We’ve all done it. We’ve all gone away and realised that we really didn’t think about what we were packing…

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Celia B dress (shop similar styles here) | Public Desire heels (shop gold heels) | Forever New sunglasses (shop oversized sunglasses)

SHOP A SIMILAR STYLE BELOW

Dressing in a way that others would consider impractical for the day’s activities is inherent to me. Exhibit A: me in a flouncy floral dress and gold heels, on Rottnest Island (where the standard dress is swimmers or, at most, a fun playsuit and sandals).

I like to think I have this packing thing down to a tee, but you can always trust me to pack my suitcase full of outfits that I love and didn’t necessarily think rationally about whilst packing.

Take that time – for example – that I wore my ‘comfy’ block heels to Cradle Mountain in Tasmania. Or more recently, the time I wore white paper-bag waisted shorts and a hot pink camisole (braless, of course) ziplining 80m above the tree tops. Heck, on the same trip I went trudging through orangey coloured mud in rose gold leather slides.

Yep, I am that person that you all probably snigger at for tackling a hike in city shoes.

The truth is, often I know there are much more appropriate-slash-comfortable outfits I could pack. Everyone else manages it, so I know it is an actual thing (how do they do it? How do they pack so minimally and practically?!). The problem is, I just don’t have it in me to carefully edit my suitcase and make sure everything is appropriate. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good activewear set or some slouchy AF tracksuit pants and almost always pack them; I just don’t think carefully about the fact I might actually need to wear something comfortable that doesn’t have stains on it/isn’t lycra.

Herein lies my dilemma. I always end up with a suitcase full of fun, public appropriate clothing and the sort of thing you would only wear whilst on the couch eating ice-cream from the tub. There is literally no in between; and, of course, it is always those ‘in between’ outfits I need.

If, like me, you reach your destination and you realise you majorly ballsed up your packing, don’t despair.

The best way to deal with the slightly impractical wardrobe you brought along with you is to wear it confidently; almost with an air of ‘no, I didn’t make a mistake packing and wearing this’. This has got me through many awkward situations – like the aforementioned heels and Cradle Mountain incident. You can be sure I didn’t pack or wear the right shoes, but you can be even more sure that I darn well climbed the rocky lookout in them to prove a point.

Act like what you are wearing is no big deal and show all the haters that you can do anything regardless of your choice in outfit, you magnificent thing. Who cares if other people think what you are wearing is completely inappropriate (unless it actually is and you are revealing way too much or are going to break an ankle)? You wear that gorgeous off-shoulder dress to the fish market, I applaud you.

I know I was wildly overdressed for an evening on the beach, but who can blame a girl for wanting to dress up to drink wine and watch the sunset? I care about what I look like because I like to feel great, but I certainly don’t care what other people think I look like. Good on them all for wearing their puffer jackets and pants down to the beach (as I did the night before); I fancied wearing that frock I really didn’t need to pack and I don’t regret it one bit. Sure, it wasn’t the most practical of packs, but I made it work… because my other more appropriate options were all exhausted.