Whenever I take a trip to Malaysia, I pack pretty light. On this past trip, Angel and I only brought a small carry-on bag and a backpack each for the 6 week trip, and a decent chunk of the space was taken up with a few large items we were bringing over for storage purposes, like my wedding dress and Angel's suit coat.
The reasons I feel so comfortable with going on a long trip to visit family with so little clothing packed are several:
1) My family does 3-4 loads of laundry every single day. With many people, a tropical (sweat-inducing) climate, and only a small washing machine and area for drying clothes, this is the only way to stay on top of the chore. With such frequent laundering, I never have to worry about completely running out of clothes after a few days!
2) This family has a lot of girls, and for the most part, they lend me their stuff willingly. Take the outfit above, for example. The nail polish is my sisters'. The shoes are Mom's, as are the earrings, and you can't see it, because of the overwhelming personality of my curls on this particular day, but I was wearing a sparkly red barrette on the right side of my head--also Mom's. The necklace is actually mine, surprisingly, but it was a gift from my parents last year, so in the end, basically everything tracks back to Mom, right?
3) Malaysia has been my #1 favorite shopping destination over the course of my life, so if I'm in need of clothes while I'm there, I just buy them. I love the styles available, which tend to err on the side of much more colorful and quirky than average American mall clothes. If you hit up the right kinds of stores, clothing really isn't expensive, and the size of my frame is pretty close to ideal given the limited size range sold there. Granted, I'm on the tall side, which explains why I'm wearing a t-shirt minidress as a long shirt (bought for 30 RM or $10 US) and skinny jeans as cuffed, cropped skinny jeans (bought for 21 RM, or $7 US). I'll probably never get over my passionate love for purple jeans, and that's completely okay.
Hey, you wanna see behind the scenes of a real-life fashion blogger doing a shoot?
There we are, happily ignoring Angel's prying camera as I tack on a couple outfit photos to the end of a family photo session in honor of the New Year's Holiday. And yes, I was supposed to be wearing red, but my 'packing light' strategy meant that I didn't have any red clothing to wear...and the red-colored pickings from the red of the girls' wardrobes were pretty slim by the time they'd gotten dressed...
This outfit is so cute! I love the bright colors. I also tend to borrow (or "borrow") jewelry and accessories from Mom. If we traveled together more often, maybe it would help me cut down on how much baggage I tend to bring - I'm a chronic overpacker!
It was also nice to see how you style for a fashion shoot. I'm not a fashion blogger but I love to see how others do their jobs!
Hahaha I love that you say your curls have an overwhelming personality, I think they're gorgeous!
I am much better at packing light these days. Also helps when you're living in Asia and need very little clothing compared to the Canadian climate. :)
great shots, it looks like a lot of fun
Love your aubergine-coloured jeans! I always like the idea of packing light but, when it comes to actually travelling, I remember how I felt when I was in Egypt or Mexico and I'd packed light, vowing to buy cheap clothes whilst there....and how I felt distinctly 'un-me' when I was wearing these strange clothes....! Love how you bloom when you're at home.....you can see it in your face in the photos and in your writing.....
Love those colors together! It's always nice when you can pack light and avoid lugging a lot of heavy bags!
Great ideas! I don't have to travel too far to visit family, but even so, I pack way less because I know I can borrow stuff (clothes, toiletries, hair dryers) from my mom and sister. And I just LOVE those pants -- what a great color!
Lovely looks, and story of how you pack light. You look radiant! Thanks for sharing with Visible Monday, xo.
Very impressed that you manage six weeks with only a carry on but having sisters definitely helps!
Whoa, 6 weeks and not a single huge, fat suitcase filled with clothes? I am seriously impressed! :D But, given your reasoning I see how it's quite natural and obvious not to bring too much luggage, the outfit you put together from scratch is awesome, you've got skillz! :D Would have loved to see ghe beret!
Also, now I want to go to Malaysia and buy all the clothes, curse yoooouuu!
You look so great!! And I love packing light but sometimes I'm not good at it-- I want to have something to wear for any and every occasion possible. And weather can be so unpredictable! Still, love this outfit on you, and you're so photogenic!!
That's certainly an advantage of kind sisters!
those pictures of you look great!!! Those purple pants are great!
Those colors look great on you! I like to pack lightly too - I never check bags - I'd rather do without! Thanks for the outfit inspiration!
You are the best packer! That's nice you can borrow stuff, though, because I'm sure it makes the whole process of packing a lot easier:)
what great photos of you!! i am also super impressed with your packing light skills and appreciate that most of your things lead back to mom because mine do too!
hope you had a fantastic time home-it sure looks like it!
That shirt is supposed to be a minidress?!?! Yikes! But I Iove how you're wearing that. As a fellow tall girl, I'm no stranger to wearing a dress as a shirt.
I love the purple pants.
That's such a cute look! :] I like those colors together! :]
I've gotten a lot better at traveling light because of all the moving I've had to do in the past couple years.
I suck at finding clothes sometimes in Asia. :[ I tend to be considered a L or XL on account of the boobs/butt, but at least some of the time, I find things that fit!?! :P
That's how my sisters feel with me--they can borrow my clothes but I can't borrow theirs because they are so much shorter than me.
Cute and adorable as usual, Rachel. Love the teal with the purple. Hope all is well dear. Nice catching up with you.
<3 Ada.
I'm so impressed by how little you packed!!!!
going places where you can swap/share with family is the best :) i always tell friends not to bother packing when they visit - anything of mine is theirs <3
I love the colors of your outfit!
Alena & http://garmentsspeech.blogspot.com/
I wish I could pack that light! I'm trying to teach myself how to pack less but it's hard. Love the colored jeans!
How fun! I would love to visit Asian country. I know that the clothing will probably be cheaper and bringing stuff would just seem silly... Love the colors of your outfit!
All About You Co-Host (ANNA)
Happy Medley Blog
Love those pants! I wish I could do 3-4 loads of laundry a day, but we live in an apartment and pay for each load and it adds up! I learned that quickly!
Isn't it amazing how much you can reduce your packing when you know that you have access to washers and dryers, especially if you don't have to pay for them. When we booked a private via Airbnb last year for our awesome two week trip to Vancouver Island, onsite laundry facilities were a must for us for that very reason (as our car has an insanely small truck/amount of storage space and we can only take one suitcase a piece with us when we travel in it).
Lovely outfit! I so adore the colour of your pants. I'd love to a vintage-y looking pair or a skirt in the same hue.
Big hugs,
♥ Jessica
I like those purple jeans as well! And I love behind the scene photos..what fun! xo Tammy
http://www.wildruffle.com/2015/03/11/sun-shoulders/
When my in-laws lived in Malaysia my sister-in-laws shopped a lot! haha...
I am impressed with your packing skills! Enjoy your vacation.
Alice
www.happinessatmidlife.com
Hope to see you Thursday for TBT Fashion link up.
Such a cute and funky outfit - I love those colours together!
Great post! I always try to pack light when traveling, I don't trust checking in baggage so it is always a carry on for me! I love the photo shoot! The purple and the blue looks so great together! Thanks for sharing and have a great trip!!!
You look adorable!! I don't do much traveling, but when I do I try to pick pieces that coordinate well together so that I can pack less. :-)
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