Whenever I post from my travels on social media, someone says I must have a huge suitcase. I don’t. Unless it’s a two-week holiday, I travel with a standard carry-on and a tote bag. In the latter, I have my books, skin care, makeup, iPad, charger and a few other bits and pieces. My clothes and shoes go into the small suitcase and in most cases, it’s perfectly adequate.

This time, questions and comments were prompted by the fact that I took a huge ball gown to Venice (the one many of you have seen on Instagram, I will post some pro photos about it very soon). It does look enormous, but most of it is just air, it folds down to relatively manageable size. The only thing you need to keep in mind with similar dresses is that they crease, so the hotel better have dry cleaning/steaming services. On the other hand, something like my H&M sequin dress is very low maintenance and can be worn straight out of the suitcase.

So all-in-all, for three days, I brought with me 13 items of clothing, plus footwear, accessories and a coat – full list is below. I would not call this packing light, exactly. Even with the same programme (including a fancy dinner and opera), I could have easily dropped one evening ensemble, two bottoms, two tops, the boots and the loafers. No-one NEEDS to travel with a Pierrot cape, after all. But this is how *I* travel and I like to have options. The point I’m making is that you can have options without needing 23 kilos of baggage.

So what to keep in mind when trying to pack effectively?
1. Check the weather. I know it’s obvious, but you’d be amazed at how many people don’t. This is why I have three knits on the list, but only one t-shirt.
2. Wear your biggest items on the road. This means you don’t need to pack them: the coat, obviously, and in my case also the boots and the scarf. The boots weren’t really necessary, to be honest, but I wanted to look presentable when arriving at our very nice hotel.
3. Stick (broadly) to a colour scheme. With the exception of the yellow dress and the red shoes, everything I packed was either black, navy, beige or white (cream). Pretty much everything can be combined with everything else.
4. Consider materials and shapes. I like cashmere and merino in general, but also specifically because these materials are warm (and breathable) without taking up much room. Rollnecks are especially great, as they are easy to layer under a coat and keep your neck insulated.
5. Take versatile/multifunctional pieces. I didn’t pack an evening bag, as I used my Comme des Garcons red makeup bag as a clutch. I can wear my black rollneck with jeans, but also on top of my sequin dress for drinks after the opera.
6. Most importantly, think things through. If you know what you are going to do and what you’d like to wear doing it, you can cut out most of the just-in-case pieces (one reason I like to have some options, though, is that if you plan in no flexibility, you are fucked when you spill something on your only knit). I wore every single thing on this list, the only items left untouched were spare underwear, socks and tights – I think you should always be generous when packing these categories.

Obviously, every trip s different, depending on the destination, length and purpose. For a two-day work thing with no evening events I can disregard the colour scheme, as I’ll have enough space to pack two complete outfits with different shoes. Travelling from a warm place to a warm place, I don’t need to worry about my bulky coat. However, I have found that these principles tend to be helpful most of the time.

Let me know if you disagree or have other tips. Meanwhile, here is the promised list:

Dresses/evening wear
– the yellow dress (or more accurately, corset and skirt)
– the ErdemXH&M sequin dress
– Pearl Lowe sequinned cape

Tops
– beige merino rollneck (worn to travel)
– black merino rollneck
– cream cashmere sweater
– navy Riina Põldroos rollneck
– white t-shirt

Bottoms
– blue jeans
– beige leather trousers
– beige midi skirt (worn on arrival)
– navy satin midi skirt

Footwear
– beige boots
– black Gucci loafers
– black sneakers
– high-heeled red velvet shoes

Outerwear & accessories
– beige coat (worn to travel)
– black-and-white scarf (worn to travel)
– black leather gloves (worn to travel)
– white cashmere hat (worn to travel)
– a small white cross body bag (packed in the tote bag)