2. July 2026
Packing with intention
Packing for a holiday often presents us with dilemmas, and stress year after year. We want to make the most of our time away and not find ourselves with ‘nothing to wear’. We tend to pack in ‘outfits’ for each day and/or evening, meaning we have to take more than we need (and use!). We also feel like something new ought to be in there.
Our holidays are precious, a time to relax, celebrate maybe and meet new people. It’s important that we know we have a capsule that will make it easy to choose outfits every day, and that those outfits reflect ourselves.
Packing for our holiday also presents an opportunity to look more widely at our year round wardrobe, the habits we have fallen into, and whether we are showing up best as ourselves. In this blog I’m going to talk through how to pack more intentionally and share insight as to how you can use your approach for your year round wardrobe too.
Step one - time for planning
Put aside some time for your holiday packing. Whether you hate it or not, the later you leave it, the more stressful it will be. If you know what you have then you will know what you are missing or can treat yourself to to update this year’s suitcase.
It’s the same with your wardrobe. The fact is we only use about half of what we have, and often because we don’t know what is in there. So put aside some time at least every season to review what you have hanging up. My wardrobe edit service is a great way to help you sort what you have and give you something to wear every day.
Step 2 Try your clothes on
This step gets skipped more than any other, usually because we assume we already know. But one of the most common things clients tell me is that clothes aren't being worn simply because they no longer fit, held onto in the hope of getting back into them, or because they carry memories that feel hard to let go of.
You don't want to discover any of this on holiday. Feeling confident in what you're wearing, whatever your body is doing right now, is always worth more than optimism about what might fit later.
Step 3 Lay it all out
This is the step that tends to shift things. When you hang everything on a rail or spread it across a bed, something usually becomes clear that wasn't obvious when it was tucked away in a wardrobe.
You might notice a colour story emerging a palette that keeps repeating. Or a style that threads through most of what you've chosen, a mood or feeling that connects the pieces. Once you can see it, take out the items that don't belong to it. Then look at what's left.
How would you describe it? Classic? Relaxed? Bold? Creative? There's no right answer what matters is whether the words you'd use actually sound like you.
Step 4 Check what you have against your trip
Look at what you're planning to do while you're away, meals out, time on the beach, walking, evenings, anything more formal, and ask whether what you have covers it. If it more than covers it, what can come out?
It's a useful question to bring home too. When you look at your everyday wardrobe, is one type of clothing dominating, gym wear, say, or workwear that no longer fits your week? Does that reflect how you're actually spending your time, or has it just accumulated?
Step five: Notice what your holiday wardrobe is telling you
Holidays are something most of us prepare for. We think about how we want to feel, how we want to show up. The clothes we choose beyond the purely practical ones tend to reflect something real about who we are and who we want to be.
Look at what you're taking. What does the style or colour of those pieces say about your style personality? And if there's something there you'd like to carry into your everyday dressing, that's worth paying attention to.
Your holiday wardrobe, at its best, is a clearer, more edited version of your style. The work you put into it doesn't have to stay in the suitcase.
My holiday packing service will give you a formula for all your future holiday packs and give you some direction on developing your unique style all year round. Get in touch to find out more.