Packing for a longer business trip can at times become a bit of a challenge, especially if you are to spend the weekend away as well. This means your packing-list will now have to include business and leisure pieces without exceeding your luggage space, and by luggage space I am referring to the cabin size carry-on.
I know, at first it all seems a bit impossible, but if you plan your outfits right it is very much doable and you may even end up carrying a couple of extra ‘just in case’ pieces as well! Think about it, if you pack 3 bottoms and 4 tops that you can easily mix-match gives you 12 outfits right off the bat. Add a dress to the mix and you now have 2 weeks of well coordinated outfits to wear!
It all sounds pretty easy till faced with the ‘what to pack’ dilemma. Especially when trying to travel light and only pack a limited number of pieces that can be stylishly mixed & matched. Trust me that’s when the real challenge kicks-in!
My last business trip was for 12 days to Bogota, Colombia back in September which included a weekend. This meant dual purpose packing; business and leisure.
As always I started to plan my packing list based on my top 2 criteria: agenda and climate. Here is the reason why; my agenda will help me to plan the type of outfits I need, and the climate of my destination will help me to plan the kind of pieces I need to build my outfits.
Once my top 2 criteria points were clear, I started selecting my pieces, starting with the bottoms first, then moving on to tops followed by layers, and last but not least accessories. Once all the pieces were in front me, I started to build my outfits. This meant editing and removing pieces that did not have multiple use and/or could not be mixed & matched with multiple items.
I packed a total of 15 pieces which would create over 25 outfits and giving me a lot of options should there be a change in agenda or climate during my trip. To see what I packed for my 2 weeks business trip to Bogota, Colombia check out my ‘What I Packed to Bogota!’ video here below and hope it will help you to travel light yet stylish to your next long business trip! Where did you travel to on your last business trip and which piece do you never travel without?
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