I have been practicing how to pack one bag for my upcoming executive MBA trip to Bulgaria and Czech Republic. We are going for one week in the cold of winter, and I do not want to check a bag under any circumstances! The last time I traveled to eastern europe they lost my luggage! So, when I was told that we need to wear a suit every day on this trip in Europe, I was faced with the particular challenge of: What on earth am I going to wear?

As a woman, I'm a bit sensitive to the need of having to wear something different every day. I don't want to look like I have the same suit on all week! I just did a dry run of trying to pack 2 jackets, 1 dress, 1 skirt, and 1 pair of slacks into my bag. It all fit. But then the topic of SKIING came up, and now I am in dire need of advice!!

I have a travel pack, with arm straps, and a mini removable pack that comes off the front for day trips. The clothing all rolled up, including the ski pants, ski gloves, hat, etc. all made my travel pack very tight!! I'm not sure what to omit.

Any advice would particularly be helpful, especially from a woman. Does it look like I"m packing too much stuff? Is there a way to make your outfit look "different" from day to day???

Hi Linda,

I don't know if this will help, but check out these suggestions....my sister travels a lot on business, and she says this system of "mix-n-match" has worked for her for years. The first page is a suggested list of clothing/accessories, and the second are examples of how to make the "system" work. The author is showing a "system" of using 9 clothing pieces to come up with 14 different outfits, never wearing the exact same thing twice.

http://www.travelite.org/archive/clothing/womenswardrobe.html

http://www.travelite.org/archive/clothing/womenswardrobe2.html

Best of luck!!!
Skip

Hi Linda,
I guess the answer depends on if you actualy want to look stylish while skiing. I often go home to Michigan in the winter and am outdoors often. At Christmas I took the following for 2 weeks:
1 black skirt
1 black pair of pants
1 pair of jeans (worn on plane)
1 black pair dress shoes (2 inch heel, goes with pants or skirt)
1 pair hiking boots (worn on plane)
Thermal microfiber tights (can be worn under pants or skirt)
black long john top
1 white shirt 3/4 length sleeve
1 grey 3/4 sleeve V neck T shirt
1 multi (grey/purple/tan/white/black) print jersey shirt (worn on plane)
1 sky exofficio irresistable turtleneck
1 black tank top (worn on plane)
1 black cashmere sweater
1 grey tween suit jacket (worn on plane)
1 pashmina (subtle grey/white/purple/sky stripe)
hat
gloves
ultra light fleece jacket
scarf
sierra designs rain jacket
sierra designs riain pant
winter coat (worn on plane)
stockings, nylons, undies, etc.

I actually took too much stuff, but I was going to be in 1 place for 2 weeks.

For outside I layered like this:
Tank top, then thermal underwear and tights. Pull socks on over tights. Then add Turtleneck and jeans. Then fleece jacket. Then rain parka rain pant. Scarf, hat, gloves. And I wore my hiking boots on my feet. Not fashonable, but very warm - I was never cold, even when it was below zero F.

How to make variety? For me:
Wear the cashmere sweater instead of the jacket
Wear pashmina scarf for flair. See how to tie a pashmina from tavelista.
http://travelista.com/index.php/travelista-tv/how-to-wear-a-pashmina-scarf/
For that matter, Travelista has a nice tutorial for packing for Europe
http://travelista.com/index.php/category/packing-lists/
Jewelry! I had some bright colored funky plastic pieces, some silver pieces, some celtic pewter colored pieces, and the pearls. They all fit in a zip lock, which fit in the shoe area of the bag.

Other things to try:
wear the t shirt over the white shirt like a sweater. With the pashmina scarf and jacket, it dressed up
White sweater plus black pants, black cashmere sweater, and pearls
Multi colored jersey top plus jacket plus bottom
Turtleneck plus jacket plus pashmina draped as a shawl plus bottom
white shirt plus black skirt plus jacket

I think your choices with the addition of an extra jacket and dress will give you plenty of options.

My favorite book for getting ideas on how ladies dress up is Smart Packing for Todays Traveler. She brings too much "junk" but she has a great section in her book on mixing and matching, and another section on how to dress up for cruises (can be leveraged for other dress up occasions).
http://www.smartpacking.com/

Hi Linda,

I went for a walk and thought about this some more. I see several things to do differently:
1) Wear one of your suit jackets on the plane to reduce bulk
2) Bundle wrap instead of rolling your clothes (they pack down smaller)
3) Can you rent ski clothes? Call the rental shop at the mountain or check their website.

