Exactly How I Pack My Personal Item for Travel.
plus a few more travel tips, beautiful home finds from Amazon, starting to shop for fall (and our big annual fall shoe EDIT), and more.
After the past couple of week’s more serious letters… how about a little frivolity?
Today: exactly how I pack my personal item when I travel. The nitty gritty, every little detail!
Real quick though! the Violet Grey 25% off event started yesterday. This is the best time to stock up on beauty (for me it was the rich cream, this face oil, and a fresh Westman Atelier mascara — my current fav).
First of all, you know I am (usually!) very loyal to my Dagne Dover Large Landon. It is such a wonderful functional travel bag and YES I still love it! I wrote a longer review of it here and stand by everything I said but this past trip to LA I decided to try taking my new Metier tote instead. Why? It’s new(ish), it’s pretty… I wanted to take it.
I love the Metier but it is obviously a big splurge! Some more beautiful totes that are all (well) under $500:
Cuyana’s classic easy tote.
Fréja New York makes STUNNING vegan leather totes. This or this would be perfect for travel.
This Madewell tote is gorgeous and it has a top zip, hallelujah.
I love the look of woven leather; this is gorgeous.
Another woven tote; you can’t beat the price.
Thoughts on the Metier Cala 42 for travel.
Overall I loved using this as my personal item. My only complaint is that I had to turn it on its side under some airplane seats. This always worries me a little as there is no top zipper and things can slide out. I love the look of an open tote but I prefer the functionality and security of a top zip.
I packed everything in pouches so not to worry about losing loose items.
How I packed my tote:
Inside the blue pouch:
The blue pouch is a Goyard makeup bag that I bought on The RealReal. I believe the style is called the Jovence Toiletry MM. I am always looking for accessories in this color; I also have a the matching card case and want a wallet.
Inside of this pouch I keep all of my “need to haves.”
Medications.
One pair compression socks.
A few sexy supplements I take daily + Advil & probiotics.
A KN95 mask just in case.
These greens powders and these Gem vitamins that you eat and feel like a yummy treat. (I’ve been using both since March; upon ’ rec. I’ve reordered both several times now)
A mini deodorant and a dental kit, just in case luggage gets lost. I’ve learned the hard way!
A 4 pack of my favorite CBD/THC gummies. These are fine for domestic travel but I would not take them abroad.
My hydration powder (Watermelon is the best flavor; use GRACE20 a must for travel, I get so dehydrated even though I chug water the whole time)
Inside the tan pouch:
The tan pouch is my Dagne Dover tech organizer. I love this thing - it keeps everything nice and organized. Inside, we have:
Chargers for my laptop and phone
My Airpods
Corded headphones (for movies)
Besides the Airpods, all of these things are duplicates. If you are a frequent traveler, I highly recommend investing in a second set of all your chargers and keeping them pre-packed.
Other things:
My laptop, of course!
My 5 year journal.
My Smythson planner (on that note I just ordered this one for 2025).1
My book (in this case it was The God of the Woods!) I had a backup book in my checked bag.
My Savette purse which doesn’t hold much more than my wallet, phone, sunglasses, and lip gloss. Not the most practical but for travel I like to do a large tote as my personal item + a smaller clutch/purse that fits easily inside.
The green case is a travel jewelry case from Sherman-Field. I keep my jewelry in my personal item always. It goes without saying but I never check my jewelry.
My current needlepoint project (I am still working on this marbled pillow; I use these pouches to keep my projects organized!)
The only time I was annoyed was when it wouldn’t fit under my seat upright. This seat was in first class (but on a smaller plane, from CHS to LA). This made me a little anxious TBH (I’m an anxious traveler in general); I missed my Dagne Dover. I prefer the look of an open tote but the practicality of a zip tote. The Dagne bag is soft and fits just about anywhere. It’s the more practical choice but of course the Metier is the more beautiful choice.
But then here I am in Delta comfort (larger plane from ATL to LAX) and everything fits perfectly.
Some other travel tips.
I (most of the time) do not drink alcohol on the plane, especially on my way to LA. I do occasionally love a flight where I don’t have to work and can relax with wine and a movie but I usually work on the plane). I just find I get way too dehydrated (and then grumpy). Not worth it.
I’ve stopped drinking carbonated beverages on the plane as they make me quite bloated. So really, it is just water or coffee… and sometimes I will also put an electrolyte powder in my water bottle. (Use GRACE20).
Compression socks always. More about that here!
If you have a longer flight, (as much as I prefer the window), I do sometimes like to grab an aisle seat. It’s easier to get up and move around. I try to get up a few times to move my legs.
PS - Kind of fun: on my flight home from LA (Delta LAX-ATL), I was upgraded and the plane was brand new! My Delta one cabin had its own door. It was the nicest airplane seat I’ve ever sat in.
There was no WIFI (the plane was so new they hadn’t set it up) I opted to use this flight to enjoy some champagne and movies. Four hours of introvert heaven. The flight attendant told me they’re slowly changing all of their planes to this type of plane. I am excited (on the flight from LA to Atlanta the planes are usually pretty old).
On The Stripe (my blog!) this week.
An edit of what I’m most excited to wear this fall.
Carly + my favorite shoes of the season.
Carly rounded up some EXQUISITE Amazon finds. She is too good at this!
I also posted some recent outfits here.
This Week in Reading:
The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore. I finished this in LA and struggled to explain how much I loved it. This is an all immersive mystery that will take over your life for a few days, in the best possible way. It’s 1975 and a 13 year old girl has gone missing from her summer camp. 14 years ago, her brother also went missing. Are the cases somehow connected? One of the best thriller/mysteries I’ve read in a while and one of my favorite books of summer!
The Wedding People, by Alison Espach. I had initially wrote this one off (I absolutely judged this one by it’s title!) as it sounded like a lighter book but then Katie messaged me just to tell me I had to read it. She rarely does this so I knew it was a must. I am a little over a hundred pages in. It is much darker and more serious (there are trigger warnings for suicidal thoughts and infertility) than I had anticipated. Dark is not a problem for me but to be honest I am not sure if I like this one. More to come.
in case you missed it: last week’s letter!
Besides my High Sport pants, my Smythson planner might be the most polarizing thing I own. It is expensive and frivolous but I love it. I’m not trying to sell anyone on buying one, I’m just saying that I really like mine! I use it every day and then store it on my bookshelf when the year is over (I now have a pretty little stack of them; it’s fun to page through years past). For me, it’s worth it.
Grace, thank you for niching down into my most favourite frivolous personal post: what's in people's travel bags. Actual heaven! 🤓
So happy you’re loving them! Game changers. And also I’m buying that adorable Savette bag after reading this!