My rule for travel is that anything I pack has to survive being sat in for six hours and still look like clothing at the other end. That rules out most of what I like and leaves this group. A knit set is the closest thing to wearing pyjamas in public without anyone noticing. MORE TO COME's Mollie at $98 is the inexpensive way in, and Varley's Eloise full zip at $148 is the piece I would actually wear off the plane to dinner. An easy shirt goes over it, and both options here are poplin because poplin recovers from a suitcase: perfectwhitetee's slim fit button down at $188 or Helsa's pinstripe at $188. A knit dress is my single best packing trick, since it is one item and a whole outfit. Eterne's sleeveless jersey maxi is $295 and SIMKHAI's Becker cotton jersey midi is $395. Then a pull-on trouser, from ALLSAINTS at $239 or LESET's pointelle crop at $130.

This group is about temperature, which is the actual problem with travel. Planes are cold, arrivals are hot, and you cannot repack in between. A long cardigan is the answer I keep coming back to, because it works as a blanket and then as an outfit. SNDYS' Tia Maxi at $129 and L'Academie's Avey zip at $90 are both cheap enough to treat as luggage. Under it, a ribbed tank, and I would buy several: LNA's Scoop at $68 or SKIMS' cotton rib at $38. A denim jacket is the layer for the first evening somewhere, and it is worth having a good one since it will be in every photograph. ANINE BING's Rory is $350 and AGOLDE's Wayne is $328. Shoes are where I stopped compromising: Camper's Pelotas Soller at $150 and the Asics Gel-Kayano 14 at $160 are both shoes you can walk a city in all day.

Bags are the part of travel people get wrong, usually by carrying one that is either too big to move in or too small to be useful. Start with the shoe you change into. A flat mule slides on and off at security, which matters more than it sounds: Tory Burch's T Lock at $325 or St. Agni's Opanka Slide at $289. Then the crossbody, which should hold a passport and a phone and nothing else. Stoney Clover Lane's Pouchette at $128 is the practical one, and The Row's 90's Crossbody at $1,700 is here as the version you buy once. The weekender is the real decision. BEIS' Utility Duffle at $138 and Away's Featherlight Weekend Bag at $148 are both cabin-sized and honestly built. Last, a cashmere wrap, which doubles as a blanket every single flight. WeWoreWhat's is $295 and Burberry's Giant Scarf is $302.

If you only take one thing from this list, make it the knit dress and the wrap. Those two have saved more trips for me than any clever packing cube. The place I would not economise is the shoe, because a bad pair ruins a whole day in a way a cheap tank never will. The place I would happily economise is the tank itself, at $38, and the cardigan at $90. One honest flag: The Row crossbody at $1,700 sits far above everything else here and is included as the buy-it-once option, not the sensible one. Prices and stock are current at Revolve and FWRD as of publication.