0:07

I'm

0:07

Katrina Tawsey, and this is out travel

0:09

the system.

0:12

Today, we're gonna tackle the age old question

0:14

of whether to carry on or deck

0:16

a bag. We'll talk trends,

0:19

nearly two hundred and forty

0:21

thousand bags were mishandled by

0:23

airlines during just the month of

0:25

May. hear from some serious experts.

0:28

I am a fashion stylist. I work

0:30

with a lot of celebrities and VIPs. I

0:33

am very confident that I know

0:35

the ins and outs of packing and

0:37

really get down to business. They're so

0:40

tiny though too. It's so worth

0:42

the space that they take up and they're cheap

0:44

too. So here we go.

1:00

So when we were brainstorming for

1:03

episodes we're going to do for this season

1:05

and we started talking about gear, I

1:07

had one colleague who was really a

1:09

big source of inspiration for

1:12

this particular episode. She

1:14

started to describe to me how

1:16

she travels economy but

1:19

makes it a first class experience. And

1:22

I really sort of started to dig in and

1:24

ask her why. And then she started to tell

1:26

me all of these crazy things that she

1:28

brings with her. a blow up

1:30

ottoman for her feet, fancy

1:32

pillows, a down comforter blanket

1:34

that packs up super, super tight.

1:37

she really started to make it seem like

1:39

the travel she was doing was not only

1:41

incredibly comfortable, but she made it

1:43

sound pretty easy. Now,

1:46

That all sounds super amazing.

1:49

And having a downcomfort or on a flight,

1:51

I feel like, is absolutely top notch.

1:54

but that probably for some people

1:56

might seem like kind of a lot

1:58

of stuff to sort of carry around.

1:59

So for this episode, we really

2:02

wanna to try and understand not only

2:04

what travel gear might help make your

2:06

trip a little bit easier, but

2:08

also about the type of stuff that

2:10

you might pack.

2:12

So today, we're tapping

2:13

into celebrity stylist and

2:15

fashion expert,

2:16

Jennifer McCluskey Bray,

2:18

to understand if it's really worth including

2:21

those multiple

2:21

outfits that you might never

2:23

end up wearing. Does that happen to you?

2:25

It's definitely happening to me,

2:27

but hopefully, not anymore after

2:30

listening to this episode. But

2:32

first, let's hear the trends. Our

2:34

lovely data correspondent, Christie

2:36

Hudson, is here to talk about how

2:38

travelers are packing these days and,

2:40

of course, what they're carrying. Hi,

2:43

Chrissy. Welcome back. Hi.

2:46

Alright, Christie. So what are

2:48

we talking about this week? What are the trends

2:50

in this space? And what are we seeing?

2:52

So I don't mean

2:54

to scare anybody, but I

2:56

just saw a report issued by the Department

2:58

of Transportation earlier this summer. And

3:01

It said that nearly two hundred

3:03

and forty thousand bags were

3:05

mishandled by airlines during

3:07

just the month of May. And

3:10

to contextualize that number for you,

3:12

that's over half of all the

3:14

bags that were checked that month. So

3:17

that's a pretty startling number.

3:19

That is really, really startling

3:21

and just

3:22

kind of insane. I mean, that basically means

3:24

that It's like a one and two chance

3:27

that month that you would have lost

3:28

your luggage, which I'm sure can

3:30

create so much stress for travelers.

3:33

Right. And unfortunately, it's just

3:35

a reality of air travel right now. Just

3:37

like airlines have been struggling with all sorts

3:40

of operational challenges, they have

3:42

staffing issues that impact bag

3:44

handling. Alright. So what can we

3:46

do as passengers then to help mitigate

3:48

this? There are some things as a passenger

3:51

that you can do. The first one is obvious,

3:53

but not always doable, and it is to

3:55

just pack light. go with a carry

3:57

on because if you don't check a bag,

3:59

they

3:59

can't mishandle it. Right? But

4:02

that's not always an option for us.

4:04

We all know times when a carry on won't

4:06

cut it. For example,

4:08

I'm going on a trip next week.

4:10

I have to pack for two destinations I

4:12

have to pack for both work and

4:14

leisure. And I'm going to Nashville

4:17

to hang out with some girlfriends, and my cowboy boots

4:19

just aren't going to fit in a carry on.

4:21

So I have to check a bag. And

4:24

there are some things that I would suggest you

4:26

do in order to make

4:27

sure you have the best experience. First

4:29

off, don't put anything

4:31

really fragile or valuable

4:34

in your checked

4:34

luggage. Things like expensive

4:37

cameras or cash, for example.

4:39

These items aren't likely to be covered

4:42

by the airline's policies if your bag

4:44

does get lost or if items get damaged

4:46

or stolen. Secondly, I

4:49

would highly recommend packing a little

4:51

backup bag for yourself that you can put

4:53

into your carry on. So think a

4:55

couple pairs of underwear, a change of clothes,

4:58

any prescriptions that you need on a daily

5:00

basis. That way, you have some

5:02

security if your bag gets delayed

5:04

or lost. Yeah. I mean, that kind of

5:06

seems like a no brainer. And frankly, that's something that

5:08

I feel like I've started

5:09

doing recently once I started to see

5:11

a lot of these sort of issues

5:13

popping up with bags. But, you know, it's

5:16

kind of a pain because you don't wanna have to

5:18

carry all this additional stuff. But

5:20

given the statistics and what's sort

5:22

of happening out there, it's frankly just a

5:24

really smart way to

5:26

keep yourself protected a little bit and reduce

5:28

a little bit of that stress if your back does get

5:30

lost.

