It’s that time of year again – Conference Season!
Actually, it’s conference season year round, but it seems there are a lot more conferences packed together in the summer time, and it makes sense – nicer weather, easier travel – why not?
I’m finally bringing you another conference or interview fashion post – with one of the outfits I wore to Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., where I got to meet with my senators and house representatives. I’ll write a separate blog post recapping that soon – keep your eyes peeled!
We had a couple of events to go to, so for a dinner I wore a pretty dress (I’ll share later), and on another one of the nights I wore some gray dress pants, a pretty blouse that I ended up tucking in, and a black blazer, shown here. I’ll share my actual Hill Day outfit in the next post, so stay tuned. But it is very similar to this outfit – which is nice because I basically swapped out the top, and made it seem like an entirely different outfit! That’s one of my secret tips to packing lightly for business trips! Bring some neutral colored pants (I go with Black or Gray, but you can also do a dark navy blue), and you can change up the top blouse and blazer, mix and match! That way you can get variation in your outfits without packing too much!
As far as shoes – they needed to be comfy for long days of walking in the city! I tend to go with boots under boot cut dress pants, as they are usually more comfortable, and just do a great job doing the part! Here, I wore some suede black ankle booties from Forever 21, and they were so comfortable!!
Here is a short packing list of what I bring to a conference (depends how long it is, but here is for a 3 day conference):
- 2 pairs of dress pants
- 5 blouses
- 2 blazers
- 1 or 2 formal dresses (business appropriate)
- 1 pair of boots
- 1 pair of flats
- Sneakers
- Workout gear (pants or shorts; sports bra; top)
- 2 Statement necklaces or simple necklaces; one pair of earrings; any other accessories you might want
- Flat iron/curling wand – My straightener also is able to curl, which saves a lot of space and just one thing! I avoid bringing a hair dryer as hotels usually have one, not the greatest but I just need my hair dry and I run the flat iron over it!
- Makeup – a simple neutral palette; eye liner; mascara; foundation; lipstick
- Comfy clothes for pajamas
- Any extra casual clothing for exploring
Dress Pants and Blouse: Express; Boots: Forever 21; Blazer: not sure
What do you think about this simple packing list? This should all fit into a carry on size luggage, and still have plenty of space for extra things you want to bring. I’m always the worst though, and end up bringing too much, because I like having variety and the option to choose to wear different things.
Here I have linked some similar things that are a bit more affordable than their store counterparts from what I’m wearing… I easily dropped $200 for two pairs of pants at Express – they are great quality but I always like finding a deal! No extra cost to you, but affiliate links!
xo Andrea
