question from a reader (pt. 3)
People, it’s like the calls are coming from INSIDE THE HOUSE.
Fish,
I’m a horrible… HORRIBLE.. packer. I studied abroad for 6 months in Cape Town and I brought 15 pairs of shoes.( I told you so!) I did some traveling in Africa and I’m still alive and I also lived in Denmark for a year and traveled while I was there. My point in telling you this is that I’m not a super experienced traveler but I know whats going on. It’s because of this that I realized I needed professional help with packing.I’m leaving in two weeks to do my first ‘backpacking’ trip. I’m going to New York, London, Copenhagen, Athens, Santorini, Barcelona and Alicante over a period of three weeks in May. I’m staying with friends everywhere but in Greece… so I naturally want to bring tons of cool clothes to show my friends how cool I am. I also have an urge to pack all of my high heels… even though I know I can’t!
I’ve read your blog entry on packing but I might need more direction. If you have a chance do you think you could help me out!? Let me know if you have any questions!
- Susie G., AKA bad packer
I’m going to give you the answer that my mom would give you:Your friends don’t love you for your shoes.
Moms and their wisdom can irritate the heck out of me, but they’re dead right. Mostly. When you’re carrying all of your belongings on your back for an extended period of time, I promise you will care less and less about impressing folks with your footwear, and care more and more about holy mother of bob, my BACK is KILLING me. Which it will.
Here’s what you do. You wear your biggest shoes on the plane. Sneakers? Fine. Wear those. Pack clothes that work for every occasion. You know, like a low cut shirt or sweater that can be layered for warmth and modesty. Mine is a flimsy, translucent black sweater that I un-layer for going out to bars. Then, take one thing that is entirely for looks alone. Skimpy black dress is my go-to item. And one (ONE! Do you HEAR ME?) pair of sexy, non-functional shoes. If it’s warm enough, you’ll be padding around in flip-flops anyway, and those are plenty stylish for your friends.
Your friends will love you for being stylish, down to earth and awesome and not complainy about how much your back hurts from lugging all that stuff from country to country.
I would also add a couple of pretty common tips that might enable you to add a pair of shoes to that backpack without straining your back:
1. Color coordinate. I always travel with a lot of black/white/grey items while my blonde girlfriends like the brown/beige/cream combo. They are easy to coordinate and can be easily dressed down/up. I managed a 3-week trip through Spain and New York with one small (21-inch) roller-suitcase that fit in two business suits, a winter coat as well as various casual/fun clothes for both warm and cold weather…so it can be done. I probably should mention that I also had room for 5 pairs of shoes.
2. Invest in something made of cashmere. You can wear those tops when it’s warm or cold, can dress them up or down and save space in your backpack since the wool is so thin and lightweight.
Great advice. Plus, your friends already think you’re cool…that’s why their your friends. I also pack a few pieces of colorful/unique, fun jewelry (but nothing expensive that could get stolen) and a colorful/pretty scarf or two to mix outfits up and keep from getting bored (one can only wear the same outfit so many days in a row without becoming sick of looking at it…or maybe that’s just me). Or you could buy these while traveling and then wear them.
My personal trick is wear my second largest shoes on the way there and then the largest on the way home. It’s more suited to staying in one place travel than backpacking, but it gives me that bit of extra room for the purchases I never leave quite enough space for =) (This works particularly well if I’m taking boots. The flip side, of course, is if I end up buying a pair of shoes while I’m away.)