5:31

That's something I would never have done before.

5:34

I am a hundred percent doing that for this

5:36

by how coming up.

5:37

What else are you seeing?

5:39

If you want some extra assurance, we've seen

5:41

some really great stories from people

5:43

using those personal tracking devices. So

5:46

air tags and tile. Those

5:48

can be paired with an app on your phone

5:50

and then put inside your luggage and it'll

5:53

show you where your bag is. That

5:54

way, if the airline can't locate your bag,

5:57

you can help them with that and it might be able

5:59

to get back to you

5:59

sooner. So how much do those devices

6:02

cost? Are they pretty expensive or are

6:04

they relatively

6:04

affordable?

6:05

The air tag is like thirty

6:07

bucks for one or you can

6:09

get a set of, you know, four for a little

6:11

bit more than that. And I know the tiles probably

6:13

run somewhere similar. So pretty affordable.

6:15

Yeah. I mean, that feels totally worth the investment

6:17

to me because it's obviously going to give you a little bit

6:20

more of that peace of mind, which we know is

6:22

critical when you're traveling. Okay.

6:24

So what if your checked bag ends up getting lost

6:26

or delayed? Then what? So

6:28

if your checked bag is lost or delayed,

6:31

Keep in mind that the airline does owe you some compensation.

6:34

So they're required to compensate you

6:36

for the bag's contents up to

6:38

a maximum amount of around thirty eight

6:40

hundred dollars for domestic flights

6:42

and around eighteen hundred for international.

6:45

And the airlines can also reimburse you

6:47

more than that, but they aren't required to.

6:50

So make sure you claim for the maximum amount

6:52

that you think your bag is worth if it

6:54

gets lost. They're also required

6:56

to reimburse you for any checked baggage fees

6:58

that you paid. And then if

7:00

your bag is delayed, you're also entitled

7:02

to reimbursement. If you have to spend

7:04

money out of pocket to replace some essentials

7:07

while you wait for your bag to be reunited

7:08

with you, they have to reimburse

7:10

you for that as well.

7:11

That is so

7:14

good to know because I,

7:16

like, I didn't realize that they had to reimburse

7:18

you for that kind of stuff. I kind of just assumed

7:20

that if they did find your bag, that

7:22

they wouldn't reimburse me for anything.

7:25

So that's really, really good information

7:27

to hear. If in doubt, ask

7:29

the airline if you have to take a cab to

7:31

get back to the airport go pick up your bag

7:34

because it was delayed, I would

7:36

ask to be reimbursed for that. Such

7:37

a great tip. Thanks, Christie.

7:39

You got it. Happy travels.

7:49

So

7:49

I'm historically a

7:51

chronic over packer and probably

7:54

the worst

7:54

packer on the planet. I've

7:56

always forgotten something. I always have

7:58

too much of one thing and not enough

7:59

of another. It's

8:01

constantly

8:02

a stressful situation for me. Just why

8:04

I am so excited that my guest today

8:06

is actually an expert in

8:08

packing. She literally packs

8:10

for a living. Okay. Well, she's

8:12

packing the latest trendy items

8:14

for celebrities who might

8:16

be appearing on the red carpet. She

8:18

has not only some of the best tricks

8:21

the trade, but some great advice

8:23

on the vast travel gear she feels

8:25

can make travel both chic and comfortable.

8:28

Hi, Jennifer. Nice to meet you. Thanks

8:30

for coming on the show today. Thanks

8:32

for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

8:35

Tell me a little bit about your background

8:37

because I feel like you

8:39

live a fabulous life and I just need

8:41

you to validate that. Oh,

8:43

well, I am a fashion stylist.

8:46

I work with a lot of celebrities and VIPs

8:49

as well as magazine

8:51

styling. So I

8:54

am like, very confident

8:56

that I know the ins and outs of packing.

8:59

I'm constantly either living out of a suitcase

9:01

or packing a suitcase for someone else.

9:04

Whether it's for a photoshoot, I have,

9:06

like, eight suitcases with me sometimes

9:08

because, you know, you never know what the

9:11

model is gonna wanna like, what the model

9:13

will look like on set, and so you

9:15

want options. Or, you know,

9:17

if a celebrity, it's normally just one suitcase

9:19

packed to the brim full of

9:22

all the different looks that they'll be wearing on

9:24

like a press junket. So

9:26

I feel like I know how to pack for all

9:28

different occasions including my own travels.

9:31

How

9:31

many times a year would you say that you like

9:34

actually travel? I would

9:36

say

9:37

at least once a month,

9:40

if not more. So

9:42

I'm on the road a lot. and

9:44

that doesn't even count local

9:46

photoshoots that are in the

9:48

same country that live in, which is England.

