Hello readers! If you noticed some silence from me lately, it’s because I was in Mexico for a work/pleasure trip with my business partner last week. We spent some time in Mexico City for a particular project and doing some general networking, then a few days in the mountain town of Tepoztlan for a bit of relaxation. Since it was only for a week and I didn’t want to pay airline fees to check a bag, I had to be very frugal with what I packed. So I thought I’d share with you a few of my big-bust packing choices:

Bras:

I always bring a lot of bras. Since underwire tends to dig into my rib if I’m sitting for a long time without changing position, for the plane ride I went with my Sugar Candy “Crush” wireless bra. I also brought the Wear My Freedom wireless bra for a more lifted but wire-free seamless option.

Naturally, I brought my Panache wired sports bra for any sporty activities. For conventional wired options, I brought a Bravissimo non-molded plunge bra and an Ewa Michlak lightly padded PL bra. Since those are both plunge options, I could be assured that neither would show under any neckline shape. The Bravissimo one would give a more natural profile while Ewa would provide more oomph.

These five bras gave me all the choices I could desire for comfort, shape, and lift depending on what activities we ended up doing.

I also brought one bikini with non-molded cups so it would take up little suitcase space and dry quickly between swims—the Empreinte “Star” bikini.

Horseback riding in my Panache sports bra (under a workout tee) in Tepoztlan.
The Empreinte “Star” bikini at our hotel pool in Tepoztlan.

Shoes:

For shoes, I wore the clunkiest but also most comfy option on the plane, high top sneakers that could be tied loosely for fashion or tightly for serious walking or hiking. I also brought one pair of comfy sandals and one pair of lightweight, low-heel ankle boots for walking and horseback riding, both of which I stuffed with socks and underwear in my bag to maximize space. Tepoztlan streets are steep up-and-down hills made of cobblestones, so the ankle boots and sneakers were a must, while the sandals were appropriate for Mexico City and visiting friends’ houses.

Once the shoes were selected for practicality reasons, I chose clothing to match.

Sneakers paired with a newly purchased Mexican dress while wandering the streets and going to the market in Tepoztlan.

Clothes:

I only wore jeans once the whole trip (for horseback riding), and stuck with dresses the rest of the time. It may seem fussy (or overly fancy) at first glance, but dresses in the right fabric take up very little space in a suitcase and can be dressed up or down with different accessories or makeup (which also take up little room).

Then I brought one cardigan and one light jacket that matched all the dresses I chose, in case it cooled down at night. I only brought 4 dresses, planning on wearing each one twice. Every single dress I brought had pockets big enough to hold my phone, a mini-wallet, face mask, and a fold-up nylon shopping tote. Some days, I didn’t bother with a handbag at all, though I did have a small cross-body bag for when I wanted to carry a few additional items but remain hands-free.

The dresses I chose were the Vixen by Micheline Pitt “Vacation” dress because its half-length sleeves would be good for any cooler days; a Miss Candyfloss cap-sleeve, capri-length, wide-leg jumpsuit; a Miss Candyfloss sleeveless, full-skirted cotton dress; and a Trashy Diva short-sleeve rayon dress.

All the dresses had varying levels of cleavage, ease of movement, and weight, so that I would again have choices depending on activity.

Miss Candyfloss jumpsuit with boots at the anthropology museum in Mexico City (which I also wore to a nice dinner and the plane ride home).
Miss Candyfloss dress with a cardigan and boots to visit a friend’s Mexico City art studio in the evening.
Trashy Diva dress with sandals to visit Frida Kahlo’s house in the Mexico City neighborhood of Coyoacan.

And that’s it! I don’t really have any hard and fast rules about packing except that pockets are a MUST, socks and underwear always get stuffed into shoes in the suitcase, and there’s always room for another bra.