Happy Monday! I hope your week is off to a great start after relaxing and recharging over the weekend!
As you may have read, I started a new job last week where I’m working in a fully remote position. I’ll only have to travel a handful of times per year, but one of those is for the company’s annual kickoff meeting which happens to be this week. I’m super excited to get to meet everyone in person right away, to start building a foundation of a relationship that we can further build upon once we’re back to interacting via phone and Skype.
Of course, I’m also anxious to make a great first impression! I want to have a good mix of letting my personality and style show, but not being too extreme while going into a new and fairly unknown environment. I was told the attire was “business casual…but more casual – jeans encouraged.” This is pretty new territory for me. I used to travel quite a bit for work, but was primarily in true business attire. Since this whole “work appropriate jeans” thing is new for me, I figured I’d share how I pulled it together!
I always try to travel with only a carry-on bag, which I was very good at…until having a kid. But anytime I’m traveling without child, I’m still definitely part of the carry-on only crew. Luckily I recently got a fun new carry-on that I’ll get to use on this trip (Merry Christmas to me!). I also knew I wanted to have some options built into my outfits, since I’m not quite sure exactly how casual (or not) people will lean, and want to be able to adjust some with my attire if needed. In my opinion, the key to making this work is to have outfits that transition easily from day to night so you don’t need double the outfits (which should be pretty easy with the super casual business dress code), and to limit the number of shoes to no more than 3 (2 in the suitcase and 1 that you wear while traveling). If I’m bringing boots, I plan my outfit on wearing those while traveling since they’re so bulky to pack. Lastly, limiting toiletries and products is key – more on that later.
So here’s what I’ve come up with for outfits:
Day 1: Travel & Dinner
*could do black ponte pants instead of jeans for true business casual
I only have a 2-hour flight and then have dinner shortly after arriving, so I didn’t want to have a separate outfit just for travel. Also, my company arranges transportation from the airport with other employees that arrive at the same time, so I didn’t want to show up for my first introductions with people in yoga pants. This outfit is comfortable, yet professional. I can also take the sweater blazer off if people are more casual at dinner, or if it’s warm, and the sleeveless tunic is still work appropriate with the high neck and flowy tunic bottom. I was happy that I had these jeans in a size bigger than what I normally wear from when I was postpartum, because I feel more comfortable in them in a work setting with them not being as tight fitting as normal skinny jeans.
Day 2: Meetings & Dinner Event
Same jeans and necklace, but with a different top and heels. This outfit incorporates two of my favorite things: my favorite pumps (with the neon yellow heel, which you can’t see here) and my new Twine & Twig necklace that Luke gave me for Christmas. I feel like these two things really display my personal style and give a glimpse of my personality, but paired with this outfit aren’t too “out there.” I’ll probably throw the tan sweater blazer over this during the day for meetings (or at least bring it with me since meeting rooms are often cold), and then ditch it for the dinner event.
Day 3: Meetings & Escape Room/Dinner Event
*could do black ponte pants instead of jeans for true business casual
Same jeans and flats that I previously wore (although, I will be taking an additional pair of jeans so that I’m not wearing them for 3 days straight!), paired with my favorite sweater blazer again, in a different color. I don’t know why, but I just fell in love with the pairing of the light pink shirt with the bright poppy sweater blazer. It’s a little bright, but I think still sophisticated. This outfit is great for the event I have at night too, which is probably the most casual of the trip. If I just lose the sweater blazer, I have the light weight pink long sleeve sweater with jeans and flats.
Day 4: Meetings & Dinner
I knew I would go crazy wearing jeans the entire time, plus it’ll be warmer in Houston, so a great opportunity to break up the monotony of winter with a skirt! In order for it to not be too dressy, I paired it with a chambray shirt. I’ve actually been on the hunt for a great chambray shirt for a while. I’ve tried a bunch and they’re just never quite right. I ran by Target last week to grab a few things and saw this one, which I think is exactly what I’ve been looking for! It’s super soft, and the perfect length for me to wear with leggings, but not be too long (I’m 5’4″). Definitely check it out if you’re on the search for one! I often size up in button downs because I don’t like them too tight fitting, but this one is already a bit of an oversized fit, so I stuck with my normal size and it’s perfect!
Other
The last day I’ll most likely just be traveling home, so hopefully can be back to yoga pants, but there is a small chance of a breakfast or morning meeting with colleagues before I leave for the airport. So I want to have an option just in case. I also wanted to bring just a few extra pieces that will give me some flexibility to go more or less casual if I feel the need, or to change into something different for dinner one evening. So I’m bringing an additional navy gingham cami that I can throw on with the red sweater blazer for more of an evening look. I’m going to throw in my black ponte pants, as well, which I can pair with a few outfits, instead of jeans, if things turn out to be less casual than I’ve been led to believe. I’m also bringing my black and white striped sweater because it gives me a lot of options. I can wear it with jeans and flats for a really casual look (or even with sneakers for a super casual option if needed the night we do the escape room), or I can wear it with my black ankle pants and flats or heels, for more of a true business casual look.
Beyond that I’ll bring my sneakers and 1 or 2 workout outfits (that I probably won’t end up having time to use, but just in case), and 1 lounge outfit for when I’m just hanging in my hotel room
Toiletries & Hair/Make-up Products
I feel like this is where people sometimes really struggle to make the carry-on only approach work. There’s no big secret here – you just can’t bring all the products you use on a daily basis. But it’s just a few days, so it’s really ok. You will live! I never bring a hair dryer (hotels always have them and I only wash my hair twice a week anyway, so maybe once during a trip). I don’t bring shampoo or conditioner as long as I’m staying at a decent hotel, since they’ll have something reasonable (again, likely only using it once anyway). And I have a pretty streamlined make-up routine that all fits in a normal sized make-up bag. I bring make-up remover wipes instead of face wash (it’s only a few days – don’t judge), and the few products that really are critical to bring (vitamin e oil, moisturizer, eye cream, toothpaste, hair oil, hairspray), I have travel size or get little travel size containers to put a small amount in. I do bring my curling iron, of course, and I also like to pack any samples of face masks or fun/relaxing things that I happen to have (but never have time to do at home) for a little pampering while I’m in a quiet hotel room for myself for a few days 🙂 #treatyoself
I throw a lot of these items (make-up bag, liquids, along with laptop, etc.) in my big tote as my “personal item” which also has a clutch in it that I can use for when I just need a smaller purse while I’m there.
That’s pretty much it! Hopefully this is helpful if you’re packing for a work trip sometime soon, or just looking for some business casual/business jeans outfit inspo!
Shannon
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