Pack a Suitcase for a Week in a Carry-On

Lay out three bottoms: one pair of jeans or dark trousers, one pair of shorts or a skirt, and one pair of casual pants or leggings. Every bottom must pair with every top you bring. This means sticking to neutral colours — black, navy, khaki, grey. A bright red pair of trousers only matches half your shirts and wastes packing space on mismatched outfits.

Think about your actual itinerary. Two sightseeing days, one fancy dinner, one beach day, three casual evenings? The jeans cover dinners and sightseeing, the shorts cover the beach and hot days, and the casual pants cover travel days and lounging. Three bottoms, seven days, zero repeats if you plan the rotation.

Pro tip. Dark jeans are the single most versatile travel garment. They pass as smart-casual at restaurants and survive a full day of walking without showing dirt.

Five tops means one per day with two spare for sweaty or spilled-on situations. Pick three t-shirts or blouses in solid colours and two slightly dressier options (a button-up, a nice knit). Again, every top must work with every bottom. Lay them on the bed and pair each top with each bottom — if any combination looks absurd, swap that piece.

The one layer is a jacket, cardigan, or hoodie that you wear onto the plane. It does not go in the suitcase. Choose something that handles both air conditioning and cool evenings. A lightweight packable down jacket or a denim jacket covers most climates. If you are going somewhere tropical, a linen shirt worn open counts as your layer.