Sisterhood of the Traveling Frills, Pt. 2: Packing Lolita for Travel (Picture Heavy!)

After getting all the logistics planned for our future Lolita trip, it's time to get packing! In this post, I'll detail my packing process for all of my clothes, shoes, and wigs!

My 20" suitcase!

For starters, let's talk about suitcases and travel bags. I used to be one of those people that would pack a HUGE suitcase for events because I had no idea how to pack properly. You'd think it'd be really easy to pack -- just throw everything in the suitcase, and zip it up, right? But actually, it's a lot more complicated than you think.

When packing, it's better (and IMO, easier to manage) when you can pack a lot of items into a smaller container. For one, many airlines charge for checked luggage under the plane. Most companies allow for 1 free personal item (IE a purse or a backpack), and sometimes, a free carry-on. Secondly, specific weight restrictions for each item means you can't bring your entire Lolita wardrobe with you unless you want to pay a hefty fee. Finally, who the heck wants to lug around a giant suitcase everywhere?

For shorter trips, I recommend a 20" suitcase. For longer vacations, a 24" inch suitcase is more than enough. I took both my 24" and 28" suitcases on a week-long trip to Seoul, and once I got there, I realized I had ample room with just my 24"!

Check out this helpful chart that breaks down suitcase sizes. Keep in mind though, that not every suitcase fits these exact measurements. 

I do not own!

Usually, I pack my items in this order: 

1. Coords/Clothes

2. Toiletries

3. Etc.

I have a travel cosmetic bag, so it's really easy to pack my toiletries because mostly everything stays in that bag until I go out of town. However, there are a few items I don't like to pack immediately, so I wait to add those items to the bag, which is why I save those two for last. I'll talk more about all that in Part 3 though.

Most people either roll or fold their clothes to get them inside of a travel bag. I personally prefer folding, but my greatest asset for traveling (besides my suitcases) are my packing cubes!

Packing cubes stock photo.

These amazing cubes keep my clothes compressed and help me to fill my suitcase with as many things as possible! I especially love this set because it comes with a matching bag for shoes!

You can grab your own set of packing cubs on Amazon for under $9 with this link.

Pro-Tip: If you don't have time to wait for some packing cubes to arrive, head to your pantry and grab some Ziploc bags! Gallon and quart-sized Ziploc bags are great substitutes for packing cubes. You might not be able to fit everything in there, but they're a great help to compressing your items.

Getting Your Stuff Together (literally!)

The contents of my suitcase!

I tried to get the entire contents of my suitcase on my bed for pictures, but there was so much stuff that everything wouldn't fit, X_X

For Aselia Con, I'm bringing:

-1 OP

-1 JSK

-1 Skirt

-2 Blouses (1 for my JSK, 1 for my skirt)

-3 pairs of tights (1 for each coord)

-3 wigs (not pictured)

-1 petticoat and 1 hoop-skirt (not pictured)

-2 pairs of shoes (not pictured)

-2 "civilian" dresses (for when I want to get out of Lolita)

-1 skirt set ("civilian" clothes)

-Undergarments (bras and panties)

-1 set of PJs

-4 tank tops/undershirts

-3 pairs of shorts (as my bloomers)

-2 pairs of socks

The accessories I'm bringing.

For accessories, I've got:

-3 hats (not pictured)

-2 pairs of glasses (both are in the black drawstring bag)

-AATP necklace

-1 Choker

-3 pairs of fingerless gloves

-Bows and roses

-Rings

Once I dump everything in one place, I start grouping like items together.

My blouses, main pieces, and tights can all fit into the largest mesh cube, so I pack those items from bulkiest to thinnest. At the very top of this stack, I pack any flat headpieces, which in this case is 2 of my 3 hats. Zip it up and move on to the next one!

Flats hats.

Once the biggest cube is full, I fold up all my "civilian clothes" and put all those items in the medium-sized mesh cube. The smallest cube is reserved for my undergarments, undershirts, and PJ's, plus any extra clothing I might have.

I put my 3 wigs in the largest compression pouch, and my petticoat gets stuffed into the medium sized one. **If you're using Ziploc bags, these kinds of items are the perfect size to use those for. Accessories can go in a quart-sized bag, while petticoats and wigs can go in the gallon size.**

Wig Pouch!

All the accessories go inside the smallest compression pouch so that they stay together, and nothing gets lost. Finally, shoes go inside the shoe bag, with sock rolls stuffed inside each shoe.

My cubes.

Here's everything packed together! As you can see the only item that doesn't really fit is my biggest hat, which I have no problem carrying on my own. Aselia Con is a convention local to my area, and I'm driving my own car, so it's alright if a few items don't fit in my suitcase, :)

Now that everything's packed up and ready to go, it's time to put those Tetris skills to work!

Packing my hoop-skirt.

I pack my hoop-skirt first because it's the easiest thing to put in the suitcase. I've seen some Lolitas pack their hoop-skirts at the top of their suitcase, but I put mine at the bottom.

I compress the hoop as small as I can and then use it to line the bottom of my suitcase. Some hoop-skirts may not compress as small as 20" so you'll have to try it to see just how small you can make it.

Petticoat pouch, Medium mesh cube, and wig pouch.

In the zippered section, I put down my wig pouch first, since that's the flattest bag of all my packing cubes. I pack it with the medium-sized mesh bag at the top, which gives me just enough room to put my accessories pouch in the upper right corner. I try to pack things that can be damaged as close to the inside as possible, since I want them to be protected.

On top of the wig pouch, I place my shoe bag. The wig pouch is pretty flat and if it squishes down, that's fine, since it's filled with wigs.

Shoe bag, accessory pouch, and medium mesh cube.

Once the panel on the left side is filled, I zip that section up and move back over to the right side of my suitcase with my hoop-skirt. 

The right side of my suitcase.

This side of the suitcase has straps that will hold the bags together so I take advantage of that to stack cubes on top of each other. 

I pack my largest mesh cube on the bottom half first, and place it horizontally, to completely fill the bottom of that section. Above that is my toiletries bag since it isn't going to compress well when I try to zip up the suitcase.

NOTE: If I was flying to my destination, my black makeup bag would be in my carry-on, and I'd just pack the remaining cubes + my 2nd pair of shoes on this side. I'm super paranoid about all my make-up getting damaged, stolen, or destroyed, so I'd much rather carry those items on to the plane with me.

Stack on cubes.

After placing down my first two bags, I grab my petticoat pouch and the smallest mesh bag filled with underclothes and secure those on to the other two cubes with the attachment straps. 

All that's left now is to zip up the suitcase, and be on my way!

My fully packed suitcase, with my extra pair of shoes and hat.

Though almost everything fits in my suitcase, I have two items that I couldn't get in there, T_T

Granted, if I was flying, I'd put these items in my carry-on bag, and that problem would be solved, but another option is to just wear some items to the airport. While I personally don't do that because I like to be comfortable when I'm flying (or riding, or driving or whatever), I've heard of other Lolitas doing that.

I have a basic duffel bag that I use as a carry-on to fill up with anything that didn't fit in my suitcase. For the sake of my wonderful readers, I'm going to go ahead and "pack" a carry-on bag, to give y'all a visual idea of how you can utilize the additional space to bring whatever you need, <3

Stay tuned for Part 3: Packing Toiletries/Cosmetics. See y'all in the next one!

Stay beautiful, stay true,

~J