How to plan outfits for a three to five day trip

Step one: write the grid

On paper or your phone, list the days down the side and what you are doing across the top: travel, daytime, evening. Add the weather if you know it. A four-day family visit might look like this.

• Day 1: travel, then dinner at home with family.
• Day 2: shopping and lunch out, then a dawat in the evening.
• Day 3: a walk or day trip, a relaxed evening.
• Day 4: breakfast, then travel home.

Step two: fill the slots with mix-and-match pieces

Now give each slot a top and trousers. Two trousers in neutral colours, such as one white or cream and one black or navy, go under almost any kurta. Choose tops in one colour family, so every top works with both trousers and the same dupatta.

Travel days take your heaviest and most comfortable pieces, worn rather than packed. Daytime slots repeat trousers freely. The one evening event gets the dressiest top, and if that top needs its own trousers, it is the only full matching set you pack. For the grid above, that comes to four kurtas, two trousers, one dupatta and one evening suit.

• Trousers: two pairs, plain and neutral. Cigarette pants and straight trousers pack flat and suit both kurtas and Western tops.
• Tops: one per day, plus one spare. Prints hide creases better than plain pale cloth.
• Dupatta: one, in a shade that links every top. Our guide to matching dupatta and trouser colours helps you choose it.
• Layer: a cardigan or shawl that suits the whole colour family.
• Shoes: two pairs at most, one flat for walking and one for the evening.

Step three: test it before you pack

Lay the pieces out on the bed and try every top with both trousers. Anything that only works with one combination either earns its place in a particular slot or stays at home. If one top needs a different dupatta, swap the top rather than add a dupatta.

Then check the grid for gaps: rain, a sudden invitation, a spill. A single spare top usually covers all three.

Filling the gaps with made-to-measure pieces

Many people find the missing piece is a pair of plain trousers that go with everything, or a kurta in the one colour that links the rest. Single pieces are fine to order: our page on ordering one outfit explains how it works, and our custom stitching service covers kurtas, trousers and co-ords. Send a photo of the look you want and name the colours you need it to match. Allow 5 to 7 working days for making after approval and full payment, plus shipping, before the trip.