THE ART OF PACKING: A LESSON LEARNT

Me cycling in France wearing: a Zoe Jordan dress with Riviera shoes.

My boyfriend has been trying to make me pack light pretty much since we starting going on holiday together thirteen years ago, and this summer with the help of the b****** at Ryanair, he succeeded! At £50 a pop to check-in a 15k(!) bag,  I was finally forced to learn how to 'pack light.' 

But I must confess it wasn't without a bit of help from an expert at Louis Vuitton... I made an appointment to see their Master Packer, based in the Bond Street store,  (for research purposes for a Grazia packing feature) but considering I've been packing suitcases for fashion shoots for many years now, I wasn't holding my breath that I'd learn anything new, how wrong I was! 

First up I discovered that packing the perfect case is neither about folding or rolling all your holiday clobber but a combination of the two (it sounds obvious but it's not, and makes such a difference!). Another school boy error I'd been making is putting all my shoes and heavy item at the bottom of my case- instead of spreading them out. In short: you should think of your case as a jigsaw puzzle you're putting together in layers, filling in all the tiny gaps as you go. The Master Packer also taught me how to pack a  crease free shirt (yes it is possible!!!) as well as many other genius little gems, but don't take my word for it, head to the store and see for yourself!

Armed with the Louis Vuitton Master Packer's tips and tricks, and the wrath and penalties of the Ryanair baggage allowance breathing down my neck I decided to give 'packing light' a whirl for once in my life… perhaps I can survive without my usual 15 cardies and countless belts for a 10 day break after all! 

So I took a tip from my partner in crime, Sophie Ferguson Jones, and not only did I pack loosely planned outfits, I did so in colour coordinating items, which gave me loads more outfit options than I'd ever managed to fit in a frankly small holdall before! And despite the fact that my boyfriend had to have all my magazines and toiletries in his case, I think I did really, really well! …Even if I do say so myself! 

And here's the proof, a montage of my holiday outfits, I wore everything I packed for the first time EVER: 

Bergerac, France, August 2012.