For your trip I suggest the following as an outline:
1 Black suit
1 Grey suit (wear the jacket on the plane)
1 white shirt
1 colored shirt
1 jersey dress
1 pair pants (wear on plane)
1 "fun" top (wear on plane)
Bright scarf
Fun jewelry (faux pearls are in this list!)
Dark stockings (maybe even a pair of tights)
silk(?) long john top (could even sleep in this)

A key to feeling like you are changing clothes is to alternate suit coats from day to day. I suggest:
Mon: Black suit with colored shirt (preferably "power red"). Metal jewelry
Tues: Grey suit with white shirt and pearls
Wed: Dress with Black suit jacket (good if you're going out that night for a mixer) <etal jewelry
Thur: Grey jacket, white shirt, black skirt. Wear a bright scarf around your neck. Colored jewelry?
Fri: Black jacket, colored shirt, grey skirt, metal jewelry or colored jewelry
Sat: (if needed) Dress with Grey suit jacket, colored jewelry, or a pashmina

Add ons:
pashmina (worn on plane)
another fun top (turtleneck for skiing?)
black cardigan
Jeans??? (If so, wear them on the plane, and make sure they are dark wash trouser cut with a touch of spandex)

Wear the pants at night after work (or when it gets really cold) with your fun tops. You could even wear one of your fun tops on Thursday or Friday at work. You can add the cardigan to your black skirt and pearls for a 2nd dressy evening outfit.

I would really encourage you to dump the ski pants though. Just go with nylon shell pants over your other pants and your tights/long johns.

Two points: Is it absolutely necessary for you to actually stand on skis and slide down the slope? If not, just forego this activity and your problems are solved. Or deliberate whether the risk of checking your bag is worth it for the benefit of packing all your skiing stuff.

Second point: Not to be stereotyping but when a woman wonders what to omit the answer is generally found in the hand bag, shoes and cosmetics area.

Shoes: One pair for business (black) and one thick pair for walking in the streets and in the snow (this you will wear on the plane). That's the absolute minimum. One additional pair of shoes could be admissible but if you bring more, you are bringing too much.

Hand bags: a single bag will have to do. Probably you carry a business case anyway. Put your ladies stuff in there. For the evenings a tiny purse for room keys, pen, a bit of make up and cigarettes etc should do.

Cosmetics: E.g. if you need curlers, get a different hairdo that does not need them. Hairdryers can be available "sur place". Bring a perfume sample or two instead of the whole bottle. Wonder if you can do without body lotion for a week. A single lipstick is enough, as is one type of powder. Loofa gloves and body brushes stay at home, too.

You are now, either laughing at the crazy image this guy has of women or you say this guy is crazy I can't possibly do without those things.

I have seen A LOT of women travel and the stuff they take and think is necessary and then don't even touch it is nothing short of wondrous. If you check out the ladies' section at flyer-talk.com you will see that there are women traveling with scented candles, flower vases and photos in silver frames of their beloved (nice touch, but not necessary from a man's point of view:) ).

As for what to wear, as a male guy with a degree in fashion design, I can tell you that for business travel it is totally acceptable to be seen twice in the same outfit or to not have a ton of extra clothes for going out in the evening. I would take two suits. Each suit should have a jacket and matching pants and skirt. So you get two variations of the same suit.

Choose one suit a uni-color dark blue, no stripes, no dots, just plain blue. This is the suit you can wear day time or night time.

Choose the other suit grey and possibly with stripes or a modest pattern. You can then wear the bottom parts of the grey suit also with the dark blue top. You know have six pieces of clothing and six completely different outfits, where normally you would need twelve pieces.

The black or blue shoes will go with both outfits. Same is true for the hand bag.

For tops, I don't know what you look like and what your style is, but the Issey Miyake style plissee tops are ideal for traveling. They do not wrinkle, need no ironing, dry quickly, weigh next to nothing and pack easily. They look good day or night and exist in a multitude of colors. Bring three of those plus one classic turtleneck which you can wear with the suits buts also for time off and under your ski clothes.

Jeans are a no go, they are too heavy and take too much time. A dress is not required.

Use a compression bag for your ski clothes. Possibly wear the ski jacket on the plane.

If you follow these guidelines traveling with a 22" bag as carry-on should not be a problem and you will be well dressed for all circumstances.

I'll agree with what's been said above, and add:

-With a plain enough jacket, people really REALLY won't notice if it's your only one. Repeat after me, "I am not an actress at an awards show"

-You can be as formal as in a suit jacket with a nice sweater. This also solves some of the potential layering needed for cold days, where you can stack the sweater and the suit jacket together. Also, in the time I've spent in Prague in winter I didn't notice many women wearing suit jackets. Under a winter jacket most are wearing a sweater, a vest, and a blouse. It's a somewhat different style of dressing over there, so be aware.

-It sounds corny, but silk scarves really do work.

-Lined, tailored skirts take up a lot more room than unlined ones. My favorite skirt ever is a Patagonia morning glory skirt in black, which is unwrinkleable, comfortable, has more flare than in the picture, comes to just below the knee, and is super flattering. I've worn it with a black suit jacket and been the best dressed person in the room. This is my very favorite item of clothing, ever.

-I'd trade the dress for another skirt and blouse. I take it that you have at most 5 formal days, so with 2 skirts, 2 blouses, a jacket, and a sweater you have a very good number of choices. I'd take a pair of pants that would work for skiing and sightseeing - so stretchy and quick-dry.

You can totally do this. Just remember that there's a slightly different standard for dressing over there, in ways a lot more traditional. This helps you! Also, the rules for women are a little more relaxed than with a man- you can look formal in a variety of well-chosen clothing.