25 days, 3 countries, and only 2 pieces of luggage! Oh dear. When my amazing friend, Hilde Cort said she was taking a nearly month-long trip to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, with only a couple suitcases, I had to know more.

You must understand, Hilde is one of the most stylish women I’ve ever met. You may remember her from a blog I posted a while back titled Must-Have Jewelry What’s Yours?

Hilde says, ‘When you asked me to send you photos of my outfits for 25 days, I knew it would not be a problem. I wear mostly black and white and add a few bold color accents. I only wear pants–never dresses–because I think pants are more flattering for my size.”

Hilde’s Packing List:

• 5 pair of shoes – (Walking shoes, sandals, tennis shoes)
• 7 pairs of pants – black,and white pants only (some were heavier, some were lighter weight)
• Tops mostly black or white along with a bright red, turquoise, and green
• T-shirts for layering
• Coat: a long reversible raincoat with a hood
• Other outerwear: Wool shawl, poncho, green vest, and jacket

Hilde created a stylish travel capsule beginning with black and white basics.

Hilde says she’s not a scarf person (she packed two, but only wore one the entire trip). Hats, on the other hand, are Hilde’s signature accessories. She packed six!

“This was a long tour, with many climates, so I had to pack lightly and efficiently.”  …Hilde Cort

Hilde added bright colored tops, outerwear, and accessories to give her black and white a punch.

It’s too bad we all couldn’t have joined Hilde on this grand adventure. But can take away some of her savvy packing tips:

1. Start with a palette of neutral colored tops and bottoms that are flattering for your color type. (Hilde is a Contrast Color Type {Q Style page 25 }, so she chose black and white as her neutral base, but you could use brown/ivory, navy/gray, camel/black, navy/black, camel/navy, etc. as your base. Depending on your color type.)
2. Coordinate shoes to match your palette.
   • One pair of good walking shoes
   • One pair of athletic shoes/sneakers
   • One pair of sandals/flats for evening/dressier occasions
3. Add in complementary colored tops and accessories (hats, scarves, jewelry, vests, handbags, pashminas, etc.) to spice up your basic capsule.

But the most important key, and something we can all learn from Hilde is to KNOW THYSELF. Hilde recognizes those hues that complement her personal coloring. She knows the most flattering lines for her body type. She doesn’t look to celebrities, magazines, or models to dictate her style. Hilde has her own QUINTESSENTIAL STYLE.

Thank you Hilde (and Jean Thorp for taking all those wonderful photos).

For your own Quintessential Packing List, click here.

See you next trip!

P.S. While in New Zealand, Hilde found the weather much colder than she had anticipated, so she bought a heavy red/black checked coat. One of the ladies on Hilde’s tour collected coats for children in Nebraska. So, when the tour was over, Hilde donated the coat to her.

Even when she’s on vacation, Hilde’s doing charitable work!