25 days until I hop on a plane to start my overseas journey in Manchester studying my Masters of Music in Opera Performance.
10 days until the opening night of Iphis presented by Lyric Opera of Melbourne and Theatre works.
17 days until my final assignment is due for my second last semester of my Bachelor of Communications at the University of South Australia.
8 shifts left at my full-time hospitality management job.
7 performances of the title role of Iphis.
2 weeks of coursework with UniSA.
1 assignment.
and one big elephant in the room…
The nightmare that is packing!!
I’ve always been the type of person who packs for trips weeks in advanced. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t start packing for this trip months ago.
However, certain airline hiccups since I booked my first ticket (and had to book again with a different airline) has meant a lot of reshuffling. I ended up with only one checked bag on my new ticket – which is certainly not enough for a travelling opera singer – and had to book with sendmybag.com for my suitcase full of performance stuff.
As soon as I booked this service I got started packing that bag, as I knew I wouldn’t need that sort of stuff for my remaining time in Australia. I’ve filled the bag with gowns, shoes, scarves, summer clothes, shoes, and a coat that I won’t need until mid-Manchester-winter. It is completely full. Which begs the question, how will I fit my entire everyday wardrobe into one suitcase?
Now, my dears, I’ll let you in on a secret I’ve been not so secret about… CAPSULE WARDROBES! The moment I found out I was heading to the UK, I knew something had to change. My wardrobe at the time was about two car trips full of crates. I knew that wouldn’t work.
I started my downsizing research and came across the capsule wardrobe.
There are many variations on capsule wardrobes, but the basic premise is every item matches everything else, creating endless outfit possibilities from 32-50 items of clothing.
My capsule wardrobe is about 45 items, and I went for a more “corporate” feel, eliminating denim and bold patterns. It may not be for everyone, but it works for me, and don’t get me wrong, I still have some statement pieces bound to turn an eye. Like balloon sleeve blouses and an overstated-oversized trench coat that never fail to garner compliments from strangers.
A handy benefit to this minimalist lifestyle is that my wardrobe (when packed into vac seal bags) fills only half my suitcase, leaving plenty of room for other items and shoes.
If you’re veer unsure of what to pack for a trip, there’s certainly a lot of resources available on YouTube and Google, but I found that none of them tackled the struggles of having to pack performance gowns, stage makeup, concert jewellery, sheet music, and all the other joyous things that come with the life of a travelling opera singer. I hope to address some more of these concerns in my coming blog posts. So stay tuned!
Until then, stay well.
With love in song,
MC x
