How to build a travel wardrobe
One carry-on. Ten days. The packing arithmetic that makes it possible without looking like you packed for ten days.
Packing is a constraint problem. You have a fixed volume, a variable climate, and a fixed number of days. The solution is not more clothes — it is clothes that do more than one job.
The rule of three
Every piece you pack must work in at least three outfits. If it only works in one, leave it. A jacket that goes with everything you packed earns its space; a jacket that only goes with one outfit is a liability.
A good travel wardrobe is a small wardrobe that thinks ahead.
— the studio
The colour constraint
Pick two or three colours and stay inside them. Everything mixes. You can get dressed in the dark and still look intentional. The edit is sorted by tone for exactly this reason.
The fabric constraint
Knits roll flat, spring back and never read as slept-in. Denim is bulletproof. Woven shirts wrinkle but look better for it. Avoid anything that needs ironing or hangs limp after a flight.
The shoe constraint
Two pairs maximum. One that walks all day and one that dresses up. If a shoe only works with one outfit, it does not travel. Boots that go from walking to dinner are worth their weight.
The arithmetic
Four tops, two bottoms, one jacket, one dress, two shoes. That is ten pieces, thirty outfits, and one carry-on. The edit is built so that any four tops and two bottoms in the shop produce twenty combinations.
More from the journal.
- What we're wearing this OctoberCold mornings, warm afternoons — the season is one long layering problem and a handful of pieces solve it.
- How to measure yourself in four minutesThree numbers, two units, and the four minutes that make every chart in this shop work for you.
- Packing a carry-on in knitsKnit fabric rolls flat, springs back, and never reads as slept-in — a good carry-on is a knit problem.
- A five-piece weekOne dress, one knit, one jacket, one skirt, one set — and how they cover Monday to Sunday.
- How to layer a knit over a dressThe fastest way to take a summer dress into autumn, and the three proportions that always work.
- Matching sets, three waysA set is one outfit you don't have to think about — and two separates when you do.
- How to care for knitwear so it lastsWool, cashmere and cotton knitwear reward a little attention and punish none. The whole routine takes five minutes a season.
- Three pieces, five outfitsA small edit works because the pieces talk to each other. Here is one three-piece set and the five ways it dresses a week.
- The art of the layerLayering is not about warmth. It is about control — over temperature, over formality, over the shape of a day.
- Why we don't do flash salesNo countdown clocks, no compare-at theatre, no discount games. One price, shown before you choose. Here is why.
- How to read a size chart (and when to ignore it)Charts are a starting point, not a verdict. Here is how to use them and the three cases where you should trust the tape measure instead.
- The capsule checklistTwelve pieces. Forty outfits. The arithmetic of a wardrobe that works every morning without thinking.
- Fabric 101: what the label actually meansCotton, wool, polyester, viscose — the label tells you what the garment is made of, but rarely what that means for how it wears.
- How to photograph your outfit (without a photographer)The photos you take of what you wear are the most useful thing in your wardrobe. Here is how to take better ones with a phone.
- The return policy, explainedThirty days. By mail. No restocking fee. Here is exactly how it works and what to expect.
- How to style a blazer (without looking like you're going to a meeting)A blazer is the most versatile piece in a wardrobe and the most misused. Here is how to wear it without the office.
- How to dress for a heatwaveWhen it is 35 degrees and the air does not move, dressing becomes a survival skill. Here is how to stay cool and look like you are not trying.
- How to build a work wardrobeFive pieces. Two weeks of outfits. No decision fatigue before 9am.
- How to care for denim (so it fades the right way)Denim is the only fabric that improves with wear. Here is how to help it along and avoid the mistakes that ruin it.
- How to dress for a wedding (without spending a fortune on a one-wear dress)A wedding outfit should be something you wear again. Here is how to choose one that earns its place in your wardrobe.