Charming Friends, Imagine that you are attending a conference in a different city, for which event you carefully packed as lightly as possible. Imagine that you planned mix-and-match wardrobe ensembles for travel, for attending lectures, for studying, for lounging in the hotel and perhaps for dinner with friends one evening? 

Now imagine that somebody has popped an envelope into your hand during a lecture. It is a nice envelope, and you open it to discover a beautifully-written invitation. The invitation is to a formal ball. And it is for that same evening. For that same evening ... in about three hours' time!

You may have read in a previous blog that I returned recently from a trip to Brisbane, during which I was able to do a little pre-test of my packing system. Little did I know that I would be facing the exact scenario described above! How did I cope? My packing system is hardly revolutionary. I do the following:

• Jot down all the individual scenarios and climate I know I am likely to encounter on my trip.
• Arrange a mix-and-match coordinating capsule wardrobe to suit the above, in which every garment can be worn with every other garment, and each garment is expected to be worn at least twice. I make the main garments conform to a neutral colour sceme, adding splashes of colour in small easy-to-pack accessories such as scarves, brooches and hats.
• Never bring clothing for more than a week, ensuring that there will be washing facilities available at intervals for longer trips.
• 'Miniaturise' all my toiletries by decanting into smaller travel bottles or buying travel-sizes.
• Carefully pack everything into separate travel bags inside my case to keep things clean, always including sseparate bags for dirty laundy and shoes.
• Never bring more than I can lift.
• Never bring more than one wheelie suitcase and a single cabin bag.

In other words, much the same rules that you will see in any 'packing light' manual. My trip was complicated by the need to bring along my laptop computer, meaning I had no choice but to bring my travelling computer case as a cabin bag (not that I mind, as it is bright red faux-crocodile, and very sweet). I did pack my computer cabling, which is very heavy, in my check-on luggage, and I popped a small vintage handbag in my check-on as well, so that I didn't have to use my laptop bag the entire time.

I also believe travellers should not miss out on those little luxuries. I always, always bring my favourite scented soap, shampoo and body lotion in travel-size containers (the freebies that you get in hotels are usually very harsh and not good for your skin or hair). I always tuck in a scented candle or incense - remember not to fly with lighters or matches, to check your hotel's rules in regard to lighting such things, and never to leave them unattended or near anything flammable. I always pop a few lavender bags or scented sachets into my lingerie bags, in warm weather I always have nice scented talc to hand, and I never ever travel without my iPod and a good novel.

My wardrobe for Brisbane consisted of the following.

• A pair of high-waisted, wide-legged black trousers
• A black and white pinstripe pencil skirt with an adorable frill, by Gallery Serpentine
• A roomy black satin poet-blouse that can be worn over a long-sleeved t-shirt for warmth
• A black long-sleeved t-shirt
• A bright red and white polka-dot blouse by Retrospec'd
• A plain black fitted sweater with some cute little buttons on one shoulder
• A soft black velvet jacket with a cinched-in Empire waist and a flowing skirt
• A pair of flat, comfy mary-jane shoes
• A pair of forties-style wedge shoes, more dainty and dressy but still really comfy
• A selection of berets (red, cream and black)
• A selection of scarves (pink, red and blue)
• Earrings (pink, red, blue and gold/pearl)
• Gloves (black and cream)
• Two sparkly vintage costume brooches
• At the last minute, I threw in a grey short-sleeved fitted sweater, as I had room, and it turned out to be a nice thing to have for the 'in-between' weather.

On top of that there were, of course, pyjamas, slippers and robe (when away from home always bring something modest you can throw on in case of a fire alarm at your hotel!), a folding umbrella, my toiletries bag, and a selection of lingerie. You will see of course that each garment was suitable to work with each other garment, that there were four colour schemes I could whip up with just accessories (pink, red, blue and cream/gold), that all the clothes could be layered and that, by the time I was dressed to catch my early morning winter flight from Canberra (trousers, shoes, long-sleeved shirt, sweater, coat, scarf, beret and gloves) there was not a great deal in my check-on!

