The Best Vacation Packing Tip Ever

Tomorrow I walk down the aisle and get married!  A few days later, we’ll be in Hawaii on our honeymoon.  I’ll be sure to write some blog posts about the wedding and post lots of pics too!  My cousins will have admin access to the Ms. Career Girl Facebook page so they can post some pics throughout the day!

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, packing for vacation has been unexpectedly tough for me.  Naturally I put packing off until the last minute.  Waiting until mid-September to shop for summer clothes in Chicago means that bathing suits and pairs of flip flops are apparently long gone.

Click here to view individual pieces.

Therefore I had to work with what I had.  The problem is that I have a tendancy to completely over pack.  This is caused by me packing a bunch of individual pieces that I love but DON’T (AT ALL) go together. We all have our favorite things, right? That amazing red dress, your favorite turquoise Jessica Simpson heels, the designer bright purple top you found on sale…yet none of which can really be worn together.

If anyone else is a terrible “packer,” you’ll appreciate the tip my best friend taught me:

“always picks a color theme and make sure all of your items (including accessories) fit that theme.  It helps you pack a lot less and no matter what mood you are in, all the items in your suitcase can easily be interchanged for a finished look.”

So my theme for this trip is black & white.  It’s my favorite color combo and it’s so classic and easy.

I also love black and white because you can add a bit of animal print, rhinestones and pretty much any jewelry and it will look great. I also love the fact that I can look back on my pictures and not be completely embarrassed by how trendy my clothes were!

What are your vacation packing tips?  

What color themes do you usually go for?  

Any other honeymoon advice? 

Nicole Emerick

Nicole Emerick founded Ms. Career Girl in 2008 to help other ambitious young professional women thrive in a career they love. Ironically, growing MsCareerGirl helped Nicole transition her own career from commercial banker to digital marketer. Today Nicole leads the social media team at a large advertising agency in Chicago. Nicole also served as an adjunct professor at DePaul University where she helped develop the careers of PR, Advertising and Communications students. Tweet with Nicole @_NicoleEmerick.