3 Packing Tips One Fashion Expert Swears By For Travelling With A Carry-On

If there’s one thing we remember most vividly about travelling recently, it’s the pesky feeling of having to wait for our luggage after getting off the plane and watching the passengers who know how to pack lightly walk right out of the airport like they have somewhere better to be (as if!). Now, with Toronto Pearson Airport’s luggage crisis, which sees passengers reporting stolen, missing and delayed baggage, travelling with a carry-on seems imperative and nothing short of magical.

Fashion and travel expert Leah Van Loon, who is the co-ordinator of Fashion Experience Tours, organizing fashion-themed excursions in Paris, admits that packing only a carry-on is “a completely different way of travelling and it really freed [her] up.” This revelation came after arriving late to her flight, missing the checked luggage gate and being forced to pack a month’s worth of fashion week clothing into one carry-on. “I really encourage people to try it, even if it’s just for a week, and you’ll see you really don’t need very much.” This is demonstrated through the professional packing services she offers to clients where she shows them how to pare down on their packing while still having all the fashion essentials they need.

Here are the top three packing tips Leah swears by for travelling with only a carry-on, whether it be for a weekend getaway, a destination wedding or anything in-between. —Christina Armanious

style your outfits in advance. “Styling your clothing will teach you how to pack less and work with less when you’re there.” Leah explains that you should almost create a capsule collection when you are packing to ensure that all the clothes you are bringing are necessary and work well with each other, naturally eliminating the clothes you know you won’t wear. “It takes time, but you would be surprised by how many essentials you can fit in a carry-on without being overwhelmed,” she adds.

pack only versatile pieces. “You have to imagine yourself there, the things you’re going to be doing, and see whether the clothes you have in your wardrobe can work double, even triple duty.” It’s imperative to pack clothing that can accommodate different activities and also be used to create day-to-night looks, without changing your whole outfit. For example, a morning look can easily be turned into evening attire by just changing the shoe or jacket, or playing around with layers. Leah further explains that “you have to imagine these are the only clothes you have and be OK with it.”

don’t bring fancy shoes. “Shoes are the one thing people want to bring a lot of and they take up the most space.” Leah says that usually, a pair of sandals or flats will do the trick and work with both a dressy and casual outfit, without it being uncomfortable to walk in for the rest of the trip. The first time Leah went to Paris, she packed 10 pairs of shoes for every outfit, and the result was her switching out of them every day and into a more comfortable pair. Now, she only brings two-to-three pairs of shoes when she is travelling for a month: sneakers, sandals that double as a dress shoe and a pair of boots (depending on the location and time of year). “You really have to think about the practicalities of things as opposed to the imaginary vision of what you think you will be wearing on vacation,” Leah adds. She encourages travellers to take a more utilitarian approach to footwear by identifying what they need rather than what they would like to have. She concludes by saying, “You really don’t need very much. This is true in life as well, but definitely when you’re travelling. It’s literally baggage, it’s weighing you down.”