Style Buzz: Sudoku Packing for Effortless Travel
- Eugene Stylist
- May 29
- 4 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
Ideas to Inspire Your Style This Week!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"I need help with travel packing but I dislike it so much that I don't even want to be in the same room when you're doing it. I just want to come in when it's all done!"
Oh, if only it were that easy! As much fun as it would be for a client to give me free rein in her closet, it wouldn't behoove either of us. I not only need her itinerary, I need her inspirations and her aspirations to know exactly what would be best to pack. Style is not a task you can hand off to an assistant. Your personal input is vital to the process because your clothes are personal to you. By being involved and working together, you get a bit of an education with tips, tricks, pieces to consider, and, of course, a digital wardrobe in your style app for packing and daily dressing on the road, so it's as easy as possible!
xxx rachel
SUDOKU PACKING
There are loads of different packing methods - rolling vs layering vs packing cubes - but those only come into play once you've decided what to take. Like I mention above, packing is a combination of itinerary, inspiration and aspiration: The itinerary informs the activities you need outfits for, the inspiration drives how you want to look, and aspirations are how you want to feel (like packing something a little more elegant, funky, daring, colorful, etc than what you normally wear at home).
In order to hit all the right marks with our travel wardrobe, we don't need to take everything with us but we do need to take the right pieces. Packing without a plan ends in overstuffed suitcases and excess baggage fees, plus a very sore shoulder from lugging them around!
I recently helped a client shop for new pieces for an upcoming four-week trip to the East Coast, mostly casual but with a couple of nice events. I got an email from her before our appointment with the note, "Am flirting with the idea of taking only a carry-on for a month-long trip..." and a link to an article about Sudoku packing. I was intrigued, to say the least!
The concept is pretty simple: you create mix-and-match outfits with just nine pieces. By packing three tops (e.g. t-shirt, blouse, button-front), three layers (e.g. cardigan, jacket, blazer), and three bottoms (e.g. trousers, jeans, skirt), you'll have enough outfits for a month of travel. You lay them out in a 3x3 grid where each row has a top, a layer, and a bottom, and every row, column and diagonal is a complete outfit. |
So when I was updating her digital wardrobe in her style app, I decided to build a grid for her using her own pieces in a deliberate color scheme for cohesiveness. I designed a slightly different structure to lay out the grid, putting all tops in the top row, all layers in the middle row, and all bottoms along the bottom row. I numbered each piece to facilitate creating outfits and make sure I used each piece with each other piece. |
I then wrote down all the number combinations (like a page of fun math problems!)
A quick count shows 36 outfit combinations, and that's not even taking accessories into account. Imagine if you add two pairs of shoes plus two scarves, earrings, and necklaces that go with everything, you've just created several months of unique outfits to choose from, and it would all fit into a carry-on!
Even if you're not traveling, let alone traveling for a month, you can do this! Pick out your nine pieces deliberately and use the formula for yourself. Maybe try it for your summer uniform, or for a month at work. Use it to test out the capsule wardrobe you've wanted to try for ages. Whatever reason you use it for, it'll make your life as easy as a summer breeze!
ANATOMY OF AN OUTFIT
This is a peek into my favorite outfit of the week where I break it down for you: why I've put it together and why it works, what elements could be swapped out, things to consider, etc.
The benefit of having a wide selection of accessories, especially shoes, is that I have styles and colors for every outfit and occasion. I love them all, especially the heels. But when heels aren't appropriate, I need a comfortable flat alternative at the ready. So when I had a networking event plus a leg injury, I was really grateful to have the bronze Mary Janes I featured last week. I popped them on with a dress and cardigan from late-2011, both of which look polished but feel like pajamas. The dress is abstract and drapey with a slight bubble hem, and the solid color and straight lines of the cardigan really complement it. A knotted bronze belt defined my waist, a black watch band tied everything together, and I was good to go, except I think I've just given myself permission to buy more flat, adorable shoes I can limp in!
Dress: Calvin Klein
Cardigan: White House Black Market
Shoes: Sam Edelman from Miss Meers
SAVE THE DATES
 | A friend just went to New York (happy birthday, Cassie!) and while she was there, popped over to the Brooklyn Museum to see the exhibit of fashion designer Iris van Herpen's .... I can't really call them clothes. They're astonishing creations and wild stretches of the imagination for how materials are used to "explore the body's place in space, its relationship to clothing and its environment." The installation is expertly curated and presented, and if you're headed that way before December 6, I highly encourage you to check it out. |
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