9:51

I feel like I'm always living out of a suitcase.

9:53

I still haven't mastered when it's

9:55

my stuff and I don't have to unpack

9:57

it. It stays in my suitcase

9:59

forever and

10:00

ever and ever until

10:02

my next trip. There are definitely

10:05

like two kinds of people in the world. Do you either unpack

10:07

right away or you don't unpack

10:10

until

10:10

you are, like, actually forced to

10:12

do so. Yeah. So as

10:14

a stimulus, how important

10:17

would you say, like, as you're sort

10:19

of packing and traveling to make sure that,

10:21

like, you've got everything you need both

10:23

for the trip, but then also, like, what

10:25

about your travel outfits and things like that?

10:28

So

10:28

so

10:30

basically, I have a set of

10:32

essentials that I keep in a little bag that

10:34

I pack for my clients and myself. And

10:37

these are things that I will never travel

10:40

without, like a handheld steamer. I

10:42

always have that no matter where I travel

10:44

because that's one thing that

10:46

I think will keep you looking polished.

10:49

If you just get off a flight and you

10:52

rummage through your suitcase and everything's all

10:54

wrinkled. A steamer, just

10:57

a quick shot. You know, there's thirty second

10:59

steamers. Phillips is my

11:01

favorite brand for portable handheld steamers.

11:04

They heat up in thirty seconds and then just

11:06

a quick once over,

11:09

you know, forty five seconds of your time and

11:11

your dress is no longer a crinkled mess

11:13

and you look Great. You look like

11:15

you just walked out of the store wearing, you

11:17

know, an outfit off the rack instead of

11:19

just out of a suitcase off the plane. So

11:22

it's like my my number one tip

11:25

is I tell everyone and I always pack affordable

11:27

steamer for my clients. if they're going

11:29

to, like, a press junket, that will be

11:31

in their luggage to make sure

11:33

that, you know, they can do any touch ups.

11:36

How bad is it, Jennifer, that I

11:38

use my flat iron sometimes when

11:40

I'm traveling to iron my thoughts?

11:42

I mean, sometimes it's easier

11:45

actually than ironing. I hate

11:47

ironing more than anything. So

11:50

my husband hates this about me.

11:52

He's like, know, I have a stylist

11:54

wife who refuses to iron my shirt.

11:57

Like, the dry cleaner will do five shirts

11:59

for ten pounds down the road.

12:01

just drop your shots off there and have them

12:03

done. I love that. Well,

12:06

what else is in your kit? Well,

12:08

I have Topstick, which is

12:10

actually to pay tape. Okay. And

12:13

it's great for, like, quick fixes.

12:15

So if you have, like, a button down shirt and

12:18

it gapes open at, like, the the bust

12:20

area. You can close it there or if

12:22

some a shirt's too low, you can close it up a

12:25

bit without putting a stitch in it. If you

12:27

have straps that are falling down.

12:29

Just stick them on really quick. It's great

12:32

and super powerful. Highly

12:34

recommend that. It's a top

12:36

tip, best brand for double

12:38

stick tape or body tape. Top

12:41

stick. That's the top stick.

12:43

Yeah. What about, like, gear,

12:45

like gadgets and stuff. So

12:48

I've been eyeing up this water

12:50

bottle that it

12:52

apparently cleans the

12:54

water to ninety nine point nine

12:56

percent of, like, all bacteria gone,

12:58

and it's refillable water bottle because I'm

13:00

all about saving the planet even

13:03

though I travel so much, but you gotta offset it

13:05

somehow. Hundred or not. Yeah.

13:07

So it's called Lark. apparently,

13:09

you can go to countries that have

13:12

unclean water or, you know, water that's

13:14

not

13:14

okay for you or I to drink And

13:16

so you can use their

13:18

faucets and be able to drink the water because

13:20

it purifies it in thirty

13:23

seconds.

13:24

That's super interesting. You know, I love

13:26

that because

13:27

I also bring my own sort of

13:29

refillable water bottle. Yeah. I'm really

13:31

intrigued about it. It has great

13:33

reviews, so I am into

13:36

it. But I'm really not that techie.

13:39

I love my Bose noise

13:41

cancelling headphones because think

13:43

I have really funny shaped ears. So

13:46

they're the quiet comfort ones. So,

13:49

like, AirPods don't really stay

13:51

in my ears, but the most quiet

13:53

come for headphones. They are amazing

13:55

on a flight, especially long flight because they

13:57

cancel all noise. and they're

14:00

really comfy that I and I can sleep in them,

14:02

which is key on like a long

14:04

haul overnight flight. Do

14:06

they connect to the in flight entertainment system?

14:08

Do they, like, have, like, a jag or are they wireless?

14:11

So I always download my own stuff, like

14:13

podcasts, and you know, whatever

14:15

show I'm watching on Netflix or Amazon

14:18

Prime. I did see a gadget once

14:20

actually. I mean, classic. I found it

14:22

on talk. And think it's called iFLY, and

14:25

it's actually like a like a device

14:27

that plugs into the

14:29

inflight entertainment system jack and

14:31

then you wirelessly connect

14:34

your headphones to that device.

