Packing For Mexico

Every time I go out of town, I dream of packing a perfectly organized, perfectly coordinated bag. Preferably a carry-on. 

On my most recent trip to Mexico, it actually happened. 

I'll admit that packing for a beach trip makes things easier, because what you need for the beach take up little room in a suitcase, and you know the weather will be at least mostly warm. Still, it's very possible to bring too much, bring things that don't go together, or things that just don't work for the trip.

Here's everything I packed and loved.

First, I have discovered the perfect airport outfit, which is this extremely comfy jumpsuit and this oversized denim jacket. The jumpsuit has huge square front pockets and the jacket also has huge pockets on the outside and inside, which means there's plenty of room for keeping trail mix and my phone and my passport and my boarding pass on-hand. In this situation, my pockets are basically stuffed like chipmunk cheeks. 

For the rest of the trip, I anchored all my clothing in the scheme of neutrals (black, white, and brown/woven) with pops of red. For bottoms, I brought white, wide-leg linen pants sorta like this and these white high-waisted shorts. For tops, I brought this tank in black and white. I LOVE this top — it drapes in a very flattering way that's not too loose or tight, AND its reversible, so you can wear it as a crew neck or v-neck. For a little variety and color I brought one of these striped shirts. I also brought this simple brown belt, this simple gold bracelet, and these pretty earrings. These reflective blue sunglasses added a nice pop of color. 

The only shoes I wore were some minimal brown leather sandals that my grandma actually brought back as a souvenir for me years ago — but these similar sandals are also very cool.

At the beach I alternated between this red suit from Matteau, or my trusty black one that I've had for a couple years (top and bottom). I've been searching for a nice cover-up for so long and finally found one I love, that I can wear over my suit at the beach or as a regular shirt. It's this white linen tunic. Previously I'd just wear a regular t-shirt and some jean shorts over my suit and this feels 1000x chicer. I also wore this woven hat, which I use all the time in my personal life and makes an appearance in many photo shoots.

For bags, I carried a woven bag like this to dinner and around town and a fun Baggu bag at the beach. The Baggu was the perfect beach bag because it's large, durable, waterproof, and you just shake out the sand. And they take up no room in your suitcase. 

And that's it! Luckily I was able to keep clothing to a minimum because I still insist on bringing old-fashioned non-kindle books to read and I ended up taking home plates and clay cups as my souvenir. 

My next trip is coming up fast and I'm looking forward to another packing challenge. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that before the Mexico trip, I actually took screenshots of what I planned to pack (or similar items) and laid it out in a moodboard. It's very type-A for a personal vacation, but it worked so well I'm going to do it again. And it enables you to relax just a little more once you're at your destination, which is the ultimate goal, right?