As I am getting ready for my upcoming business trip in India the news hit me - ‘unprecedented heat wave in India, 40 degrees Celsius and above’ - the voice of my favorite BBC podcast. BBC daily news podcast do not usually report the weather. Unless it is really, really special or concerning. In my case - this was concerning.
This trip was a challenge: 11 days in India, traveling across the country to see more than 10 partners and their manufacturing facilities. I spent 27 hours in planes and many hours in the car. So, hand-luggage was a must - I cannot afford losing my bag on the way. As I am coming in as purchasing team leader, so I expect myself to look professional. Oh, and as I work in Pharma - those plant tours mean wearing overcoats and over-pants during site tours.
Result - I managed! I was mostly happy with how I dressed each day. See below my packing strategy, what worked and where I messed up.
Start with the colors.
I always want maximum variety. Variety is achieved through combinations. Easy combinations are achieved through base color match. That doesn’t mean - pack everything of the same color! It means - pack things that can match in color easily.
For India, I decided to go with off-whites and beige. That was a given as the lightest suit I have is sand-colored. That suit was then my base. To add variety I packed a dress in beige that I could wear with the suit blazer, if I chose to, or I could just go with the dress for office day or my visit to Taj Mahal. As you plan your clothes - don’t forget what you’ll wear on the flight: I wore jeans as both comfy in travel, and palatable with the blazer.
2. Get the shoes.
Now that you know the colors, get the shoes that go with them. This is easy nowadays - most shoe-matching color rules have been offset with the white-shoe passion. Importantly, pack enough shoes. This isn’t where you should save on space. You need to change shoes every day. That is healthy for your feet, and for your shoes. So, in my case, I picked 3 pairs: Skinny slippers that are good for the office and don’t take much space, espadrilles and open sabots. That gave me two options for business (espadrilles and slippers), and one option on travel through airports, and on evening walk around the hotel. I chose to wear espadrilles on the long flight - others were packed.
3. Let’s move on to the essentials to build the base.
The essentials are things like underwear, tops, socks etc. This is where you can add all the colors that match the base. You can go wild with whatever you like - monochrome, contrasts, prints… I went rather monochrome and add color with accessories. That bit worked! But I messed up on t-shirts vs. underwear. I thought I need more tops to change with the heat. What I really needed was more underwear. I was also worried about anything made from artificial fiber, which wasn’t such a problem. So, I took too many shirts, and not enough underwear. While I could wash it in a sink, it didn’t dry overnight (yikes!)! I guess combination of air-con in the hotel room and relative humidity didn’t help. So I needed to hire laundry service - which was like admitting a personal failure for that part!
4. The most fun bit - accessories!
It’s funny how often people will see just your accessories, and same outfit can look and feel so new and different with just a few colorful, unique statement necklaces or scarves. Works every time! So I took necklaces in fun colors, and shawls. Shawls were great - At Taj Mahal I was literally saved by my cotton shawl worn over my head and shoulders in 42 degrees heat. Good thing about accessories - They don’t take much space and add a lot of fun! So, go wild!
5. Now, LEAVE SOME SPACE for the unexpected gifts. I knew I didn’t have time for shopping, but I totally didn’t expect my team to give me beautiful (yet bulky) presents! Luckily I could just about fit them in my hand-luggage, but it was really tight! (Darn those t-shirts! )
Overall - amazing trip! Wonderful people! Beautiful country! Stunning Taj Mahal! And a bit of extra confidence of being mostly well-dressed for me.
Have a great day, in style!
Packing List: India trip
- Sand-colored suit (pants & blazer)
- 8 Tops to pair with the suit and jeans in beige, black, sage-green
- Long beige dress. Pairs with blazer and shawls
- Travel outfit : Dark blue jeans, T-shirt and white cotton sweater. Jeans pair with all tops, shawls and blazer. Sweater works with suit pants and jeans in over-AC'ed places.
- Linen cardigan. Pairs with dress &T-shirts for office. Back-up if sweater is dirty or too heavy
- Shoes: Espadrilles to travel, flat ballerinas and open sabots. All 3 pair with everything.
- Accessories: 3 long necklaces in hot pink, green, natural wood and 2 shawls to cover against heat or AC in the office: soft pink & beige/ white.
- All others: Hygiene items, PJ's, underwear, chargers... Don't forget moskito-repellent!
- Extra cotton bag for dirty laundry items
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