Summer Suitcase Essentials for an Easier Travelling Experience

It’s time to pack your bags! Far-sighted ones usually display on their sofas, for several days, neon swimsuits, printed dresses, rain capes, colorful sweaters and the latest pairs of pop sandals purchased during the sales... Their living room looks like a construction site. Others, always tired of thinking about their summer wardrobe, will do it at the last minute and snatch up everything that falls out of their closet in no time. In both cases, they are wrong. Because the latest trend observed among the most stylish girls of the moment is: travel light! The cabin suitcase? Highly recommended, no matter the destination.

A real let-go-situation

Packing your suitcase is a true art of living and organization that requires a certain letting go and a reflection as precise as the few square centimeters of the recommended containers for traveling. So, let’s take the example of Victoria, press officer for a large luxury house. This lovely Italian, whose every look leaves those around her speechless, also leaves us speechless when she explains to us that she has been traveling for years with two cabin-size backpacks, containing, not only, the entirety of her summer wardrobe but also that of her two daughters, aged 6 and 8, as well as that of her husband.

Explanations: “The four of us leave on the plane with pants, sweater, denim jacket, and sneakers,” she says. Inside the backpacks, large nylon pouches containing everyone's wardrobe. For the little girls, she takes some dresses with straps and very colorful patterns. When it comes to shoes, mothers and daughters line up flip-flops for the beach and gold sandals for the evening but Victoria affirms that for her part, she always packs the same items: a cover-up skirt, shorts with three t-shirts that work with them, a gypsy-style skirt and top set, a caftan dress and another item in white color the evening. “But I always keep a little space to buy a piece on site, as much for pleasure as to help the local economy work,” she says. And for the beach? A large striped Japanese bag in recycled fabric which has the particularity of becoming Lilliputian once rolled.

You can check out some Ways to Style a Tank Top This Summer on our website

Lightweight, wrinkle-free dresses

Sun creams and other beauty products? Victoria buys them on the spot (that’s what all “carry-on suitcase girls” do). Does she feel frustrated at not having more looks to sport on hand? “On the contrary, I never want to lose this freedom, that of not dressing up in summer,” she says.

Same story with Margaux, a student, who competes all year round with outfits that are all fashionable. But for long vacations, she only takes a cabin suitcase to travel. “I have a technique, I plan all my outfits in advance by making piles, one for the day and one for the evening.” Margaux only takes dresses, and only shorts with a few very fine tank tops. “I especially pay attention to the materials; the dresses must be very light.”

Thank you, Marie Kondo

Élodie, a fashion stylist, also knows a lot about the subject. Every day at the office, she gets stopped by her colleagues who envy her pretty glamorous retro dresses. But for years, she has been going on her vacation, with an ultra-light wardrobe. In particular, she has an unstoppable technique for evolving her looks with a single model. “My black dress,” she explains, “which I accessorize with a scarf that I can wear as a belt, on my head, hung on a bag or simply around my neck, thus giving each time a different outfit sensation”. In addition, a black cardigan and another pink one that she wears with her on the day of departure and a pair of K-Jacques and black Repetto ballerinas. “On the other hand, I always carry a tube of beautiful lipstick, the only accessory that alone glamorizes any outfit. Everything is packed up using the Marie Kondo method, it takes up much less space and nothing is crumpled on arrival,” she explains.

Less is more

A pioneer in the field, the model and producer, Caroline de Maigret, who also carries everything in her suitcase and no longer bothers with superfluous outfits. Her wardrobe? “Daytime pieces that I can reuse in the evening: a chic jacket that will go just as well with jeans as with a dress for a dinner; white sneakers that match well with black tuxedo pants. I add an American Vintage sweater, a light dress, an Eres strapless swimsuit that can turn into a top, Current/Elliott t-shirts, a sarong, swimsuits, a few colorful shirts that also work at night and my K- sandals. Black Jacques that go with everything”. Less is more? Definitely!