Packing with Alexa Brazilian 

Alexa is the co-founder of The Perfect—a tightly edited monthly lifestyle newsletter that reads like a manual of Northeastern laid-back preppy-cool, inspired by her childhood on Nantucket and years in London and New York where she was a fashion editor at ELLE, an editor-at-large for WSJ’s Off Duty, and fashion features editor at T Magazine, where she’s still a contributing editor. The Perfect also has an online shop which sells collaborations like their sun hats hand-painted by Brazilian’s co-founder, Courtney Broadwater, and vintage capsule collections (broken-in Boat and Totes, rugby shirts and 80s tennis sweaters) curated by co-founder Aaron Millhiser, a former J.Crew designer for over a decade. These days, Alexa and her husband travel with their three daughters—ages 3, 6, and 8—on trips as intrepid as skiing in the Dolomites or as low-key as a quick puddle jump back to Nantucket. Naturally, Alexa has the perfect packing technique that works no matter where they’re headed. 

Also! Alexa shared a special link so YOLO readers can get half off a paid subscription to The Perfect for a year: https://theperfect.substack.com/79d1aaa8

What’s your go-to luggage and why?

I bought myself the classic aluminum Rimowa Check-In when I moved back to NYC from London in 2015. It was a big investment, but ten years on, it’s probably one of the best I’ve made. Initially, I hated the sensitive three-buckle closure (it requires packing meticulously with little margin for error) and wished I had bought the cheaper zipper version, but this suitcase has made me a better packer. You can’t throw in the last-minute stuff you never end up wearing anyway. It was great for the long-haul trips I used to take for work to Europe, but nowadays I mostly use it as a suitcase for my three little girls who also love riding on top of it in the airport. 

For weeks-long sojourns, there is nothing better than the Patagonia Black Hole Wheeled Duffel 100L. Both of my partners in The Perfect swear by this bag, as does my mother, and if you break anything Patagonia will replace it for free.

For weekend trips, I love my old-school Mulberry men’s Heritage Medium Clipper duffle. It reminds me of a simpler time before ugly wheelie bags and just looks so pretty on your shoulder or in your room. They now make it out of a cool pebbled leather alternative, which is hardwearing and basically waterproof. 

When I travel with the kids, my go-to carry-on is an XL Land’s End Zip Top canvas tote. When I’m alone, I’ll do The Perfect’s vintage LL Bean tote, but with kids, Land’s End’s extra inside pockets are essential to staying organized. It also serves as my day bag once I get to where I’m going, and I’ll always include Oso & Me’s genius roll-up colored pencil case, a sketch pad and bag of mini Disney figurines (right now they’re really into this Moana set) to keep the girls occupied for long lunches and dinners. 

Just before spring break, I got the girls each carry-on suitcases that double as scooters from Roll Rider. They come with little neoprene cases for their tablets and headphones, room for coloring books and toys, the wheels light up and you can order these cute stick-on patches that decorate the outside. In the airport, the girls zoomed to the gate giggling the whole way. When you travel with three kids, you quickly realize there are not enough hands to carry bags (and crying children) between two adults, so these were a big help.

How do you approach the basics?  

Since I had my third three years ago, I’ve started keeping it ultra simple when packing for myself, because the process for the kids requires so much pre-planning. My warm-weather wardrobe is probably 70% white, so I almost exclusively pack white separates and dresses when I’m going somewhere tropical or in the summer. Right now, I’m packing Veronica Beard’s Dylan jean, Attersee’s Relaxed Pants, Dôen’s Sebastiane skirt, and an airy dress for dinners and another for daytime, a few white tees and tanks and one of The Perfect’s vintage men’s Brooks Brother’s Oxford Cloth button-downs (they’re very chic beach cover-ups). Then I’ll add in light-weight accessories like silk scarves, sunglasses and jewelry, which take up not much space but can transform an outfit just like that. Also: a wise world traveler friend of mine told me once that she never packs pajamas and instead wears a hotel robe to bed. I’ll try that someday.

Are you a roller or a folder?

I’m a roller—it’s more fun and you can see what you’ve packed better that way.

Any other packing tricks or hacks?  

I use a mix of large Paravel packing cubes and silk pouches from Leontine Linens that I got for myself as a gift long ago (you can have your monogram put on them, they’re so beautiful). I organize each cube by category: pants, shirts, sweaters, underwear, silk scarves and accessories and just mix and match rather than planning specific outfits—with all white you don’t really have to, everything goes together! 

