This summer more than ever, if you’re travelling by air you’ll want to do it with the smallest, lightest bag or suitcase – and definitely not check it in. Here’s how …
A nya Lakovlieva, who posts on TikTok as @nolimitua, has had 25m views for the airport selfie video she posted last September. It wasn’t owing to a Balenciaga tracksuit or a photobomb by Timothée Chalamet, but because a sneak peek inside her travel pillow revealed she had taken out the foam stuffing and filled it with clothes – to max out a few extra cubic inches of packing space. If you are rolling your eyes at what sounds like an over-the-top ploy, you might want to read the small print of your holiday flight booking a little more closely. EasyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air now charge hefty fees, not just for luggage stowed in the hold, but for bags and wheelie cases that need to be stashed in the overhead lockers. Only a bag small enough to fit under the seat in front of you is included with most seats. And – just in case you were planning on chancing it – yes, these rules are being enforced. Flying home from Bilbao airport recently, I witnessed first-hand the Ryanair ground crew slapping penalty charges on passengers with trolley cases they hadn’t paid for, some of whom were caught out because they hadn’t realised the rules had changed. Meanwhile, this summer’s airport chaos is adding an adrenaline spike of will-you-ever-see-it-again jeopardy to the financial cost of checking in your luggage. A shortage of baggage handlers has left passengers at Gatwick facing anxious waits for bags stranded on planes because there are no staff to offload them. On a particularly bad day at Heathrow recently, three-hour queues at the check-in desks left some travellers with a stark choice between missing their flight and leaving their suitcase behind. Full disclosure. I am not a natural light packer. For many years, my rule of thumb was: if I can lift my own case, I haven’t got enough shoes. So believe me when I say that if I can pack light, anyone can. I have changed my ways, and now I much prefer a streamlined pack – not least because it cuts down on that tedious post-holiday laundry pile. It will also reduce your carbon footprint as a lighter plane uses less fuel. I present: a 10-point plan for your smallest-ever holiday wardrobe.
Rules vary between airlines. For instance, the size of your free underseat bag is 40cm x 25cm x 20cm on Ryanair, but 45cm x 36cm x 20cm on easyJet. Some airlines levy different charges for extra cabin and hold bags according to weight; some care only about measurements. These are not facts you want to be grappling with for the first time in the departures hall, bleary-eyed and frazzled at 6am. If you are travelling with kids, or going away for a long time, or just really, really can’t live without your yoga mat or your omelette pan or whatever it is, consider sharing a suitcase with your friends or family so that you are only paying for one.
You know that Friends episode, The One Where No One’s Ready, where Joey wears all of Chandler’s clothes at once? Well, Joey Tribbiani is your style icon for your airport outfit, my friend. If you are travelling superlight, with only what fits in an underseat bag – we’re talking roughly the size of a standard day rucksack, the kind you see on the secondary school kids at the bus stop – then you will need to wear almost as many clothes as you carry. (When you get on the plane, keep cool by turning the overhead fan on.) Just because you won’t need a coat on holiday doesn’t mean you shouldn’t wear one on the plane: dig out a light coat or jacket with big pockets and stuff them with your phone charger, holiday reading, socks, whatever. If you have, or can borrow, one of those smallish, flat crossbody zip-up bags, put your passport, wallet and sunglasses in there and wear it under your jacket, where it will keep them safe and can’t be seen, so won’t count towards your allowance – it will be useful on holiday, too.
You know how you get told that a “capsule holiday wardrobe” should be colour coordinated in navy and white or whatever? Absolute rubbish. It’s a holiday wardrobe, not a school uniform. The way to be happier with fewer clothes is to take pieces that you love and that make you feel instantly well-dressed. Take your favourite vintage band T-shirt instead of three neutral crew necks. Take a dress that’s comfy but special enough to wear out for dinner, and wear it in the daytime as well, instead of boring shorts and a vest.
There is another maddeningly unhelpful trope of the holiday-wardrobe narrative, which goes: “At golden hour, slip a taffeta skirt over your swimsuit and you are ready for cocktails.” This is all very well but who will cook the kids’ pasta and shake the sand out of the beach towels while you’re swanning around in your imaginary taffeta? Come to that, who is making the cocktails? Resist the Instagram-influencer cosplay and think about the specifics of your holiday. For example: this year we’re going to Hydra in Greece, renting a house that as far as I can work out is at the top of about a million steps, so although I love long dresses (swishiness, plus mozzie-protection) I will take shorter ones so that I’m not tripping up on them.
It is easier to pack light if you take clothes you can wash and wear again after you have got sweaty/dripped ice-cream on them. You don’t need a washing machine: a sink and some travel soap (or just normal soap) are absolutely fine. Choose lightweight fabrics such as silk, which will dry more quickly than cotton, as well as take up less space in your bag.
Is your destination Casa Amor? No? Then leave the high heels at home. There are plenty of chic flat sandals that will work for day and evening. (If you are buying, have a look at the black leather Lillian flatform slingbacks by Kin at John Lewis, £59.)
Observation from my post-pandemic air travel: the fluffy, brushed material that most tracksuits are made from has become a comfort blanket for the modern male. I have seen many men en route to hot destinations wearing tracksuit bottoms on the plane. The fabric is super bulky, and too hot for weather above 30C. Mate, I know trackies are comfy but it’s a two-hour plane journey; it’s not going to kill you to wear, say, a lightweight pair of tailored trousers, which will be much more useful on holiday.
Rolled-up clothes take up less space. Lay out two or three pieces on top of each other on your bed – really flat if you don’t want them to crease – then roll tightly from one end, squeezing air and wrinkles out as you go.
Veer towards packing lots of small-but-fabulous things. Swimsuits and bikinis take up virtually no space, so if you will be spending lots of the day in them you can double your holiday wardrobe while adding minimal bulk. I’ve got my eye on the expensive (€170) but very chic Bay swimsuit by Kióhne, which has stone beads on the straps and a thick, textured fabric that would make it an instant beach-lunch outfit coupled with a pair of denim cutoffs. Some snazzy earrings, a colourful silk scarf to tie in your hair: these are the little things that go a long way.
When my kids were small they were obsessed with pool inflatables. These were brilliant on holiday – hours of book reading time for me! – but, since they never squished back down to their original size, bulky and expensive to travel with. One year, I arranged with the owner of the villa we were renting in Spain to post them out in advance. OK, she thought I was a total lunatic, but it worked and cost a fraction of the price of taking them as luggage. A friend of mine orders the books she wants to read on holiday online a few days before she goes away and puts her holiday destination as the delivery address. Crazy, yes, but also sort of genius. Oh, and don’t forget your travel pillow.