A week ago I was in L.A. with Citizen Shade. The trip was planned within a very small time frame; I bought my plane ticket 5 days before I flew out. This would be my maiden voyage to the west coast and as such I needed to make sure I packed enough pieces to put outfits together that would still be representative of my style, regardless of the weather.
The first, most important part of packing is first deciding what your baggage will be.
I was going to be gone for 7 days and would only be bringing a carry on suitcase. In order to bring a larger suitcase I would have to pay the checked bag fees, something I was not interested in doing. I have travelled with suitcases, duffles, messengers and the likes and decided to opt for a small suitcase and my Ruitertassen bag. My suitcase would serve as my workhorse, to carry the bulk of my items and my Ruitertassen bag would be my technology bag; it also would double as my daily bag while in L.A.
What did I pack?
- 4 button down tops
- 4 pairs of pants
- 3 pairs of shoes
- (1 pair of low-top vans not pictured)
- Denim jacket
- (Field Jacket not pictured)
- Lightweight zip hoodie
- Accessories
- Toiletries
- Laptop
- Studio Headphones
- External Hard Drive
- DSLR Camera
- Cables,chargers, etc. for the above
Now I am not going to give you all a detailed description on how I packed this all in a suitcase because there are people who are far more talented packers who have broken down the many methods to get your wardrobe from point A to B. I will give you a basic run down of what I did.
WEAR THE BIGGEST ITEMS ON YOUR FLIGHT
On the plane I wore a henley, hoodie, field jacket, black jeans and my tall black boots. Now you may be thinking, why would anyone wear all of this on a flight. I wanted to get one decent jacket to L.A. but knew there would be no way to get it there in the suitcase, so I wore it. The hoodie is great for comfort and warmth when planes get chilly but also serves as a social barricade. Headphones in, hoodie up and you are in your own world.
When considering what I would wear in L.A. I had to think, nice weather, building layered outfits and pieces that serve multiple functions. While I have some really cool patterned shirts, some bright pants, and some other loud statement pieces, I needed to build my looks minimally to craft an interchangeable wardrobe.
For tops I went with button downs and knits with neutral colors:
*ok so I snuck a little color in there
Pants followed the same mission:
Tech
While I was out in L.A. I was to be documenting the whole trip via video and in order to do that I would need some serious storage. I brought my 1TB external and would dump footage after every day of activities. My Canon 60d was my main shooter and was great for both photography and videography during the trip. From the studio to the beaches, it was all filmed. We are releasing the Vlogs and you can tag along here! CITIZEN SHADE VLOG
That gorgeous dopp kit by Razor MD held all of my essential toiletries and did it in great style! The dopp kit was included in last months Sprezzabox. The monthly service put together a travel box in perfect time for my journey. Sign up for yours and get 10% off your first box with the code thedl.
All of my tech fit inside of my gorgeous Ruitertassen bag and I even had a TSA agent say he really liked my bag when I was going through security. Quite the compliment from someone who sees bags day in and day out. 
Summary
When packing for a week trip try to consider your destination, it’s climate, and your purpose there. I knew I would need clothes for photo and video shoots but also just to work in the studio. Find pieces in your wardrobe that serve multiple functions and bring those along for the adventure.
Most of the clothes pictured above are from J.Crew as they have a very clean unbranded aesthetic. There are other great brands that have the same options, just remember neutrals are key.
