When it comes to mastering the art of the travel wardrobe, it’s no surprise that our favorite fashion insiders also moonlight as packing pros. In My Packing Style, we tap some of the most well-traveled people we know for a peek inside their travel bags and vacation wardrobes to see how they take their style on the road. You’ve bookmarked the trip, you’ve screenshotted the outfits; now, a look at how it all comes together.
Up until recently, Laila Gohar was strictly a carry-on girl. “That includes when I went to Europe for a month once,” she says. “But I’ve loosened up a little bit. My boyfriend would always say that I traveled like a bag lady.” Her band of travel companions included, but was not limited to: a rolling suitcase, a purse, a tote bag, and an extra bag of assorted collectsibles she’d picked up throughout the course of her trip. These days, she’s simplifying, indulging in a checked suitcase when the occasion calls for it. Her trip to Italy for Salone del Mobile (otherwise known as Milan Design Week) definitely called for it—the artist, designer, and co-founder of Gohar World is headed there this week to launch a capsule collectsion for Arket.
“It’s a capsule that’s essentially my summer uniform, things that I wear often and are in my rotation when going on a trip,” she says of the line, which officially launches today. In preparation for the trip to Milan, she packed a few of these new pieces along with a cast of favorites into her checked bag, a silver Rimowa that fits a lot. “Even so, it’s never jam-packed or hard to close. I’m a minimalist in regard to how much stuff I have—even my closet at home is not that huge,” explains Gohar.
Shop Laila Gohar’s Suitcase
Emphasizing tailored pieces (crisp button-downs, a silk Prada shift dress, and a mod citron mini skirt all made the cut) with a few more practical items thrown in (so did compression socks), Gohar’s travel capsule wardrobe is one of efficiency and elegance. We chatted to the artist right before she took off for Milan—ahead, here’s exactly how she preps for a trip.
I pack an hour before I have to leave for the airport—I throw everything in and go. I don't use packing cubes or any organizational systems like that. The only preparatory thing I do is put my shoes in shoe bags because I think shoes touching clothes is gross.
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No—I pack individual pieces, not outfits. If I have a special occasion and I know what I’m going to wear for it, then I'll pack that as a complete look. But that’s pretty rare. I typically just pack a rotation of staple pieces. For a cohesive vacation wardrobe I make sure to pack multipurpose items that can be styled for different occasions. For example, the black slip dress I designed for Arket is ideal for summer trips because it’s multifunctional: I could throw it over a swimsuit or dress it up for dinner with a little top over it.
I love to pack a Super Yaya set when I travel so I have a dress-up option in case I have a nice dinner, a work event, or a friend’s party. Her designs that employ this shirred fabric travel really well. They don’t crease or wrinkle, so they’re great to have on-hand in your suitcase; no steaming or ironing needed.
For my checked bag, the Rimowa Check-In suitcase. I use their smaller Cabin suitcase as my carry-on for shorter trips. I don’t love to walk through the airport with a lot of stuff so that’s another benefit of checking a bag. My everyday purse is the Bottega Veneta Andiamo tote in “Barolo.” I love it for travel too because it fits everything, but I don’t overstuff it because I don’t like when a bag gets too heavy. My real ideal is to walk out of the house not carrying anything. The less I’m carrying on my body, the better.
I’m a little bit old-school in that I think one should make an effort when traveling. I don’t go crazy but I like to look what I consider to be decent and presentable. I don’t travel in sweatpants and I don’t wear leggings, period; I don’t like athleisure. I travel in tailored pants and a shirt, with a jacket or a trench coat of some kind. And a scrunchie; it’s another travel essential if I need to pull my hair back.
I recently got compression socks, which made me feel old, but really helped because recently my legs have started to hurt on flights over five hours. This next item is not exactly an accessory, but I’m not so great at remembering to drink water throughout the day; I’ve become really obsessive about it when I travel. I find it makes a huge difference in how I feel—my mood, my skin, even jet lag. The more hydrated, the better.
I run very cold so I love to have a comfortable sweater on the plane. On really long flights (like a recent one to Qatar), I will wear the pajamas that they give you in first class.
I love the Caudalie Beauty Elixir travel spray. It’s refreshing if you’re feeling hot. If something smells weird while you’re traveling, it helps with that too. If I’m feeling tired, it helps me brighten up.
I wear the same rings and watch every day. I like to pack the Gohar World Baroque pearl necklaces in different lengths and colors.
I also travel with small purses to pair with different outfits once I’ve reached my destination. I use this Hermès pouch to store smaller travel essentials (like my necklaces, my Mason Pearson brush, and my Caudalie spray) and throw it in my Bottega Andiamo tote so I don’t lose them.
Traveling with a steamer is the antithesis of my travel style, but what I do rely on are dry cleaners and laundry services when I travel. It’s a bit of a contradiction because I’m not that meticulous of a packer but I am a big stickler about wrinkles. It often happens to clothes after being folded in a suitcase, so I like to utilize the dry cleaning services in hotels. I also prefer to pack fewer pieces and have them cleaned and re-worn throughout a long trip. For instance—I love these pajama pants that I got in Milan from Casa del Bianco. I’m meticulous about ironing them. Then, they can be worn both in and out of the house, with my Charvet slippers.
A beautiful kaftan that I love that I got from Harry Were in New Zealand two summers ago. She makes beautiful pieces out of hand-woven textiles. I was recently on vacation in Brazil, and I wore it every single day. Every time I’m about go on a trip more than four days, I buy new underwear. To me it feels really luxurious to have new underwear on a trip; I’ll get a fresh pack and then introduce them to my rotation when I get home.
There’s a Miu Miu sweater that I bring with me everywhere, even in the summer, because I don’t like A/C blasting. I often need it on the plane, in a cold car ride… even in the summer, I like to have socks on the plane.
I definitely leave room.
You don’t need so much. I think people take too much stuff. It ends up all over your hotel, and if you’re going to multiple locations, you have to lug all your stuff around. Especially now that I have a family, traveling with too much stuff becomes a nightmare. Sometimes we go to places that aren’t super accessible; we went to Hydra, Greece one summer, an island that has no cars, so anything we brought we had to carry. That’s taught me to pare back.
