Packing Up: The Guy’s Guide

On a popular request from friends, family, and family friends studying abroad who are not female, I figured that now was a perfect time to put together a guy’s guide to packing. My brother, Reed, has been enjoying his time abroad in Rome but before he left, he allowed me to take a few photos for this post! He has been over there for a month and is proud to say that he has been living perfectly well off of this list and did not forget one thing!

The Essentials:

Reed is living in an apartment with 9 other guys, and even though they have a washing machine in the unit, it is hard to find open times to do a load. Not to mention, you need to hang your clothes up to dry after. To avoid running out of any necessities over the next couple of months, he decided to pack lots and lots (and lots) of socks and underwear. Enough to last him at least two weeks without laundry. This is also great so he doesn’t have to do laundry when he goes on an extended backpacking trip over his spring break!

Tops

To get the most use out of his clothes, Reed stuck to a navy blue and black pallet to make sure everything went together. If your clothing doesn’t go with at least three other items in your suitcase, you should consider packing something else because you won’t get that much use out of it.

Reed has:

• 2 quarter-zip sweatshirts
• 1 dressier sweatshirt
• 1 casual, lighter sweatshirt
• 2 sweaters
• 1 solid long sleeved shirt
• 2 striped long sleeved shirts
• 5 colored/patterned t-shirts
• Not pictured are the undershirts he brought, that will vary to personal preference

Because he is in Italy, he wanted to make sure to dress up a little bit whenever he is going out. The great things about this blazer from Banana Republic is: it’s wool so it doesn’t wrinkle AND it is REVERSIBLE! He can wear it two totally different ways and still only have one blazer! He also packed 9 colored/patterned button down shirts to go with the blazer and/or sweaters pictured above.

Bottoms

Since guys don’t have as much variety in outfits as girls do (pants, dresses, skirts, etc) Reed packed 4 pairs of jeans, a pair of khakis, a pair of sweat pants, and three pairs of shorts. His jeans range from 1 pair of black jeans, 2 dark wash, and one light wash. This way he can check out the trends for where he is traveling and blend in with the culture.

Extras

Shoes are, for me, the hardest thing to pack since they take up so much space but are completely necessary. Reed chose to keep it simple with a pair of dress shoes, a pair of rubber “boots” for rainy days, two pairs of upscale gym shoes to walk to classes in, a pair of training shoes to work out in, and then a pair of flip flops for the beach, of course. Make sure to bring the appropriate socks to go with your shoe choices!

When in Italy, dress as the Italians do: with sleek skinny ties and bow ties. The great thing about a reversible bow tie is it is like you packed an extra! Plus, it is always great to buy a few there!

Finally, because he is going during winter and into spring, he will definitely see a variety of weather. To prepare for this contrast, Reed packed a light puffy jacket (easy to roll up and put in a backpack yet still keeps him warm), a rain jacket, and a vest to transition into as the weather gets warmer.

I hope this post helped the gentlemen travelers out there, please leave a comment with any questions or tips for fellow travelers!

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For more packing tips, check out: Packing Up, My Perfect Travel Look, Carry-On Guide, Quick European Getaway