How to build a capsule wardrobe for carry-on only travel

Kate Hooker travels full time out of a carry-on backpack.

Packing light avoids long checked baggage queues at the airport, or dragging a huge bag around a foreign city.

It also means the 26-year-old — who's currently a yacht host in Croatia, but is originally from Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland, NZ) – avoids the potential stress of an airline losing her luggage.

Kate keeps things simple by only bringing a limited capsule wardrobe with her when she travels. Here's how.

What is a capsule wardrobe?

Although Kate's backpacking and predominantly staying in hostels, capsule wardrobes are also great for bougier holidays and work trips.

They're best described as a set of clothes that can be worn for multiple activity types, where most of your tops can match most of your bottoms.

Kate likes to build her wardrobe around a set of possible activities she'll be doing on her trip, whether that's "going out to dinner, going to the beach, wandering around the markets or chilling at the hotel".

After she's written out a list, she then chooses pieces that can work for more than one of those categories.

Kristine Fernandez — a 38-year-old style coach from Meanjin (Brisbane), who's previously worked as an Emirates flight attendant — prefers to focus on her pieces first.

She'll choose something like a white tank top and think about what she can pair it with to dress it up or down.

However you choose to approach it, both avid travellers have some capsule wardrobe dos and don'ts you might want to stick with.

Don't: Feel like everything needs to be black or white

Colours like black, white and beige are going to be versatile options for any capsule wardrobe.

But if you do like a bit more colour in your life, you can still make capsule wardrobes work for you.

Kate suggests creating a colour palette, which could be "simple or extravagant".

"It's just about picking colours that you like and that complement each other."

Or, Kate says you could pack predominantly fun, patterned bottoms, and basic tops in neutral colours to match them. You could also reverse it and bring loud tops, and plain bottoms.

"That's a really easy way to jazz up your capsule wardrobe … like I have a red skirt with little white flowers that I can pair with white or black tops," she says.

Kristine enjoys adding colour to her wardrobe by packing one bright matching set.

"You can take that top and pair it with all the [neutral] bottoms that you have, or you can take the bottoms and wear it with all your tops" or, for maximum colour, you can wear it as a full set.

Don't: Bring the heaviest fabrics you own

Bringing heavy, bulky materials like corduroy or denim is going to take up a heap of space in your bag.

Instead, think about lightweight fabrics that can fold up small.

Kate says synthetic fabrics can be easy to pack, although they might cause you to sweat more.

Kristine's favourite piece is a "black matte silk slip dress" that packs down small in her bag.

"I can wear it with slides for the daytime and with heels if I want to dress it up, [or it even works] as a beach cover up, because it's not a shiny silk, it's more of a matte material."

Do: Choose versatile clothing

While materials are important, there's always exceptions to the rule — if your jeans go with everything and are a staple in your wardrobe, they're still worth bringing.

Or for Kate, a denim jacket is a must-have.

"A lot of people say, oh, that's far too heavy, but I never pack it — I always wear it on my travel days."

She also finds long-sleeved linen shirts handy, as they can be a classy evening top, or protect you from the sun as a beach cover-up.

Kristine is a big fan of linen pants, as they can be dressed both up and down.

If you're planning to be more adventurous and do activities like hiking, she'd also recommend going for linen shorts over bike shorts, so you can wear them to evening dinners, too.

When it comes to tops, she likes to bring a mixture of tank tops, T-shirts and then "something more structured" like a button-up with a collar.

Do: Consider your shoes and jewellery

While shoes like heels can be an easy way to dress up an outfit, these are going to a bulky part of your carry-on, and may only fit into one activity type.

Depending on your trip type and personal style, you may just want to bring one set of white sneakers — the trendy kind that can also be worn out at night — and one set of slides or sandals.

Jewellery is a simple solution to dressing up outfits, without taking up too much space in your bag.

Kristine suggests packing both a small to mid-sized hoop earring and a stud.

She adds that "a thin chain necklace that drapes about one or two inches from the collarbone, perhaps something simple with a pendant, will make a world of difference to any outfit".

She's also a big fan of chunky statement jewellery, given her clothes are so simple: "Without jewellery, a lot of my outfits look like pyjamas."

Do: Consider capsule wardrobes for winter trips

If you're travelling somewhere cold, you'll want to wear any big coats or heavy shoes on the plane.

Kate says options like a lightweight fleece jacket won't take up too much space, and "will keep you warm when you need it".

Kristine suggests focusing on layering easy-pack options like thermals.

Whatever trip you're planning, remember that you can always wash your clothes, or hit up a local op shop at your destination.