Packing: trip to Austin, TX

Nature of the trip: 3 weeks, activities ranging from business to home improvement, possibly some dancing. Climate: season change from spring into early Austin summer. Hot to very hot, with possibly one more "cold" front (for reference, in case you are wondering what high summer is like if early summer is very hot, the third kind of hot I use to describe the climate in Austin is "miserably hot"). The weather in May is mostly dry, but when it rains, it comes down hard. Extended periods in ferocious indoor air conditioning (Texans like heat, as long as they can spend their summer in the arctic blast of AC set to "freeze everything in sight"). Leaving from cooler climate.

Step 1 The base outfits

Because this is summer travel (light clothing), I am allowing myself to break the rule of bringing mainly separates for increased versatility. Instead, I am centering my travel wardrobe around a set of selected dresses. Dresses take less thinking, as one garment can make an outfit. With a dress, one also has the option of having a loose waist or no waist at all, much appreciated in hot weather. And with cover-ups and layering pieces, dresses can also be versatile.

The dresses, arranged from least formal to most formal. In the middle, there is a wide crossover between dresses that can be worn both for business and leisure purposes.

Another rule of packing light is to pick a color palette and stick to it. Since this is a three week trip and one color can get boring, I picked two: blue/greens and pink/orange.

The left-most dress is one I will wear when at home. It doubles as a nightgown if needed, or as a swim-suit cover-up. It's easy slip-on slip-off and comfortable.

The next 3 dresses can be dressed up or down. The blue one and the salmon one are my favorite dresses to wear when it is hot. They are both light cotton. The blue one ties under the chest, while the salmon one barely touches the body. It also doubles as a long skirt for added possibilities.

The salmon dress working its magic in Hawaii.

The green dress with white flowers is another comfortable one. Rayon, no belt. The last two are more dressed up and also better for cooler temperatures, having defined waists, and being lined. The right-most is my go-to dress while flying, because it absolutely does not wrinkle, is non-constricting, and has a medium length, flowy skirt (no worries about sitting down and showing too much of anything, or on the flip side being impaired while walking or running). It is the dress I will be wearing flying to Austin. In Austin, it is not clear that I will be able to wear it past the first week.

Step 2: Layering pieces and cover-ups

When I stay in Austin in the spring (I don't do summers anymore), I am torn. One part of me wants to go outside butt naked because the thought of wearing clothes seems unbearable considering the heat. The other part of me wants to be stylish, and in a professional setting, a little modest. That's where the art of the cover-ups that don't cover much comes in.

The cover-ups. From left to right: a sarong, two lace almost-no-there vests, one short-sleeve for more cover, and a classic cardigan when a little warmth is needed

Most of my cover-ups are white or off-white, for versatile pairing. With the exception of a light purple one that fits within my color schemes. It goes well with the blue dress, and brings it from sundress to office wear.

I never travel without a sarong anymore, be it summer of winter. In the winter, they can accessorize a plain sweater or double as a winter scarf. In the summer time, they do a lot. Lay it down on the grass and sit on it, use it as a shawl when a little warmth is welcome, wear it at home as a dress or a skirt, use as swimsuit cover-up. A light fabric makes them easy to wash and dry.

To further modulate the desired amount of coverage and level of warmth, I am also packing two tank tops (one white, one grey), a white T-shirt, and a white long sleeve T-shirt. The latter is almost exclusively for indoor use (where it's cold in Texas), or if it happens to be cold when I leave Pennsylvania, possibly for the early part of the trip. Also, white leggings. They work for added warmth with the green dress at home, with my jean skirt (see below), or with the shorter dresses.

Some separates

It sounds insane to bring nothing but dresses on a trip, right? Even for me, yes. So I am bringing a few separates, for added versatility.

I am keeping with my palette of blue/green, pink, and off-whites. It's still mostly skirts, because that is mostly what I wear. And again, when it's hot, they are more comfortable. On particularly miserably hot days, when I am about to step out the door and get arrested for public indecency, I put on my jean mini-skirt. It's low waist and short. The tops I chose are non-restricting or breathe otherwise. Again, there is a range in how formal the bottoms are, from a summer suit skirt, to lace shorts. Off camera, I have another pair of shorts, to wear at home and for the home improvement part of the trip.

Shoes

That is the trickiest part of the planning for a trip, as shoes take up a lot of space and weight, even my child size summer shoes. So a lot of thought goes into minimizing the number of pairs one brings along. My standard choice for summer travel is a pair of pumps (for when closed toe footwear is desirable), a pair of sandals to wear everyday, and a pair of sneakers.

My favorite summer travel pumps are a sturdy, nude pair that crosses over from office to leisure. They can be worn with a formal outfit while not looking strange when paired with my jean skirt. Both the pumps and the sandals are mid-heel, for comfort and style. This time around, I am bringing my Highschool musical sneakers. They have survived through medium hikes and moderate amounts of dirt and mud and are a good choice for this trip. Both the pumps and the sneakers can be useful when it rains, though it is best to stay out of the rain altogether when it comes down, as when it rains in Austin, it rains hard.

For the trip, I will be wearing the pumps. They come off the easiest at security and go well with my dress.