OKAY so you’re going on a trip, you’re backpacking, hostelling, moving around… But you’re also a chick who loves an accessory, can’t live without more than 2 shoe options and get’s excited by getting that instagrammable outfit on-point! So OMG how the hell do you do basic packing when you’re extra af?!
All over the internet there are videos and blogs about how to pack light… but you’re thinking, what about me?! “I find it humanly impossible to pack light, and also I don’t want to! I want options! Fashion is part of my creativity and joy and identity!” – I hear you cry! Well we feel you girl… packing light is all well and good, but we’re here to tell you that you that there are some packing tips for all you extra queens too!
Starting my travel-life transition from materialistic, fashion-industry working, hoarder, meant packing for 3 months travelling around Thailand was a challenge! The word minimalism is not one I then associated with… So limiting my wardrobe and whole life to fit in one backpack was daunting. BUT I realised, not impossible.
“This girl's got baggage!”
OUR RESPONSE! Well, they’re not wrong. It can be a real pain if moving around a lot to cart an enormous case with you, but ya know what if having more stuff with you means you’re happy, then go for it! Just be prepared that you may not be as nimble as those with a little 40l backpack.
Weigh up the pro’s and con’s and what works best for YOU! You’re not doing it wrong, you’re doing it your way! So our best advice for this is to invest in possibly the best piece of luggage we have ever discovered. Wait for it ladies as this will change your (travel) life… Introducing the OSPREY SOJOURN 60L / 80L.
This is the pack to end all packs for those who have a little more to travel with. This is a hybrid suitcase and backpack… It works primarily as a wheelie but with THE best, sturdy af chunky wheels, that you can truly trust to stand the test of cobbles, grass, dirt tracks and more. Meaning it’s way easier to navigate finding that remote hostel than your standard giant fridge on wheels.
BUT ALSO… it has super-strength backpack straps conveniently hidden away in a back zip pocket, meaning if you arrive in Lisbon and are faced with 3 flights of stairs…. NO MORE DREAD! You can just unzip, hoist the beast on to you back and tackle those steps! Seriously this case is genius. I swear it is a bit of an Aladdin’s cave too, I’ve had 60L backpacks before and this one fits WAY more in than previous ones I’ve tried. INVEST GIRL! You won’t regret it.
Sondra: “Strike a pose! It’s fun!” – FOLLOW SONDRA HERE
"How many outfits?!!"
OUR RESPONSE! Cue eye roll, girl do you know how many “essentials” I have in my life?! When travelling for 2 months, by week 7 I was still pulling out garmz no-one had seen and they were amazed I’d fit everything in. (And pulling out these garmz proved to me – yep they were essentials!) My fellow travel girls decided to nick-name my backpack Mary Poppins, and aside from having outfit options till the end, knowing I’d hacked the packing system was beyond satisfying! So don’t give up… the trick here is balance, not necessarily minimalism.
Lay out all your ‘essentials’ and then take away 3 outfits, save them for your next trip. This will undoubtedly still leave you with a good level of ‘extra-ness’ and also, don’t forget you need space for all the new stuff you’ll definitely (sorry Marie Kondo) buy while away too!
Pip: “It’s all about personal style and I’m really embracing that at the minute”. FOLLOW PIP HERE
"You won't need that..."
OUR RESPONSE! Well yeah, in truth this is kinda accurate, a lot of people do wear just t-shirts and flip-flops. But hey that doesn’t mean YOU have to. I personally love my t-shirt dresses, they do end up becoming a bit of a travel uniform for me. But wow, do I love, after 5 days in the same outfit, pulling out a total gem and getting creative!
It’s about personality and style, and what you pack will really determine that, it should be genuine to you and your life, not curated to reflect what other people expect to see because of their own style choices.
This is YOUR trip, YOUR style and YOUR body which will be taking the goods around south east Asia. If you prefer to sacrifice a bit of pulling-effort for having some cute looks in your case, then go for it. There’s no rules about dressing casual or living in the same outfit everyday.
So ultimately this is more of a mind-set tip, than a logistical one… make the choice to prioritise what is more important to the enjoyment of your trip – accessibility, less clothing + doing more laundry, or more outfits + a bigger case to manoeuvre?
Fabienne… “Blending in as always” FOLLOW FABS HERE
"That's not how backpacking works."
OUR RESPONSE! FALSE FALSE FALSE! Don’t listen to the haters, or the judgey-judgisons. No one has to adhere to someone else’s ideal of what a ‘real backpacker’ is. If you love to get creative and fun with your looks, maybe it gives you confidence, maybe you just wanna be instagram-ready at all times – there is no shame in that. Don’t let anyone make you feel otherwise.
Being interested in fashion doesn’t automatically equate to being shallow or dumb or fake or anything else that we so often hear. Also genuinely – interesting outfit choices have lead to so many awesome encounters and meeting of new travel friends! They make for a great conversation starter!
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BLEND IN! This last tip is just about being smart with your multitudes of outfits – PACKING CUBES ARE YOUR FRIEND! In fact not cubes, I find these pointless and annoying to use in a backpack, but soft drawstring bags ARE your friend! A pack of 4 silk pouches from Paperchase was a real game changer for me, they helped condense everything and organised all the various elements of my wardrobe into easy-find categories!
