Whether you're heading to the beach or city, you want to travel light with clothing that doubles as day and eveningwear. Alison Deyette of stylebakery.com pinpoints how to stuff a weekend's worth of summer clothes into one small travel bag:
General Packing Tips (for both Men & Women)
- Look for items that can be worn more than once: a day to evening outfit, a tunic that goes from beach to dinner, etc.
- Stick with a neutral color palette and then mix in colors to add excitement.
- Always think in terms of mixing and matching instead of head-to-toe "outfits."
- Choose fabrics that travel well like jersey materials and crinkled linen so you won't look like a wrinkled mess all weekend.
- Be prepared — make sure you pack a light jacket, sweater or wrap in case it gets chilly.
Packing for a beach weekend getaway
Start with neutral white and brown palette, then mixed in brights, and for women gold.Our foundation piece for the weekend is a linen coverup, it easily transitions from the beach to dinner. Seaside linen-cotton ruffle cover-up, $50 at J Crew (Tip: be sure to wear the top at night first, so it's not filled with salt, sand and sunscreen after being worn to the beach)
- Consider 2 bathing suits — one is a tankini which doubles as a halter top to pair with shorts or white jeans. Floral tankini top and bikini bottom, $58 total from Ann Taylor Loft
- A jersey dress — they are lightweight, easy to pack and take up little room in your suitcase. Wear it at night, day or even over a swimsuit at the beach.
- Skirt — we chose a crinkled linen skirt ($99 from Liz Claiborne) so wrinkles won't matter.
- Shorts - long or short, depending on your preference.
- Tanks and Tees in a variety of colors — layer these for a variety of looks paired with the skirt, shorts or jeans. Our favorite tanks are from J Crew.
- A lightweight cardigan and gauzy button down ($49 each from J. Jill) come out when it's chilly and can be layered over tanks, swimsuits and dresses.
- Gold flip flops — a bit more glamorous than your typical flip flops - wear them to the beach or shopping.
- Crushable hat for the beach
- Co-ed weekend bag from Le Sport Sac
Packing for city getaway
For the city, you want sophisticated pieces that can be worn shopping or touring during the day and at night for an evening out. We started with a neutral black and white palette and then added in pops of color like red.Our foundation piece for the weekend is the a knit dress that easily transitions from a day of shopping and sightseeing to an evening of dinner and dancing.
We chose a jersey dress that packs well. For day, wear it on its own with comfortable sandals or pair it with cropped leggings and comfortable ballet flats. You can then wear the same dress to dinner with metallic wedge sandals, great jewelry and a metallic clutch (2). Add a short sleeve belted jacket ($20 from Marshalls) for an added bit of style.
- Skirt — wear it during the day with flip flops, at night with a sandal. We chose a white skirt with a pretty embroidered print ($68 from Talbots)
- Bermuda shorts ($16.99 from TJ Maxx) — one of our favorite pieces this season to wear day or night, to work or on the weekend.
- White pants
- Variety of tees and tanks to wear with the skirt, shorts, pants or to layer under the dress
- 1 or 2 pretty day-to-evening tops (worn under jacket or sweatshirt) from Anthropologie
- Little sweatshirt or jacket in case it gets chilly ($35 from Fashion Bug)
- Comfortable shoes to wear for walking
- Convertible invisible bra to wear with strapless top, cami, tees, etc. ($29 from Barely There)
- Coed Weekend Bag by Le Sport Sac
For more information and fashion tips, visit stylebakery.com.