14:36

Oh, that's amazing. I haven't I

14:38

obviously haven't tried it out, but I'm really intrigued

14:40

by it. Any other sort of like gadgets

14:42

or travel essentials or things that you feel

14:44

like you you just like absolutely have to have?

14:47

I always keep in my essentials kit

14:50

bag, which has been very big, a world

14:52

adapter as well. I just recently

14:54

started doing this because I have about

14:56

twenty because I always forget

14:59

them. So now I just keep them in this this

15:01

bag. So I know this is a bag that will go

15:03

with me every time I travel. and I

15:05

will not have to buy another one of these for

15:07

like twenty five dollars at the airport.

15:10

I'll actually just have it

15:12

packed with me on the go. Other

15:16

than that, I have

15:18

some travel socks that I

15:20

always keep with me as well. during

15:23

the winter or, like, short haul flights. I have, like,

15:25

a cashmere blends that I like to wear from

15:27

Ray -- Oh. -- RAEY

15:29

-- Yeah. -- it's on matches and they're a

15:31

maze thing. Like, I've had them for a couple of years now,

15:34

and they haven't, like, worn out, like, a lot of

15:36

cashmere blend socks too. And

15:39

then of course, I have, like, compression socks

15:41

that I wear on long haul flights.

15:43

Keep the blood flowing. Not

15:46

the most attractive, but really important. I wore

15:49

them a lot when I was pregnant. So Yes. And you

15:51

know what? I think I'll probably somewhere now. Yeah.

15:53

Where are you at in the in the neck pillow

15:55

space? Because I really feel like that

15:57

has come a very long way.

15:59

Like, there's

16:00

obviously the traditional sort of horseshoe

16:02

shape, but now you're seeing all sorts of weird ones

16:05

where they like wrap around your head.

16:07

They're like covering all aspects of it. You put

16:09

your arms in some of them. It's quite

16:11

impressive. Where are you at on

16:13

that spectrum?

16:15

Or are you a no neck pillow kind of guy?

16:17

I'm a no neck pillow, girl. I

16:19

cannot be bothered. We're just we're all dogging it out

16:21

there. Yeah. I cannot

16:24

be bothered to carry another thing

16:26

with me when I go in a flight. I'm

16:29

like bare minimum. just

16:31

face mask. We'd love a face

16:33

mask on a flight because I used

16:35

to get so dried out. And then finally, I was like,

16:38

obviously, just do a face mask. Yeah.

16:41

Done. Now, face mask

16:43

it up. I base What's your preferred

16:45

brand? Rodeel is my favorite.

16:49

I love their face masks. One of my friends works

16:51

for them,

16:51

so she always gives me, like, loads. stacks

16:53

of them for free. So I just,

16:54

like, slap them on, chill

16:57

out for the flight. Yeah.

17:00

do you ever get any weird looks? Are people

17:02

like, what's this lady up to? Still

17:04

some men, but I think the women

17:06

are probably just like, oh, why didn't I

17:08

think of that? she's gonna come out glowing

17:11

and I'll be dehydrated. As

17:13

a stylist, would you consider

17:16

yourself the best at, like, packing

17:18

and you know, traveling and and having

17:20

all the gear and stuff like that. Actually,

17:23

I tried to get my husband to let me pack for him

17:25

when we go on trips together

17:27

because it's just appalling

17:29

the way he packs. Like, he's one

17:31

of those people that just chucks everything into

17:33

a suitcase in hopes it works out and

17:36

it his outfits match. But

17:38

don't have my outfits play on per se,

17:40

but I like to have

17:43

a tonal

17:43

wardrobe or

17:46

even just bright colors. So have I

17:48

could pack just couple pairs of shoes

17:51

and they'll match all of the outfits. Like,

17:53

if you do all neutrals, you can mix and match

17:55

and any outfit you put together will look

17:57

fabulous. like, you could even

17:59

do, like, blues and greens and tans

18:01

all and you have if you have a mix of all

18:04

of those colors, mixing and matching is

18:06

so easy then. when you're traveling?

18:08

Well, this is the big question.

18:10

Are we rolling?

18:12

Are we folding? How

18:14

are those clothes getting into this suitcase?

18:17

I'm a roller only because you

18:19

can fit more things into the suitcase.

18:21

And that is

18:22

the only reason I'm a roller --

18:24

Yeah. -- is

18:25

is space saving techniques.

18:28

Otherwise, I think it would be a folder because

18:30

your clothes do come out looking a bit

18:33

more crisp if you fold instead of rolling,

18:35

but that's where the handheld steamer comes

18:38

in. That is my best friend on

18:40

vacation. Well,

18:42

so in addition to rolling, what other tips

18:44

do you have in the packing

18:45

space?

18:47

So my other tips would

18:49

be, well, I think packing tonally

18:51

is the key to being more concise

18:55

and making sure that your accessories match

18:57

everything in your

18:59

case. So you don't

19:01

want to pack a pair of shoes that only match

19:03

one outfit that you packed. That

19:05

is no good for anybody. You wanna

19:07

pack shoes that match everything

19:10

in your case. And then

19:12

you have, you

19:13

know, only three options or two options

19:15

that have many shoes you decide to pack.

