Packing is one of those things that seems trivial until you are standing in a beautiful city wearing the wrong thing and feeling entirely unlike yourself.
I have been there. I have stood in 34-degree heat in Bangkok wearing jeans because I packed for the version of the trip I imagined rather than the trip I was actually taking. I have arrived somewhere cold without the right layer. I have worn shoes that were beautiful and destroyed me by the end of day two.
Now I plan my travel outfits the same way I plan everything else that matters. With intention and a Pinterest board.
How the board works
I create a board for each trip. It is private until I decide otherwise. I search for street style content from the specific city I am visiting. Seoul street style is its own world and it is extraordinary. I look at what people who live there wear, in the season I am visiting, in the neighbourhoods I plan to spend time in.
Then I search for travel outfit ideas for the specific weather conditions. November in Seoul is cold. We are talking 5 to 12 degrees Celsius. That means layers, a proper coat, and the acknowledgement that my Cape Town wardrobe is not sufficient as it stands.
What I am building for Seoul
The base layer is neutral. Black, grey, cream, camel. These travel well, they wash easily, and they work across every kind of day.
The statement pieces are small. A scarf with colour. Earrings that are interesting. One coat that is beautiful enough to be an outfit on its own.
The shoes are chosen before anything else and everything else has to work with them. Two pairs maximum for a three-week trip. One comfortable walking shoe that still looks like it has a point of view. One slightly more elevated option for evenings.
What the Pinterest board actually solves
It solves the problem of packing things that do not work together. If I can only save something to the board when it fits with at least three other things already there, I end up with a travel wardrobe that is a cohesive capsule rather than a collection of things I liked separately.
It also solves over-packing. The board forces me to make decisions before I open the suitcase, which means less of standing in front of an open wardrobe at midnight trying to decide if I need that fourth pair of trousers.
I do not. I never do.
