How To Travel Light With Co-ordinated and Reversible Clothes

Angela Lansbury wearing a reversible dress, black or red. Worn with a jacket for zoom. Photo by Trevor Sharot.

Do you find it challenging to fit everything you want into a bag that's small enough to carry?

In my heyday I was a travel writer constantly going on press trips at short notice and had to drag my suitcase on and off trains. We had trips around the USA staying in a different city every night.

I used to travel with a colour co-ordinated scheme. A black skirt for evenings, with three different tops and three different scarves. Red, white and black. Red, white, black, gold scarves.

I was often given a free tee shirt to take home or bought one at the destination.

Since I never throw anything away, now that I am semi-retired I have a large number of clothes.

On Facebook.I have worn more than 20 outfits which I have called dresses.

They are not all dresses. I did a count. I have about 150 outfits, if you include day dresses, evening dresses, beach dresses.

However, they are not all dresses. If you have a four piece combination of two tops with trousers and skirts, you have 2 pairs of outfits but can make 4 combinations. With four, you get 16, and from 5 you get 25.

I ran to a statistician and he saw at once that this is squared. So to get 150 outfits I need only 13 sets of tops and bottoms which co-ordinate with all the others. Add a jacket, or hat, or shoes, or umbrella, so you have three items, and you need only six triple outfits.

I buy reversible dresses, skirts and jackets. I can also wear t-shirts and dresses back to front, and some silk-lined jackets inside out. You have to remove the labels

. In this picture I am wearing a reversible red dress which has black the other side, with a red spagetti strap top and matching jacket.

I am tired of having to match up clothes. So I am wearing long skirts and beach wraps with a black or white tee-shirt, then converting the skirt into a dress

Convertible clothes
.I also bought a sarong in Hawaii which is supposed to make about 10 outfits. And a multi-way dress from Avon which supposedly makes several outfits, but required a wearer with stick figure and a lot of safety pins to be sure I didn't unravel on the dance floor.

Useful Websites
Ebay
Etsy
Catalogues

Useful Websites
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2020/07/how-to-convert-beach-sarong-or-wrap.html
https://www.lulu.com/en/gb/shop/angela-lansbury/quick-quotations/paperback/product-1rejp7p8.html
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-in-1-Women-Pockets-Scarf-Convertible-Journey-Winter-Infinity-Scarf-
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Convertible-Scarf-With-Hidden-Zipper-Pockets-Bandana-Headscarf-Wool-Neckerchief
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Womens-Evening-Convertible-Multi-Dress-Way-Wrap-Bridesmaid-Formal-Long-Dresses
Reversible t-shirt, tunic, dress and coat - discount offer on sign up
https://www.simplybe.com/en-sg/ (switched to your country, whichever you choose to type)
Freemans reversible wrap dress, frequently on sale at end of season, as it is now in July 2020, plus discounts for first order
https://www.freemans.com/products/joe-browns-reversible-wrap-dress/
Dearer - is it the same dress or different fabric, or does one include postage in the dress price and does the other seller add postage later?

Come back every day to read a new post.
I have many more posts on packing, plus famous authors, and sites in the UK, USA, and worldwide. Also several posts on learning languages. Please read my other posts and share links to your favourite posts with your favourite colleagues, friends and members of your family.

About the Author
Travel writer and photogrpaher Angela Lansbury. See my books such as Quick Quotations on Amazon and lulu.com
follow me on facebook.
Join me at Toastmasters International apeakers clubs online such as Braddell Heights Advanced.

Packing, unpacking and re-packing tips

Problem
As a teenager I carried too much and ended up with clothes which could not be worn because they did not match anything. I once had orange nail vanish, red lipstick and a pink top. I had to go without wearing the pink top, or go without lipstick. I went without wearing the top.

Answers
Later, as a busy travel writer, I kept a case permanently packed for short trips.

COLOUR CO-ORDINATION
My colour scheme was black white and red. lack trousers and black skirt for day, satin black skirt for evening. two tee-shirts and a smart white blouse for the evening. Two different scarves so I looked different on two evenings.

More recently I have had another method. I wear two reversible dresses with a loose white blouse worn open like a jacket and a black wrap around skirt on top. If my luggage goes missing, I have five outfits.

SECURITY
On a plane I also keep my phone, passport and credit card on my body in concealed pockets or a photographer's jacket rather than in a bag. I can go to the loo and leave my bag behind, sure that I won't come back and find my passport gone. If I had to abandon a plane or train or car suddenly, leaving my bag behind, I would still have my identification and a source of communication and funds.

EMERGENCY FOOD
Many people like to travel with a chocolate bar, just in case of delays. I once sat in a plane for several hours on a runway.

If two of you are travelling, with two suitcases, you might have half of each person's clothes in each suitcase. That way, if one of the suitcases goes missing, you both have some clothes.

Always carry a book or notebook to keep yourself occupied in the event of a delay. Sometimes I notice a book i have not time to read, or a magazine, and I put it inside the suitcase of carry on bag for my next trip.

PACKING LIST STORAGE
Where can you keep you magic packing list? One copy pasted inside the wardrobe door. A second copy inside the suitcase, (so you don't go home leaving  your slippers under the bed. A third copy emailed to yourself. If your luggage goes missing, you know what to claim for.