19:18

Where

19:18

are you at in terms of packing

19:20

cubes?

19:21

Are you are you do you use them? Are you you're,

19:24

like,

19:24

not into it? Like, what what's your

19:25

perspective on that one?

19:27

I love the idea of packing cubes. I

19:29

don't currently use them though. I'm

19:31

gonna pack for clients. I

19:33

have the outfits bagged by look

19:36

So I have, you know,

19:38

a garment bag and it's labeled with

19:41

a picture and notes on what

19:43

the event is. And you

19:45

know, it already has all the accessories

19:47

inside of it. So I think

19:50

I just, you know, with

19:52

with celebrities you want it to be like, as

19:54

easy as possible for them

19:56

so that they aren't confused and there's

19:58

no question their assistant

20:01

could go in there and just be like, okay. They're

20:03

going on, I don't know, David Letterman's Day

20:05

or whatever show, the late late

20:07

show. and they're

20:09

like, this is a late late show. says late late

20:11

show on here. Here's the garment bag and

20:14

here's kind of like the packing queue. Yeah. A

20:16

garment bag is sort of like your version of a

20:18

packing you're obviously putting the outfits together and

20:20

putting them in the garment bags. Are you

20:22

actually putting those into a suitcase for

20:24

them? Mhmm. Oh,

20:26

wow. So I got to see kids.

20:28

Love celebrity stuff. Like,

20:31

this is so fascinating. Okay. Let's talk

20:33

about it. The outfit is in the garment bag.

20:35

The accessories are in the garment bag too? Are

20:37

they, like, impouches? Are they dangling on

20:39

the hanger? Yep. It's very

20:41

unglamorous how they're packed a lot of the time. So

20:44

they're in, like, little plastic bags so they

20:46

don't get scratched or anything depending

20:48

on what it is. If it's breakable, it'll be in, like,

20:50

a bubble wrap plastic bag

20:52

and hung

20:53

through the

20:54

hanger in

20:57

a drawstring bag, so they'll

20:59

see what everything is along with the shoes

21:01

and stuff. So everything

21:05

honestly is like so laid out perfectly

21:07

for them. I think it's for my costume design

21:10

past. So I worked

21:12

at Gossip Girl. It was, like, one of my first jobs

21:15

back in the day. And -- Oh my god.

21:17

Yeah. I was part of, like, the continuity. I

21:19

was a costume design

21:21

assistant. So I did

21:23

a lot of the continuity for the brand. So was,

21:25

like, writing out on the tags

21:28

exactly like what was used in each

21:30

outfit. So it'd be like dress by

21:32

Prada, bag by Chanel.

21:36

you know, bring by Stephen Duck or

21:38

Stop. You know, just I'd have it all listed

21:40

out and then -- Yeah. -- hung in the clear plastic

21:43

bag. And then in that bag, another

21:45

bag of, like, each individual piece

21:47

of jewelry and stuff. So

21:49

I think that's where it comes from.

21:51

Okay. So everything's in a garment bag.

21:53

It's in its you know, it's it's in its own little pouch

21:56

or its own little home. So then are

21:58

we folding the garment

21:59

bag to put it into the suitcase? Or do

22:02

you do you prefer to use actual

22:04

garment bag suitcases. We

22:06

fold the garment bags just in half.

22:08

Just in half. And then you put it in the suitcase just

22:10

like that. Mhmm. Do you feel like that's a good

22:13

space saver or do you feel like that waste space?

22:15

Like, think of all of the rest of

22:17

us. Like, I am going on a vacation.

22:20

Right? And I'm seriously thinking about

22:23

doing this because I I really this

22:25

is really vibing with me. So

22:28

if each outfit's in its own garment bag, how

22:30

many garment bags can I fit in a regular suitcase?

22:33

It depends on bigger suitcases. we

22:36

can fit quite a few. I

22:38

don't have a hard case. Well, I have some hard

22:40

cases, but with my clients, I have these

22:43

suitcases called suitcases

22:46

and they fold down flat. Okay.

22:48

So, like, I have about eight of them because

22:51

I usually juggle a lot of different

22:53

jobs at once. So they

22:56

fold nearly completely flat.

22:58

So when I'm not using them, The suitcase

23:00

full, it's flat. Yeah. And

23:02

then my you're, like, really blowing my mind. We're

23:05

only, like, ten minutes into this conversation. Okay.

23:07

It's called It brand. Uh-huh.

23:09

IT? Okay. Yeah. Okay. So

23:13

I use those a lot because they round

23:15

themselves out too. So I can fit

23:17

quite a few. I would say

23:19

probably up to, like, ten garment

23:21

bags in there, which is quite a bit. A

23:23

lot. Yeah. Yeah. So very

23:26

handy. And it's nice for people

23:28

that live in cities and might not have as

23:31

much space to like store

23:33

big old clunky suitcases. So

23:36

do you use these brands who cases for

23:38

your own personal travel as well?

23:40

Or do you like others? because I know

23:42

there's a lot of, like, really high end

23:44

luggage out there and

23:47

I personally am not

23:49

a believer that it's totally worth

23:51

it. Like in my mind, you want a luggage that

23:53

is already light because

23:55

if you're packing a lot of stuff, you don't want

23:58

the, like, actual empty suitcase to take

24:00

up half of the allotted weight. Right? Exactly.