By the way, I am a big fan of check-on luggage. It may be nice to swan off the plane with nothing but a single carry-on, but then you have the following hassles:

• A very heavy carry-on that has to be heaved into an overhead locker or crammed uncomfortably at your feet
• There are some items you can't bring in your carry-on, including umbrellas, which are very useful, and
• No spare luggage room for when you go shopping!

It doesn't take long to wait for your luggage to trundle by on the carousel, and it's much better for your spine too! 

I was basically very happy with my luggage situation. I had a single laptop bag that I could breeze onto the plane with, which was also big enough for my purse, novel and iPod. I had a single light wheelie suitcase with plenty of extra room in it. I had enough clothes to look and feel quite charming the entire time I was away, no matter what the weather could throw at me. However, of course the one thing I didn't plan on was the invitation to a formal ball! 

I figured I had several options. Firstly, decline the invitation. But how sad! Somebody had been decent enough to invite me, along with a lovely selection of the international conference delegates, and how disappointed I would have been to miss out, not to mention rude to my host. Secondly, race out and quickly purchase or hire a frock. Well, I certainly had luggage room! However I did want to get the most out of the conference, and a hurried shop does not always end well! A formal outfit generally requires time and deliberation, not to mention a fair amount of spare cash, and I decided against this. This left me the third option: gracefully accept and do my best. Which is, of course, what I did.

So, immediately after the lecture, I raced out at a fair clip, hailed a taxi and rushed back to my hotel room. I didn't have time to shower, alas, so I made good use of a flannel, change of clothes, deodorant, scented talc and a dab of perfume. I put my hair up, fixed my makeup, and flung on the following: a pair of gorgeous cuban-heeled stockings (ladies, always always have a pair of nice stockings to hand, they hardly take up any room and will always spice up your outfit), the lovely Gallery Serpentine skirt, the satin blouse tucked neatly into it, the flowing velvet jacket, a pair of nice little gloves, a sparkly brooch and matching earrings, and a slick of bright red lipstick. I slipped on my wedge shoes, grabbed the little vintage handbag and raced into the night.

As it turned out, I looked nice and felt good, as it was clear that I had made an effort with my clothes. Of course other ladies wore full-length gowns and everywhere I looked, there were beautiful people in perfect formal garments. However myself and the other last-minute invitees had two friendly, international tables upon which all the gentlemen had done their best with business suits and nice ties, and all the ladies had worn their best business attire with pretty jewellery and scarves, and the event was so warm and friendly and fun that we all felt very wlecome and had a marvellous evening.

So it was a potentially awkward travelling wardrobe challenge, but it turned into a very pleasant event. I was most grateful to have had my lovely Gallery Serpentine skirt to hand, as it is just pretty enough to make it clear that I was dressing up, not down. Although this will not, with luck, be a challenge we will all face, it does teach me a few lessons.

• One can never guess exactly what one will be doing while travelling, so there is no point in getting too upset if you don't quite pull everything off. The trick is to make it clear that you are willing to make an effort.
• It is actually more flexible to take a slightly more formal garment and dress it down for day, rather than try and dress up a really casual garment for evening: if I had only packed jeans and tracksuits things would have been a lot more expensive for me that night! So do try and make sure your travel wardrobe contains plain but good-quality, well-fitted classic garments that you can posh up or dress down, and don't be afraid to bring at least one fairly fancy garment (such as my skirt). If you have two garments to choose from, err on the slightly more formal side!
• Accessories are your life-saver! A chiffon scarf here, a costume brooch there, a pair of shiny shoes or a nice silk tie - these may save your (fashion) life one day, and they don't take up much room, so shove them in that suitcase!
• When all is said and done, it is only an outfit. Your manners: being friendly and smiliey and polite and charming - these things will speak more for you than shiny shoes. You can apologise to a host and make the excuse of travel, but if you have clearly made an effort and are prepared to have a nice time and make sure that others do as well, you will be fine.

Having said all this, my trip to Tassie will be for a week or so longer than my Brisbane trip. On the bright side, I won't need that laptop or all of those cables. So I think I will use that extra luggage space for the perfect Little Black Dress, just in case ...

Yours charmingly,
Blossom Darling