I’m a girl. I over-pack by nature. Weekend away to Sydney, it’s cold, I’m from Brisbane, we don’t do cold in Brisbane. Now as many of you know, I lived through three Sydney winters (and I froze through every single one of them). We have also had an unusually cold snap at the start of winter all the way up the East Coast of Australia so temperatures are a little below what they would normally be in Sydney at this time of year.

Now the boy was also away and of course he took the weekend-away sized suitcase so I had two options; the carry on bag (not even big enough to fit hairdryer + straighter so that was definitely NOT an option) or the massive, ‘we are heading overseas for two weeks’ sized suitcase. Looking at the five pairs of shoes I had pulled out for my 48 hour trip – Over-sized suitcase it was!

Five pairs of previously-mentioned shoes -check! Hairdryer and straightener (it’s dry down there,  my hair gets frizzy alright!?!) – check! Three pairs of leggings (they should be alright to keep the cold out) – check! ONE.BIG.COAT.

ONE. BIG. COAT. (my Forever New blush coat - it was only $159 - bargain!)

Most people can pack a suitcase relatively well, you don’t need my help with that. And we’ve all heard the basics – but here they are again!!

1. Lay your travel wardrobe out on your bed (or bedroom floor) before you pack them.

This helps you see what you can wear with what – even throw your accessories and shoes in so you can see complete outfits. This is a great way to see if you have any random pieces of clothing that you thought would be useful to take, but in reality don’t really go with anything at all.

2. Start with your shoes on the bottom of your suitcase and store them in plastic zip-up bags.

The plastic bags help keep your nice, clean clothes from being permeated by your lovely (maybe not so clean) shoes. Let’s face it, most of our shoes don’t smell like roses so the bags just protect your clothes and also help to compartmentalise your packing (the older I get, the more OCD I become – it’s a worry!)

keep your shoes (and clothes) clean and fresh by packing them in separate bags

3. Work out what underwear you need under the clothes you are packing.

Once again, lay out the underwear you want to take when you lay out the rest of your clothes – nothing worse than forgetting a strapless bra when you need it! And as much as Carrie Bradshaw made it cool, for most of us a black bra under a white skirt is not OK. I pack all my undies in my own little travel underwear bags that I make (and if you love, you can buy them here!). They are a little more glamorous that a plastic bag for your dirties.

Wear Me/Wash Me bags by Chasing Cait

4. Pack neatly.

Now I don’t really have a preference for rolling or folding – my suitcase tends to me a combination of both. Jersey fabrics are your best friends when you travel – no crushing! But if you have silk, cotton, linen or any other fabric that is a little more crush-able, rolling is a little better. (I also find that your socks, tights or smaller garments are great for filling the gaps between larger garments so pack your big stuff first).

How NOT to pack!

So while we are on the topic of travel and fashion (almost my two favourite things!!!) I need to tell you about my new favourite thing. I flew to Sydney with the newly re-branded Virgin Australia and I have to say, I LOOOOOOOVE the new uniforms, and I also love the fact that they were designed by an amazing Queensland designer – Julie Grbac! The new uniforms for the cabin crew definitely bring back the old-school glamour of the 60’s that I really love (see here). Even the two middle-aged men I was sitting next to on the flight commented on how much they liked the new lilac scarves, one of them even knew the colour was lilac! Impressive!

The new Virgin Australia uniforms - very 60's! (Julie is the one in the middle - she is so cute!)

Check out what Julie has to say about the whole design process of designing the uniforms in the video below. How awesome is it to have a Brisbane designer rep.re.sent.ing!! And the uniforms are soooo old school! Now we just need to get everyone wearing hats on airplanes again like they did in Mad Men times – all class.

What is your packing tip?

Are you a ‘throw-everything-in-at-the-last-minute-I’m-running-really-late!’ kind of person? Or are you an organised packer?