24:02

then one that just has, like, smooth wheels and that's

24:04

frankly all I personally really care about.

24:06

Where are you at in that discussion? Well,

24:09

I recently just gotten away case

24:11

that has the portable charger in

24:13

it. Okay. And very

24:15

keen on that because I feel like I'm one of those

24:17

people that we'll forget to charge their phone

24:19

at night because like, thinking about something else and

24:21

just forget to plug it in, and then I'm, like,

24:24

screwed. So that's really

24:26

handy, and I'm kind of obsessed with it.

24:28

But it's just my carry

24:30

on. And then I have like cal pack

24:32

luggage for

24:34

know, like everyday travel. But

24:37

I think Fancy Luggage is

24:39

really cool. Like, You know the brand

24:41

Globetrotter? I do. I do have

24:43

that stuff. It's cute. It's so cute.

24:45

Right? I'm, like, one day,

24:47

I will have some Globetrotter, like,

24:50

Yeah. It's so adorable in all the different

24:53

themes they have, like, that the Disney theme they

24:56

have, you know, just all these fun, like,

24:58

collaborations that they do. But

25:00

yeah, it's really expensive, especially for

25:03

me I travel so much. It's like just gonna

25:05

get really banged up. Yeah.

25:08

When you travel, like, personally,

25:11

like, for fun, are you a carry

25:13

on type of person, or do you typically check

25:15

your luggage? Ideally,

25:17

I carry on as much as possible.

25:20

What if you're going for a week? If it's

25:22

a summer or a hot destination, carry

25:25

on for sure. I just

25:28

I'm not interested in checking bags.

25:30

I'm one of those people that once I get there, I just

25:32

wanna go. I don't feel like waiting for my luggage.

25:35

I'm keen on walking off the plane.

25:38

Yeah. I'm keen on that too, but I'm like

25:40

a chronic over packer. What tips

25:42

do you have for people like me?

25:44

You know, I think this circles back

25:47

to wearing neutrals again or wearing

25:49

something that's tonal, so you can mix

25:51

and match different pieces.

25:53

that you packed. So you could pack, you know,

25:55

eight pieces instead of sixteen

25:59

because you can mix and match and wear them again.

26:01

And when you steam, going back to steaming

26:03

-- Yeah. -- it basically cleans

26:05

the outfit for you. So,

26:08

like, it gets rid of all of those

26:10

germs and it's basically, like,

26:12

washing your shirt.

26:14

What if your sort of

26:16

traveling to a place that's gonna

26:18

be like warm and cold.

26:20

Do you know what I mean? Like, I feel like you go to a lot of

26:22

places where it's like, you know, almost

26:25

like desert environment where it's like hot

26:27

during the day, but then it drops to like

26:29

fifty degrees at night and it's and it's freezing.

26:31

How do you what's your balance their

26:34

loads of layering. So I will

26:36

always be in a plane in layers if

26:38

it's gonna be cold. only

26:41

because the plane is normally really cold. So

26:44

it's really really nice to wear those

26:46

layers on the flight if you're gonna

26:48

have a carry on. and

26:51

I always find that super handy and you only

26:53

need like one jacket or one card again.

26:55

You don't need to have a different jacket or

26:57

card again for each outfit because

27:00

you're packing a tonal wardrobe,

27:02

so that jacket or cardigan will match

27:04

everything else that you have in your suitcase.

27:07

I think maybe people get afraid that, like,

27:09

other people are gonna notice that they're re

27:11

wearing things

27:13

as a professional stylist. do

27:16

you think people actually pay attention to that

27:18

kind of stuff? Or, like, how does that factor into

27:20

when you're packing? Like, are you are you like,

27:22

I'm gonna re wear. I don't care. I feel like French

27:25

people by the way

27:26

will re wear the same outfit, like, three

27:28

days in a row, and, like, they don't care and they still

27:30

look, you know, fabulous and chic. But, like, Americans

27:32

are just really averse. to,

27:34

like, re wearing. And I think there's also a lot of

27:36

outfit checkers out there or we think that there

27:38

are. What do you think? Yeah. I just wonder

27:41

who they think they're gonna notice maybe these people

27:43

on social media because the people

27:45

at the potisserie down the road aren't gonna remember

27:48

what you wore the day before. I

27:50

wouldn't be worried about that. And

27:53

you're being smart about what you're packing. There's

27:55

some amazing brands out there. For

27:58

instance, the Franky Shop, They're

28:00

such good quality pieces, and

28:02

they do, like, oversized button downs,

28:05

and they have, like, matching sets seeker by

28:07

the matching shorts and the matching pants,

28:10

matching bralettes, just basically

28:12

matching everything. So you could wear that

28:14

oversized shirt, over bathing suit

28:16

as like a cover up, or you can have it tucked

28:18

into a pair of shorts, or you can wear

28:20

it with matching pants. the button down oversized

28:23

shirt is like all the rage at the moment,

28:25

and it's in

28:26

good reason because it's so versatile.

28:29

I just bought three of them actually. Did you?