I take a completely different approach to packing for my girls than I do for myself. This might sound crazy, but I swear it’s a life-changer once you get to where you’re going. I use extra-large plastic baggies from Compostic to pack complete outfits (undies and socks included) for everyday for each child. It has been a total game changer for me when traveling because there is no need to unpack anything, I just throw them in a drawer or keep them in my suitcase and the girls can just grab them and get dressed in the morning without me. And you can see everything that’s inside. I realize this is a totally excessive use of plastic bags (though they are compostable), so I always make sure to reuse them which means bringing them home and leaving them in an empty suitcase for our next adventure. 

What’s your shoe strategy? 

I try to pack shoes that are not event specific. I love my pink-on-pink Vibi Venezia slippers because they weigh almost nothing and can dress-up or walk around all day. Last summer, I got a metallic turquoise pair of huaraches from Espiritu that I like for the same reason. I’ve stopped packing heels entirely, they’re just too bulky. Instead, I’ll bring my K. Jacques Abako’s in silver that work as well with a dress as they do a bathing suit. 

How do you think about accessories?

I go long on jewelry and silk scarves (Dries Van Noten or Hermès) in the summer because they take up no space, look so great with all white, and can transform a daytime look instantly into a dinner one. A long pendant necklace is always with me. Right now, I’m wearing two diamond-by-the-yard-style Dorsey chains I’ve linked together with a gold-rimmed vintage French rose quartz heart. Hoops are also essential: my Ted Muehling’s with chrysoprase clusters are my all-time favorite, which you can wear to almost anything.

Do you have a great travel hat? 

I have yet to find an acceptable collapsible sun hat, so I always just pack one of our baseball hats.

What’s always in your Dopp kit/toiletry bag/pharmacy kit?  

I fill travel bottles with Rōz shampoo and conditioner, which I started using earlier this year and now can’t live without; a mini Tangle Teezer brush (the only one my girls will use); my RMS Uncoverup and mascara, and a fun lipstick that will juice up a look. Right now, I’m into this ‘80s Chanel frosty pink that Tilda Swinton wore at the Golden Globes. I also always bring Moon Juice’s Magnesi-Om sticks which are sleep magic, and individual sandwich baggies filled with Sambucul Elderberry gummies (which the whole family takes), Trace Electrolyte Gummies and my Welleco Super Elixir powder, which I shake up with some water and ice each morning. It makes me feel like I can be bad for the rest of the day and eat and drink to my heart’s content. 

On a plane, what essentials does your carry-on bag always contain? 

For my wallet, phone and passport, I always use a beautiful little leather zipper pouch that Métier founder Melissa Morris made for me with my initials hand-painted on it. Lightly tinted sunglasses that I can wear inside are also a must. I love feeling incognito when I travel, and they cover-up a multitude of sins including post red-eye dark circles. Right now, I’m wearing aviators from Vehla. I have an old Pierre Deux pouch that I’ll stuff with my Weleda Skin Food cream, Rosebud Salve, Briotech—a sanitizing spray that’s pure hypochlorous acid and doesn’t strip your skin of all the good stuff like Purell does (and is nontoxic which is great for my middle child, who is a thumb-sucker! You can even spray it in your mouth!)—and a few packets of Yogi Tea, which I love having on the plane when they come around with the coffee and tea cart. There’s also always an outfit change for my three-year-old, who loves spilling drinks on herself mid-flight. And because I’m always cold, I’ll bring an emergency Uniqlo Pufftech bolero (one of my all-time favorite travel pieces) that packs into a softball-sized baggie that can be used by a kid as a pillow in a pinch, too.

Any wisdom on traveling with electronics? 

If I need to edit or write, I’ll bring an iPad with an attachable keyboard, which is much lighter than my crazy heavy laptop. 

Do you have a travel uniform?  

I’ve been wearing some sort of oversized denim shirt for so long that it’s kind of a superstitious thing at this point. I’ll also usually bring my linen blazer from Guiliva Heritage, which comes in handy for evenings or fancy lunches. I also always make sure I am wearing a necklace my mother gave me that’s engraved with all my children’s star signs, and a Saint Christopher medal my husband got for me when we were in our twenties. A newer discovery is the Ribbed Kick Flare pants from Donni, which are amazing for the plane ride there and back (but also with a kaftan for dinner!) They’re thin, flattering, as comfortable as wearing pajama pants, and even work for a yoga class or a hike. Most brilliantly, you can wash them in the sink of your hotel room and they’ll dry overnight!