I’m about to embark on my first ever business trip (I was going to head to NYC last month but then Sandy happened). I’ll be in sunny Los Angeles, spending two days in meetings and one day on a construction site. The challenge: pack lightly for one professional day, one business casual day, and one on-site day. Here’s what I threw together:
- Gray Prince of Wales suit
- Navy cotton blazer
- Pale pink shirt (stiff spread collar)
- Blue shirt (soft spread collar)
- Blue OCBD
- Navy stripe tie
- Navy knit tie
- Wingtips
- Steel toe boots
- Raw denim
- Alligator belt
- Wide leather belt
- sunglasses
- Not pictured: neon vest and hard hat (safety first y’all)
This is what I’m thinking: suit and pink shirt the first day, keep the pants and add unstructured jacket and shirt the second day, and sub in denim, OCBD and boots for the site. I generally enjoy the challenge that packing presents; you want to present yourself well wherever you’re headed, but you can’t bring everything. Making everything work together is like a brain teaser to me. At the very least it’s certainly a test of the versatility of a wardrobe.