28:31

Like, I bought I bought a white one, a

28:33

blue one, and

28:36

a pink one that has matching shorts.

28:39

So I I feel

28:39

really validated by this conversation to be.

28:42

So that's great. Okay. What about packing

28:47

for cold trips, like a trip to,

28:49

like, look, you're going skiing. Because I feel like

28:51

that is a really stressful time because, like, every

28:54

for packing sweaters and like ski

28:56

gear, everything just gets really bulky and

28:58

super heavy. Any any tips

29:00

for cold weather trips?

29:03

So for cold weather, I

29:05

always wear layers

29:08

and I have black thermals that

29:10

I wear underneath everything and I wear that

29:12

on the plane as well. I have an amazing

29:15

like cashmere track suit

29:17

set that looks very

29:19

chic but

29:21

also looks, you know or

29:23

it is comfy. It doesn't look comfy.

29:25

It is comfy. Allude is the

29:27

brand, and they do, like, half Sips

29:29

as well. and think it's just so

29:32

nice to, like, wear on a plane.

29:35

So I highly recommend that. And then

29:37

packing, I'll always wear like,

29:41

long underwear or, like, the layers underneath

29:44

while on the plane or if it's,

29:46

like, a long haul or

29:48

I'll pack it because they roll up really really tiny.

29:51

And you could put them on when you're going

29:53

skiing. I use folk

29:55

a lot. FALKE

29:58

for my clients and for myself.

29:59

i'm

30:01

And also, I have this

30:04

amazing Wolford bodysuit,

30:07

that's like a turtleneck. Uh-huh. And I think it looks

30:09

-- Okay. -- cool underneath anything, really.

30:11

you could have, like, a loose fitting card again

30:14

on, like, a v neck card again, it'll look nice.

30:16

And that's just, like, one item that you could be

30:18

wear and re wear and re wear and re wear. So

30:21

oh, and also when you're packing, your

30:23

biggest boots that you're packing wear

30:25

those on the plane, which I know is

30:27

such a pain when you're going through security

30:30

and you have to take your shoes off, but

30:32

it's worth it because you

30:33

have so much more space in your luggage.

30:35

Yeah.

30:35

That's a really good tip. So

30:38

I wanna go back to, you know,

30:40

you talked about the garment bag trick

30:43

that you're using. What

30:45

other

30:46

packing tricks do

30:48

you have or, like, special equipment

30:51

that you use for any of sort of these

30:53

tricks? When I'm packing for myself,

30:55

I have a jewelry cube,

30:58

which is basically like a travel jewelry

31:00

case. and that's really handy because

31:03

it does what the plastic bag tip

31:05

does, but in a fancier

31:07

way. Because I don't need to know exactly

31:10

what necklace goes with what outfit. I'll

31:12

pack accessories that match all

31:14

of the outfits I have packed. What

31:17

about for men? I'm sure you have,

31:19

like, a decent amount of male clients as well.

31:21

Does your approach to packing

31:23

or what how you style them? Does that change

31:25

at all? So a lot of the

31:27

time with women's wear, we if

31:30

it's celebrities especially, they will not

31:32

wanna wear the same shoes with

31:34

several different outfits. so

31:36

everything's bagged separately. But for menswear,

31:39

they're much working on just having

31:41

one pair of shoes or like two pairs of shoes,

31:44

like one belt for, you know, the three

31:46

full days. They might be in, like, the Italian

31:48

Riviera for, like, a wedding. They might

31:50

only want, yeah, one belt for the entire

31:53

time and then one pair of shoes. We can make

31:55

it work for that. Can I ask you to

31:57

spill a little bit of tea for us? You don't have to

31:59

tell me

31:59

the names. But what's like the

32:02

weirdest thing you've ever had to

32:04

pack? for a celebrity? Or,

32:06

like, has anybody asked you to

32:08

pack, like, a really weird gadget or something

32:10

like that? If I have client

32:12

too is breastfeeding. I will always

32:15

pack breast pads. When

32:17

I was, you know, breastfeeding my

32:19

kids It was the one thing that sometimes

32:21

you could forget to pack for yourself, but

32:24

you don't want to have

32:26

milk seeping through your outfit. So

32:29

just slot those in with, you know,

32:31

their kit bag that I send

32:33

with them. I actually

32:35

just did a TV show for Amazon Prime,

32:37

and there's this one episode. One of my clients

32:40

is on it, and I grabbed

32:42

her from backstage because she has rings

32:45

of breast milk on her top.

32:47

Oh, no. And so you see me backstage

32:49

like blow drying her top. right

32:52

before she has to go back on to stage.

32:55

And it's just like those moments

32:57

that you don't wanna happen when I'm especially

32:59

not there. stuff like that that,

33:01

you know, people might not think of. I always pack

33:03

tampons for women just

33:06

in case they have like a surprise period. I

33:09

always pack period pants as well

33:11

in nude because those

33:14

are just handy if they're expecting their

33:16

period and, you know, don't

33:18

wanna wear something for it.

