TheGUESTList:

Jessica Mandeville of MyFashionPlate.com

Jessica Mandeville is founder and CEO of My Fashion Plate™, a chic virtual fashion community and wardrobe management site that enables style-conscious individuals to maximize their wardrobes.  A unique user-driven Web site providing free, personalized virtual closets, custom Body & Style Analysis, and real-time tips, wardrobe assessment and advice from professional stylists, My Fashion Plate helps users develop their individual styles with exclusive technologies and tools.

It’s happened to all of us – packing for vacation by cramming a suitcase full with half of our wardrobes.  Fear of leaving some critical piece behind results in luggage bursting at theseams with enough tops, dresses, and shoes for a year rather than a week, but once you reach your destination and rummage through your belongings you realize you are still missing key components to create even one completely fabulous look!
Proper planning can easily remedy this problem and help you avoid those pesky overweight baggage fees.  Less can definitely be more when packing and I’ve put together a few tips to help you travel in style!

• Color Coordinate - To minimize the need for a bevy of accessories in all shapes, styles and colors, keep to one or two fashion color schemes in your clothing options. That way, bags, shoes, jewelry can serve double duty for many outfits.
• Pick the Right Bag – I promise, if you decide to take your behemoth bag that’s roomy enough to take your two best girlfriends with you inside, chances areyou’ll seize the opportunity to fill that space with more unnecessary items. Take a smaller bag to help you really strategize on your must-have pieces.
• Multitask – Pack some good basic pieces that can easily be mixed and matched tocreate multiple looks for a variety of events.  Certain items can be paired with different tops or bottoms, and with the right styling, no one will notice a repeat performance!
• Itemize – Detailing complete outfits before packing can eliminate those extra five tops that don’t seem to go with anything.  MyFashionPlate.com offers a variety of fun tools to help you view all your pieces, mix and match outfits, get advice on your looks from friends, create a calendar showcasing your looks for upcoming events and finally, throw everything you want to pack into a virtual suitcase, creating a printable packing list and wardrobe itinerary.  This makes packing your real suitcase a breeze!
• Smooth Moves – No matter how nice and neat you pack your suitcase, it can beimpossible to avoid a bag full of wrinkled frocks when you arrive at your destination. If you roll, rather than fold your clothing, you’ll see a lot fewer wrinkles.  Layer several folded items on top of one another and roll them into a cylinder.  The more clothes you include in the roll the less wrinkles you should find.  Also, Downy’s travel size Wrinkle Releaser is a great, easy-to-use spray that helps keep your casual clothes looking good without dragging out the iron.

Bon Voyage!