It's Officially Summer

So, it’s officially Summer. Serotonin levels, temps, and (let’s be real) plane ticket prices are on the up and up. Despite the latter, you’re determined to make a vacation happen...but you don’t know what to pack.

Don’t stress it! Finding the delicate balance between packing with SMARTS and packing with STYLE can feel like a tricky feat, but we promise it can be done.

Here are a few tips to help make the process easier: 1. Start from the bottom(s) up

It’s true that we’ve coined the term “Joggers” in the men’s fashion industry (humble brag), but that doesn’t mean we’re biased in saying that bottoms are the foundation of any good streetwear fit. We recommend starting off your solid base of outfits with two pairs of pants: one casual pair (joggers, runners, cargos, or a pair of shorts, depending on your location) and one pair on the more “business professional” side of the spectrum. The first pair will be more for your everyday leisurely activities and the other will make sure you’re squared away in the event that you have a fancy dinner or night club outing on the itinerary.

If you’re heading out of town for more than a weekend, you’ll, of course, pack more than two pairs of pants. These two bottoms simply serve as a sturdy foundation upon which to base your other clothing selections.

Remember: Because bottoms tend to be heavier than tops and are more easily paired with other items, it’s a smarter move to pack fewer of these.

2. Focus on versatility

Once you have your base pairs of pants selected, it’s usually helpful to come up with some sort of color scheme that you want to stick to throughout your trip. Selecting your tops and bottoms based on how well they fit within this selected scheme will allow you to create more outfits out of fewer items, since your pieces will be more easily mixed and matched with each other.

3. Add accessories

Uniquity is in the details. Packing some hats, 1-2 wristwatches, necklaces, sunglasses, rings, or whatever other accessories fit your color scheme is a smooth and easy way to make the same bottom and top pairing look like completely different vibes.

4. Pack a carrier bag

This tip kind of piggybacks (we couldn’t resist the chance to use some Zoom-meeting lingo) off of tip #3, but we felt it deserved its own spotlight. We fully believe that it doesn’t matter who you

are or what your style is – being able to carry things on your person is important. And pockets just ain’t cutting it anymore.That being said, we suggest packing some sort of carrier to hold your personal items (wallet, phone, passport, etc.) as you do your thing during the day. Fanny pack, crossbody, tote, whatever tickles your fancy. It’ll keep your possessions safe and add an extra style element to your fit, too.

5. Comfort is king.

We wanna make an impression when we travel, there’s no arguing with that. And as much as we want you to be able to throw together some sick looks for the gram, we also want you to be, ya know, comfortable. Luckily, this is pretty easy to do with streetwear. Either way, we encourage all of you #Publishers to make sure that whatever you pack will keep you comfortable for several hours at a time. This is the case for any type of travel, but especially if your vacay involves lots of sightseeing (Euro-trip, anyone?).

There you have it: five tips for packing with smarts AND style.

Don’t forget to snag a new fit or two for your upcoming vacay by heading to publishbrand.com (hyperlink) ...and remember to tag @publishbrand in your travel pics!