33:20

i'm

33:22

Otherwise, nothing else that

33:24

is that out of the ordinary? Are

33:26

there any sort of travel gear

33:29

or accessories that you

33:31

swear by when you're traveling with your kids? You

33:33

have one child or two? Or what's your

33:35

what's your family situation? Two.

33:38

I had them very close together. I have

33:40

a daughter, waverly. She is three.

33:42

She'll be four in August. and a son

33:44

Hudson -- Oh, nice. -- very New York

33:46

centric names. Yeah.

33:49

So what what travel gear do you, like,

33:51

swear by when you're traveling with your kids?

33:53

Well, back when I was breastfeeding, I

33:56

love the LV pumps because I

33:58

went straight back to work, so I didn't take

34:00

any time off after the kids. I just

34:02

kind of, like, made do and would, like,

34:04

have them strapped to me on set and

34:07

just bring them around for fitting. It's just dangling

34:10

off me. So I

34:12

would have, like, the LV pumps when

34:15

they couldn't be with my ears so I could pump

34:17

and it's you know, not attached

34:19

to anything and just stick them in

34:21

your bra and it has a little

34:23

app on your phone. It's so so

34:25

handy. Yeah. So good

34:28

for any new moms. It's worth the investment

34:30

because I know they're not very cheap, but

34:33

it's something that I highly recommend Well,

34:35

before we go, if you had to, like,

34:38

if there was one travel

34:40

gear item that you absolutely

34:43

cannot live well, like you're traveling, you're getting

34:45

on a plane, you can only take one thing

34:47

in addition to your suitcase. What are you taking

34:49

with you? Oh.

34:50

who

34:52

this is such a good question.

34:56

I

34:56

think I'm going back to the steamer because

34:58

I think it just makes such a difference in

35:02

in pictures when you're looking

35:04

crisp and fresh and

35:07

just makes a world of difference. So

35:10

I think I would say my steamer. I

35:12

am obsessed with my little handheld steamer.

35:15

Yeah. The point about it also, like,

35:18

freshing up your clothes and killing germs

35:20

is actually something that I never

35:22

thought about, but I do get really

35:24

grossed out. Like, I feel like when I wear, like, a jacket

35:26

on the plane, And then when I get to

35:28

my destination, I'm like, I'm like, oh, I don't

35:30

wanna wear this. Like, the plane is such a disgusting

35:33

place. Yeah. Like, my daughter dropped it on

35:35

the floor or whatever. But so now I'm

35:37

like, well, maybe I'll start to bring the steamer with me and then

35:39

it and then I won't have any, like, stress about it.

35:41

Yeah. There's so tiny no too. It's

35:43

literally the size of a water bottle.

35:46

or a big water bottle, you know, like a seven hundred and

35:48

fifty milliliter water bottle. But yeah.

35:50

So worth the space that they take up.

35:53

highly recommend it to everyone. Amazing.

35:56

And they're cheap too.

35:58

Jennifer has an awesome Amazon

35:59

shopping list and we've gone ahead and included

36:02

that on the blog for all of you to reference.

36:04

Yeah. because I have, like, pre threaded needles.

36:07

There's loads of little things that I

36:09

always keep in my, like, little essentials

36:12

kit bag that I bring around.

36:14

That's great. So, Jen, you've got

36:16

so many amazing tips obviously and

36:19

it sounds like you live an absolutely fabulous life.

36:21

Where can people sort of follow your adventures

36:24

or learn more about your work? Or maybe someone

36:26

just wants to, like, live it up and let you style

36:28

them for their next vacation. You

36:30

can find me on Instagram at Jennifer

36:32

Miholski Bray style, and

36:34

I have a personal styling mask class,

36:37

which just launched. It is at

36:39

styled by JMB dot

36:41

com, so check it out. Thank

36:43

you so much. for coming on the show

36:45

today. It has been an absolute pleasure having you.

36:48

Oh, thank you for having me. It's been so fun.

36:56

My favorite piece of information

36:58

that I learned in this one was using

37:01

a steamer to not only keep your

37:03

clothes fresh and crisp looking, but

37:05

to also kill all that nasty, grimy

37:07

travel bacteria that might happen when you're

37:10

wearing something on the plane or just

37:12

throughout your travel. So it's definitely something

37:14

I know I'm gonna do from here on out. What's

37:17

your favorite travel gear item? Tell

37:19

us, we're at Expedia and at

37:21

PRX. For more info on

37:23

episodes, guests, and to find

37:25

travel inspiration, be sure to visit

37:27

out travel the systems blog at Expedia

37:30

dot com forward slash stories

37:32

forward slash podcast. I

37:35

wanna thank our listeners so much for joining

37:37

us today. I also wanna thank celebrity

37:39

stylist extraordinaire, Jennifer

37:41

McCalsy Bray for all of her great

37:43

tips. And if you have any questions for

37:45

me or comments or thoughts,

37:47

of course, be sure to hit me up. You can

37:50

DM us on at Expedia, or

37:52

you can visit Expedia dot com

37:54

slash out travel the system. Follows

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37:59

an episode. I'll

38:02

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Be sure to join us next week as

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we talk all about small

38:53

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39:00

Till next time. This is your host,

39:02

Nistren Natuzzi for out travel the system.

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wherever you listen. Happy travels.

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