How to Pack
And love your outfits when you get there
Hi friends - I hope you’re settling into summer and finding some actual breaks. The past few weeks have been chaos with school ending, camps starting, and pivoting to a new routine. I use that word loosely, because the transition to summer and its total lack of structure throw me off every year. But don’t feel bad for me.
Today’s letter comes to you from NY, where I was generously flown by Aero, a semi-private airline with direct flights from LA (also Cabo, Aspen, the Hamptons — all the places we want to be right now). The convenience and luxury of this experience is unmatched: You drive straight to the hangar at Van Nuys, wait 20 minutes in an elegant lounge, whereupon you are escorted through security, and your bag is handled like a delicate baby bird. You walk to the plane a mere steps from the hangar, relax into the softest seats, and eat Erewhon catering throughout the flight. There is no comfort like your favorite Breakfast Burrito at 30k feet.
We landed at Teterboro and I hopped in an Uber that I’d summoned from the plane and headed into the city. Thank you Aero for the zero stress, wildly convenient and luxe travel experience. If you’re traveling to any of their cities, it’s well worth it.
I’ll be in NY for over a week, and I’ve been outfit planning for at least as long. The secret to loving your trip outfits is to plan them, try them on, and generally give yourself enough time to consider your looks. Here’s how this looks for me:
I pull everything out of my closet that I might even consider taking with me and put it on a rack in my bedroom. This rack is foldable and I have 8 of them - I use them for client fittings because they fold flat and slide right into the back of the car, but they’re also easy to store.
I lock out at least a full hour, try it all on, and take pictures of every outfit. This naturally self selects a ‘no’ pile and I usually find a few things to give away or sell like a dress from last summer that I didn’t wear. Always be editing.
Daydreamer T & 440me pants - these pants are a blank slate and can go so many ways. They’re a good travel pick.
CamiNYC pants & top w/ cropped ALC blazer - I really love CamiNYC - it’s cute and not in a too young way. I wear an XS/2 in their pieces so I’d say it runs slightly large.
Xirena top that I’ll also pair with jeans and these pants, and these very lightweight Zara pants.
Free People top / shorts paired with the Your Stylist Says button down for layering
The top from look 4 and a skirt fashioned from this big bandana.
Then I do nothing, and that’s actually when the magic happens. Because a few hours later I’ll look at the photos and get a ‘feeling’ - it’s both an actual look at the outfit to see how I like it, and I’ll remember how I felt wearing it. That’s the more important part, and it’s the key to liking your outfits, and projecting ‘I feel good’.
This isn’t just for travel, btw, it’s styling unlock across the board. All great outfits require thought and effort, but it’s always worth it. You can throw all your favorite things in a bag, shake it up, and hope for the best, but the outfits you’ve planned hit different.
More looks to come…
xo,
A
P.S. My beloved travel steamer and a few other things I’ve shared previously are on sale for Prime Day.
This was so good! Thank you, definitely ordering a clothing rack
I ordered the steamer and was so disappointed it is so heavy - who would want to travel with that ??