Style.

It is a dream of mine to master the rare art form of packing light. I am convinced only true perfectionists, those who have achieved an enviable low maintenance style, or people who don't care at all about fashion, can pull this off. In which case, it will undoubtedly remain a distant dream.

A dream dashed by the literal nightmare I experienced the one time I managed to "pack light" on a trip to Vegas. Of course my friends and I wound up with fabulous invites to glamorous parties, and I was rendered, with a healthy buzz, totally confused as to where all my fun fashionable outfits were hiding. I was especially missing a particular pair of shoes that had fallen victim to a last minute "cut" from the suitcase; which, since I was practicing "packing light" really only qualified as an oversize handbag, not a proper suitcase.

I remember being in the train station in Paris and in awe of the genetically stylish Parisian women, standing modelesque with tiny roller totes fully prepared for a European get away. On that very trip, the rule was we could bring whatever luggage we wanted but we had to be able to carry it ourselves. Suddenly, my spaghetti armed eighteen year old self, was able to heave a massive suitcase equal to my own weight all over Europe. There was also the trip to the Cayman Islands, where the security actually abandoned searching my bag considering his partner had already thoroughly searched through the rest of my family's luggage. (Note: if attempting to smuggle goods, simply over pack!)

They say the trick to packing light is neutral colours and interchangeable items. Also, only travel to warm destinations, summer clothes are naturally lighter than winter coats and boots. The appeal of not having to check your baggage, if you could fit everything into a carry-on, used to be very high. Now with all the anti-terrorist restrictions, barely allowing the lip gloss in your purse to get on the aircraft, only taking a carry-on is nearly impossible. The only things that restrain me from simply throwing my entire wardrobe into suitcases, are the extra fees for being over the luggage weight allowance or the more than one bag fee. These fees I affectionately call the over-packer tax.