never duplicating a vibe. Creating myriad outfits that fit each moments needs. Pragmatic but still Creative.

I’m focusing here on the 3-day weekend work to personal time trip.

Know this - the first notion to get your head around is to view the items you’re bringing as ingredients that can be manipulated at will. It flat out sucks when you land in a place and discover you’ve packed the wrong “outfits” because you misjudged the tone of the city, the meetings, the temperature or what activities are planned. Pack the right items…ingredients….and you can make just about anything. I stopped at 7 outfits here; I could have added many more.

Determining the right ingredients are a must. Let’s go with a cooking analogy for a moment - sugar, rice, starch, artificial sweetener, agave - they’re all ingredients, sure. But together, they duplicate taste, they play to one tone, they don’t add variety. When determining what ingredients to pack, think of your outcome not as “look” of an outfits but rather if it will satisfy the 4 t’s [task, terrain, temp and tone]: what you’ll want to accomplish, the environment you’ll be in (office buildings, cobblestone streets), the climate and the vibe of the city and your events.

For a quick trip, color focus simplifies everything. I’m focusing primarily on ring 1 and 2 of the Tibi color wheel. From a cooking perspective, honing in on a color scheme is like you’re deciding you’re going for Asian inspired rather than Eastern European cuisine. It doesn’t mean you don’t add in an item for extra friction and interest - rather, what you’ll find is when you’ve got your focus, the additional piece that rubs against the rest better reveals itself. This helps when you’re deciding what last accessory items you’re going to throw in the bag - or even purchase once you’ve arrived. The 1&2 palette for me has me craving a couple items from ring 4 - like a bright colored blanket throw or an interesting bracelet I’ll find at the farmer’s market when I get in my down time.

Bucketing the items you’re considering by their shape and texture is imperative. These elements add dimension to what you’re wearing, it’s what keeps us from feeling repetitive when we’ve worn the same item a few times.

Hint: for a quick trip, NEVER repeat the shape and texture. Never, ever.

I’ll break down the weekend bag for you:

With these ingredients, each event of the day is covered. Repeating styles? Absolutely, but look closely - each look is put together to meet the needs of the moment of the day.

The items in my bag, I’m including them here below. You can use this literally, or figuratively. Don’t like or own the crinkled top? Fine (rude, it’s Tibi after all, but fine :)). Don’t focus on finding its exact replacement - think instead about finding an alternative that does the same thing as the top rather than looking the same as the top. Get the difference?

1. The Matt Dillon tee. My familiar piece. Means something to me and likely nothing to many others. And that’s ok.

2. The ultimate flex suit here: Drapey twill suit

3. Long sleeves that throw on and off, tie on and off, sweater: Crispy knit long sleeve

4. The baseball cap - I just made this guy up. You can make one too at CustomInk.

5. Leather & Canvas tote - this one is an old Celine bag - I bought at The RealReal. I just CAN NOT with bags right now costing over $4k. What in the literal fuck??….

6. The easy super crinkle textured top: Crinkle top

7. The throw on slip dress that doesn’t hug the body but doesn’t give sack vibes: The slip dress

8. The blanket scarf that gives cozy and color and texture: Blanket scarf

9. Earrings- modern and classic at same time: Hanna’s earrings

10. Sunglasses and bag: Phoebe Philo sunglasses and The Row bag I bought from Max because I always want to support an independent shop: Max sells The Row

11. Ripped jeans that are oddly refined and modern: Vintage wash jean

12. Slides that are modern and polished and so so so easy: Granger Slide

13. Sandals that gives the good “skin” of big/slim/skin: Barry sandal

14. A ruched tee that gives texture and a neutral color that’s not b&w: Shirred top

15. A slinky cami that gives bare and classic at the same time: Shirred cami

16. Socks in silk and elastase - polished but it’s a sock - so it’s cool: The good sock

I hope this helps you with packing. Truly, as I hear from many of you how stressful this can be. Beyond just the pure satisfaction of knowing you nailed it, packing right helps you save money or just simply not have that sinking feeling when you’ve just overbought for no reason. Far too many of us try and buy the right outfits for trips in an attempt to nail the vibe of a location only to not feel like ourselves when we arrived. Or we end up with items that gets worn in one locale but never sees the light of day back home. Nailing down the packing assortment doesn’t strip away the creativity of your style. It’s quite the opposite, in fact. It let’s you get on solid ground so you can build up - buy a few pieces at that interesting flea market stall or add the shell bracelet that’s not usually your thing, but you want to feel and be in the moment. Having your ingredients identified by their purpose, knowing the why behind what’s gone in the bag, will help keep your fits grounded with purpose and in your personal style.

Which is a really good thing, I think.