You have a car, some friends, and a destination. Don’t be the friend slowing everyone down with a trail of multiple suitcases. Packing light will help keep your road trip carefree and stress-free. That way, you don’t end up having to schedule a installation before you can start the drive back. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still look cute—follow these packing tips to stay chic while living on the road.
Tops
The most important rule of packing for a road trip is to go minimalistic. Choose basics in earthy tones that you can easily mix-and-match: blue or black denim with tops in black, ivory, gray, dusty pink or olive green.
Go bold with jewelry and accessories—they’re small and light, so you can easily pack an assortment of them to liven up your basic tees and tops without sacrificing a lot of space. Don’t forget a trendy pair of oversized sunglasses for the road.
The last thing you want to do on your road-trip adventure is worry about ironing your clothes. Choose fabrics like knits and denim that won’t get wrinkled in the close quarters of your travel bag.
Bring a light jacket and a cozy boyfriend cardigan to layer over your tops and look chic in any weather. Denim is a little bit bulky, but an essential denim jacket will go a long way. It’s a timeless classic that can be paired with just about anything.
Bottoms
Mom jeans might be , but stretch denim skinny jeans are much easier to roll up into tight spaces.
Fashion items that can serve more than one purpose are perfect for traveling. Pair printed leggings with a tunic top, romper, or skater skirt during the day and wear them alone as comfy pajamas at night.
Leggings are light and easy to roll up in a small suitcase or duffel bag without taking up too much space. Choose leggings with eye-catching patterns to mix a pop of color with your basics—sweater print for fall and winter trips, bold pastels for spring and summer.
Shoes
Shoes , so it’s best to limit yourself to one or two pairs on the road. Wear a pair of go-anywhere, do-anything ankle boots on your way out of town and bring a backup pair of cute canvas sneakers in your travel bag.
If you must bring heels, substitute the boots with a comfortable pair of heels for nights out.
Toiletries and Makeup
To save space and spare yourself the burden of lugging them around, leave the big bottles of shampoo and conditioner at home. Transfer hair products—including mousse, serums, and anything else you might need—to small travel-sized bottles. To save even more space, pack the tiny toothpaste samples you get from dentist visits instead of the full-sized tubes. A compact toiletry tote does wonders to keep all these little things organized.
If you’re someone who has a lot of makeup samples lying around, why not bring them along on your travels? Use makeup to mix up your basics; a colorful eyeshadow palette takes up much less space than a colorful assortment of tops. Try to fit all of your makeup essentials in a small, zippered travel pouch.
photos: personal archive
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