Curated for the Club: Prolific Travels with Ch’lita Collins

Travelling is an art and somewhat of a sport. I am a prolific traveller and fancy myself quite good at it. I never know where I’ll end up, or for how long, so there’s no way to properly ‘prepare’. I also do not believe in planning outfits (boring!), but this doesn’t mean there isn’t a method to my madness.

You need to imagine the person you’re going to be at your intended destination, and what trouble you could possibly get up to. I lay everything on the bed to edit; you can start to see who you might become. On my last trip to Paris, I looked like I was running away to the circus. Once you have chosen your clothes, you must use packing organisers. These organisers compress your clothes so they can satisfyingly slot into your suitcase like a game of Tetris. Use one organiser per category. For example, one for tops, one for dresses, one for pants etc. This is a very pleasing way to pack; you feel like an organised human being.

Use socks or shirts to stuff your shoes and bags so they keep their shape during transit. I take laundry bags from every nice hotel I stay at and repurpose them as dirty laundry bags or dust bags.

Utilise the offerings of modern technology and put an AirTag in your suitcase, God forbid your suitcase gets lost (which happened to me recently). This will make it so much easier to file a claim, track down your luggage, and get your belongings back. You may as well add travel insurance to your packing regime, but I like to live on the edge.

If you already have an insane suitcase colour or pattern, dismiss this: cover your suitcase with stickers or something to personalise it. I don’t care if you’re ‘chic’—have fun at baggage claim.

I don’t believe in wearing athleisure to travel or even taking those inflatable neck pillows, or really any signifier of comfort; that’s for Business Class!

Don’t let me yuck your yum, but this is what I think the ideal airport outfit is:

These are possible scenarios to prepare for:

Here’s an idea of what you could pack to prepare for the above scenarios:

Your carry-on has to contain everything you’ll need in case your luggage goes missing, or the things you might need whilst on the plane. This is what I lug around: