the work trip

work trip

I was assigned at a fairly short notice four-day business trip to Harbin, China, which among other things, gave me the excuse to do yet another packing post, which I never seem to tire of. I'm a bit too lazy to shoot my things so I went to Polyvore and threw together things that approximate my own, supplemented with ideas from this GOOP post.

Step 1: Check weather, itinerary
Warm days, cool nights. (12 to 25 degrees Celsius). Lots of meetings and site visits. Vibe of trip is on the conservative side but the site visits are casual.

Step 2: Determine what in my closet doesn’t wrinkle too badly
I’m not too concerned about wrinkles on holidays, but work is another thing.

Step 3: Pick out foundation items around which outfits will be built
- Black tapered-leg trousers
- Grey blazer

Step 4: Pick out tops
This is the hard part, where I pick tops according to what works for each day. I change my mind a lot. In the end I picked: 

- Cream and navy striped cotton top
- Blue and white checked cotton shirt
- Cream silk shirt(wrinkles but steams out easily and it's my best formal dinner option)
- Grey cotton knit pullover (worn on its own or over shirts)

Step 5: Pick out shoes
- Beige suede chukka boots
- Low heels (wasn't keen on bringing them but I need them for a formal dinner)

Step 6: Add the missing ingredients
- Dark skinny jeans (for flight and for the more outdoorsy days)
- Grey scarf
- A gold cuff (to make dinner outfit dressier)

Step 7: Add underwear, PJs, toiletries, spare glasses, various chargers

Step 8: Select bags
- My trusty navy Longchamp messenger bag

This excludes my flight outfit, which is leggings, t-shirt, the grey pullover, and the chukka boots (we don;t have to remove shoes at security here).

Well, that's it then. See you all in a week.

 

Comments

Amanda said…
Quick question: Check in luggage or not?

Have a good trip! :-)
Kate said…
These are great ideas. I tend to cram in as much stuff as I can with little thought to mix and match. I need to take a leaf out of your book!
lin said…
Pret a Porter P: Thanks! I actually miss those black trousers and am glad to bring them this time.

Amanda: Carry-on! Thanks!

Kate: It drives me crazy to bring something I only wear once and can't find ways to wear again. It's ok if it's a short weekend trip but anything longer, I expect my clothes to double duty as much as possible!
Holly said…
I love packing posts. I'm not good at this! Yours is inspiring, as I need to learn how to edit my choices
Ammu said…
Great list. I have become very good at packing since moving to India and pretty much work from a template. I think a shrunk closet has also helped. I have fewer clothes and so it's simpler to figure out how to wear them together.
Anonymous said…
This is great. I LOVE to talk about packing (it is a hobby/obsession).
What a really well-thought out list! I look forward to hearing how it all worked out for you.
miss sophie said…
i love posts about packing - especially concise packing :) i'd pack very similar items. a cream silk blouse is such a versatile piece!
Anonymous said…
This is a very functional (yet elegant) wardrobe for your business trip. I love the way all the pieces work so well with each other. Any combination of top + trousers + shoes in this set will work perfectly.
Do you manage to fit everything in the large Longchamp bag? That's travelling elegantly light (my dream!).
I really like the individual pieces you'd picked out. I can easily see how many different outfits you could create by mixing and matching. Despite my oath to include more colors into my existing closet, I always end up with black, white, blue and grey as well.
Alexandra said…
Perfect timing for my holiday!

http://herribbonsandherbows.blogspot.co.uk/
Sue said…
A very lovely, well organised and stylishly put together collection. I'm really liking the navy Longchamp weekender. I find myself wearing all the colours that you show here but I put in a "splash" of colour just to shake it up a bit. Stops people saying "that Sue always wears "black" and I can point out that I am actually or have worn something colourful. Besides which ... I don't actually wear that much black ... now grey - that I do wear a lot of.
lin said…
Holly: It's obvious I think I'm an awesome packer haha. But my biggest flaw is that I sometimes under-pack. But I still prefer to be missing an extra pair of socks than to over-pack.

Ammu: I'm a template packer too! I always pack certain shirts and jeans and as a result in photos I look like I'm more or less on the same holiday...

editor: In a nutshell, it went perfectly well, because the weather wasn't too far off from the forecast. If it had been a tad warmer I would probably be less comfortable on some days.

I did wish I packed a pair of flip flops that I could quickly slip into for quick errands from my hotel!

miss sophie: I hate ironing it though! I rely on steaming it - in this case the iron in the hotel room had a pretty decent steam function.

sonia: Actually I switched to a smaller wheelie case because the Longchamp more roomy than necessary. Turns the wheelie was a brilliant idea because the Beijing airport involved a fair bit of walking around.

Marlene: I usually introduce colour by accident...but it hasn't happened in a while either. I always tire of colour in my clothing.

Alexandra: Would love to know how your packing and your holiday went. Safe travel!

Sue: They make a version that has a shoulder strap, which would make it infinitely handier! That said, mine is a pretty good bag - it folds away like a regular Longchamp Pliage so it's a very handy extra travel bag when you need one.

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