COUNT YOUR CASES
One checked in bag
One wheel on bag
One umbrella
One shoulder bag
4 items.

Removed your jacket on the plane? 4 items.

Luggage Photos
I photograph my luggage at the airport. If it goes missing, I can spot it on the luggage carousel, and describe it accurately in the forms you have to fill in.

CHECKLIST
Number of days at destination. Number of evenings. Number of days travelling.

Suitcase and key, luggage tag, identifying ribbon tied around the handle or coloured strap around whole case, especially for a black suitcase..
Umbrella.
Coats or jackets, shoes, hats, travel outfit.
Underwear.
Socks
Medicines
Diary, address book.
Phone, camera and ipad or laptop.
Swimtuit and hat or sportwear, gym kitc, tennis, golf, ski clothes.
Hiking outfit.
Maps and travel insurance.
Reading matte, diary, dictionary.
Business cards.
Medicines and first aid kit, dental repair and glasses repair.
Sunglasses and spare sighted glasses of prescription.
Sewing kit.
Gifts for hosts.
Money for taxi or shuttle bus at destination and for taxi home from the airport.
Note of car park at airport.
Hotel name and printed booking record.
Frequent flyer number - check additional potential perks such as extra baggage allowance, fast check-in.
Check in online, choosing seat.

Seat Choices
Window seats are good for photography and sleeping propped against the wall. For more tips on seats,  see later post.

Fro
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have other posts on packing. Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts.

Five ways to travel light

Everybody has a different way of travelling light. Here are some choices:

1 Business Traveller (male)
Wear one smart suit to travel in business class. Get them to hang up your jacket. In business class sleep in the onesie provided (Or in track suit or silk long johns and silk t-shirt hidden under blankets).
Keep gym kit in travelling bag and one white tee-shirt and jeans for time off to blend in with locals.

2 Business Traveller (female)
'Spinner' (four wheel) suitcase carry on bag like the airline staff - Samsonite or similar. Put travel outfit into laundry evening of arrival and claim on expenses the extra cost for overnight next day laundry service.

Co-ordinate clothes outfits. Colour scheme black skirt, black trousers, white blouse, red scarf and jewellery for evening. Blouse with detachable collar and cuffs, which can be washed in any toilet washbasin and dried or half dried under hand drier or using hotel bedroom hair drier. Wear two pairs of underclothes on trip, silk or thong panties and second larger pair. Reversible dress and reversible jacket, plain black for day, colour for evening or vice versa.

Wear two silk tops, one as tank top, another three quarter length sleeves, to keep warm in warm destination and dress in layers to discard into carry bag on arriving at hot destination (and vice versa on return). Bikini doubles as underwear. Jump straight into shower in bedroom or gym on arrival for two minutes and be dressed for dinner while most people are still in the queue to check in.

3 Student
Wear new t-shirt from London. Wash and press on arrival and offer to give it to your hostess or donate to charity.

Buy t-shirt to wear home. Wash and press your worn once garment to give to family member or flatmate on return. Or donate to charity or keep in stock for next trip to same continent.

Alternatively, have on smart dress which you wear when travelling. Hang it up in the shower to remove creases on arrival.

Roll up clothes in a soft sided bag. Or use a backpack (ideally one which coverts to wheels).

4 Practical Lady
Pack one outfit for each day with one set of co-ordinating jewellery which you wear all the time. Wear a dress, to save decisions, with a matching bolero.

Alternatively, one black jacket to match all outfits, so each outfit must have black in the pattern, or black and white, or plain black. Alternatively to match the black jacket, you have black accessories, necklace, bracelet, belt, shoes, bag, eye liner, hat or cap or headband.

Put each outfit back in your suitcase at the end of each day. On the last day, no packing is needed, because it's already done. When you reach home, put all the clothes from your suitcase straight in the washing machine, no sorting needed, because each outfit has been worn once.

5 Jungle traveller
Pack light but duplicate every item including camera and phone backing each one to the other camera/phone. Sleep with one bag under you as pillow, the other with strap around your ankle. If one bag is stolen you still have everything you need in the other.

Specialist travel firms can supply trousers which zip off to make shorts, jackets with zip of sleeves, reversible raincoats, hats with removable brims, roll up packable reversible sunhats.

You can also buy reversible belts, rings, bracelets and pendants. Long necklaces and those with magnetic catches can be doubled over to make bracelets to match different outfits or create a new effect for variety for pleasing yourself or your fellow travellers.

Packing
Socks go inside shoes in order to save space. This also speeds dressing. Most important, it ensure you don't end up with shoes and no socks, or no matching socks - red sandals with yellow airline socks. If you are short of socks, most long-haul flights give you a pair free. Another member of your family or travel group might donate their socks to you. When packing check the current colour of airline socks. Singapore Airlines used to give you plum socks.

I went away wearing burgundy sandals. When the purple socks I'd worn on the journey were washed and still wet, I looked for my latest free socks. I then found the socks I was hoping to add to my week's collection were yellow.

If you can't reduce the number of clothes, watch the videos on you tube which show you how to pack items flat, alternating directions.

ANGELA Lansbury, B A Hons, travel writer and photographer, speaker.