THE CHIC LIST: How lost bags made me a hopeless case

I often think life is like a luggage carousel – right from birth we go round gathering baggage on our exhilarating journey through the years. Every time we meet a new person, right behind them is their own baggage trolley, crammed full of experiences, good and bad.

I also think life would be much easier if we all came baggage-free – that is, of course, until you go on a long-haul trip and find your suitcase hasn’t made it to your destination. This happened on a recent half-term trip to Koh Samui in Thailand, leaving me with nothing to wear to dinner but a pair of oddly shaped Thai pants loaned to me by the hotel, the Cos T-shirt I travelled in and some strange-looking make-up bought in a late-night supermarket.

Suddenly suitcases aren’t a burden and being without them doesn’t make you feel light and free at all. God, how I missed my holiday wardrobe when it went missing for 36 anxious hours – an age when you’re only away a week.

I admit to being one of those zealous packers who likes to take my favourite linens for the beach, most glamorous dresses and trousers for dinner, who always brings too much and will often take multiple pairs of shoes and other accessories for just-in-case situations that rarely happen… but you never know!

And I did feel peculiar going for a cocktail in borrowed pants with big humid hair (straighteners also in suitcase), accessorised with mosquito bites (insect repellent ditto). Because, it turns out, within our holiday wardrobe choices lies an important part of our identity. Clothes are powerful forms of self-expression, especially for women. I didn’t remotely feel myself until I was reunited with it. Here’s what else I learned when my suitcase went AWOL…

1. I love my baggage and other people’s baggage.

2. I will never be a light packer. Happiness for me is lots of style options. Sorry, Marie Kondo – more in my suitcase really is more.

3. I am never travelling anywhere without packing some favourite outfits in a carry-on. At least then, if your suitcase goes missing, you have back-up. Always carry your jewellery and other key accessories in there, too.

4. Hair straighteners are a lifesaver and a necessity in humid weather.

5. Life doesn’t feel quite right wearing someone else’s clothes.

@thestylistandthewardrobe @youmagazine 

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