friend beauty fashion friday:: vacation packing (and what to wear on a long flight)

This week's Friend Beauty Fashion Friday couldn't be more appropriate. We're talking about vacations and what to pack. Which is exactly what I'm doing today- tomorrow Mr. DU and I head out to California for a much-needed break from life (although, not too much of a break since I'm planning on Skyping an interview out there and I'm still scoping out the job scene plus I'm conducting market research for my thesis project- I like to multitask). So here are this week's questions:

1. When it comes to packing for vacation what’s your mantra?
   Don't forget to pack enough underwear. And accessories, accessories, accessories. They can really change up your outfit from day to night. And I pack lots of neutrals with one or two pops of color to make it easier to mix and match pieces.
   
   Also, throw some underwear and contact solution in your carry on. I know I keep mentioning underwear, but really, missed flights and lost luggage happen. And no one wants to be caught with dirty underwear.
   
2. What are your must packs?
   As far as what I'm wearing, that depends where I'm going. More on that in a minute. As far as other items, I'm never, ever without my DSLR camera or my iPhone. Most of the souvenirs I have from trips are the pictures I take.
   
   So back to wearables.
   
   For the past several years, Mr. DU and I have headed out to California for vacation (hey, if I can't live there, I'm sure as hell going to visit as much as possible). I always take a lightweight jacket, no matter what time of year and no matter where I go in California, because I always get cold there, especially in the evenings.
   
   Other than that, I pack items I can wear for hiking and kayaking, plus cute clothes for site seeing, and clothes for going out at night. Generally the latter two can be mixed and matched, but the hiking/kayaking clothes aren't going to be mixed into my evening wardrobe.
   
3. What are you happy to leave behind?
   Stress. And PA.
   
4. Any packing secrets that help you get everything into one suitcase?
   After a few horrible experiences with too much luggage (seriously, I did not need an entire suitcase of shoes for just one week), I've pretty much mastered packing a lot but packing it well.
   
   I pack the heaviest items first, like jeans, and lay them flat on the bottom. Then I roll up knits instead of folding them. I stuff socks into shoes, and just generally make sure everything is arranged neatly. Sloppy packing means less room for your stuff, or results in stuffing it in and possible suitcase rippage. Trust me, you don't want your suitcase to ripp open at baggage check because of your lack of packing skills combined with your tendency to over pack, and then have to duct tape it shut just before you leave for a month-long trip to Europe. Not that I know about that from experience or anything.
   
5. Beach reading… what are you taking with you to read in the sand?
   A big stack of fashion magazines. And those trashy celeb weeklies. Summer beach time is not the time for me to stimulate my brain.

And while we're talking about traveling and vacations, I might as well throw in my two cents here about what to wear when flying. My rules: It has to be comfortable, cute, and layerable. Sort of like this outfit (which I actually wore to lunch with my mom this afternoon, but decided that it will do just swell for the flight tomorrow morning, too):



I had two people stop me on the street to ask me where I got this dress (for the record, the Target clearance rack, summer 2009), so I guess it fulfills the cute requirement of my flight attire rules. And it pretty much feels like a nightgown, so we can check off comfy, too. Easy to wear with a cardi and a scarf, so....we're done. Cute, comfortable, layerable. Rules to fly by.

So anyway, everyone, I'm off to California! I'll be back June 13 (or around there) with posts again. I'll be posting regularly to Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook while I'm away, so check in with me there! Have a great weekend!

---

Fashion Beauty Friend Friday (FBFF) is the brainchild of Katy over at Modly Chic. Every week, she creates a set of questions and FBFF participants answer them on our blogs. On Friday. See, that's why it's called Fashion Beauty Friend Friday. Visit her blog to find out more or join the fun!