I’m freshly back from a 40^th birthday girls weekend trip. We were on an island accessible only by ferry with no cars, weak Wifi connection, lots of tennis and pristine rolling dune beaches.

To set the vibes for us, think Cape Cod and then make it Southern. The birthday girl had planned a trip that would highlight all of her favorite memories from 20 years of traveling to Bald Head Island. The least we could do is show up Dressed. I find this kind of trip more challenging to pack for because on a couples trip or family trip, I really am just getting dressed for myself. On a girls trip—I’m dressing for the girls!

To catch the ferry that runs every 90-minutes we were instructed to skip checking our luggage. Women are going on 10-day Europe trips with only a carry-on these days, so really this should be a breeze. Except…

Leading up to the trip was crazy busy. The kind of week I abhor because every-single-minute is scripted. A push to finish grades. Every email grenade came complete with with its own ticking bomb. I had zero bandwidth for packing.

I finally started packing at 10:18am for an 11:00am airport departure.

To make packing as efficient as possible (but remember, we want the maximum returns), I thought about the occasions we’d have.

Airport: There and Back

Everyone has their own travel look—from leggings to matching sets. For a short flight, I keep to a simple formula of my softest jeans and loose button-down. I like that I look put together and that I can transition to any activity without an outfit change. Plus, I’d be using the button-downs repeatedly as the Workhorses that they are with shorts and as swimsuit cover-up. I wore my go-to platform sandals that are comfortable enough for travel and were too big for my carry-on.

Out to Dinner/Wine Bar

I was recently reading Brand Panic (a Substack I love) and Devon wrote that she didn’t buy linen because it was impractical for where she lived (San Fran). Love that recognition! Living in Atlanta, there are categories I have sworn off too (tall boots I’m looking at you). If your climate or lifestyle doesn’t match an item— it simply doesn’t qualify for Workhorse status.

Linen though? When you live on the East Coast it is humid AF, linen is your HERO. I packed: a linen dress, linen shorts, linen pants, linen shirt (side note: I’ve never met a backless dress I didn’t like.)

Night #1: Grab a special dress

My long-sleeve backless linen dress is from Dissh, a small Australian brand that does linen really well. It’s 4-years old so couldn’t find a link but I rounded up some other options. My perspective on having one brown dress is that it’s a Workhorse you need. It’s sophisticated for warm weather months and stands out in a sea of florals.

The Staud version takes my breath away but so does the price. Love this square neck detail. The Free People one is so easy to wear. If you prefer cotton to linen this one under $80 is the perfect peek of back and if you want to go totally budget Old Navy’s got you.
My pick: Staud if you have the budget, Free people if you want the look for less.

Night #2: Linen shorts with Peasant-style blouse

You could do a million versions of this outfit template. Only two ingredients: an elevated short and a blouse with some interesting details. For blouses, 3 interesting options: Embroidered blue and white from T-nuck, Indigo print from Anthro, Indigo print from J.Crew.
My pick: T-nuck (don’t forget get code YOURULE).

Night #3: White linen pants with jean top

Again, such an easy outfit and the reason I can get away with packing quickly. Grab your Workhorse white pants (my Everlane ones are on sale!) and a top in a contrasting fabric—jean or knitted—and you’re done. After the trip I purchased these cream pants from Anthro, which they are calling Magic Fabric, and they are indeed magic. I predict, these pants will be my top Workhorse of Summer 2025 (unlike me, you can save 20% through Sunday with code ANTHRO20). They only do this discount 4x a year so take advantage.

Beach/Pool

The white button-down shirt from the airport turned into a beach cover-up. My white linen shorts are high-rise and beloved. Way to go Gap!

Tennis X 3

We are here for the tennis! All the gals I traveled with are on a tennis team. Fun fact: Atlanta’s tennis league (ALTA) is the largest tennis organization in the world. We have 80,000 members in our league. If you live in Atlanta and want to start playing tennis, you are in luck. Just go to the ALTA website and find a court near you. There is nothing pretentious about tennis in Atlanta.

Lounging at the House

What is there to say other than: thank you Lake Pajamas. I brought my long set, my short set and the leisure quarter zip. The end.

Just a bonus add, my bracelet stack translated beautifully for this trip, especially the shell bracelet.

Full Packing List:

1. White button down / 2. White linen shorts / 3. Peasant blouse / 4. Olive linen shorts / 5. White linen pants / 6. Jean top / 7. PJs for night / 8. PJs for lounging / 9. Scalloped tennis dress / 10. Platform sandals / 11. Strappy flat sandal / 12. Pullover sweatshirt / 13. Swimsuit / 14. Tennis skirt / 15. Navy tennis top 16. White tennis top / 17. Jeans / 18. Tennis Shoes / 19. Cream cable-knit sweater

I wore every single thing I brought (except the tennis dress because we got rained out one day). I purchased zero new things for this trip. That’s the whole point of buying Workhorses Only.

When you buy useful things, they serve you. There’s nothing on my packing list that I don’t make use of when I’m living my regular life because I follow the Workhorses Only rules when shopping:

1. Are there 3 different functions it gives me?

2. Will it make getting ready more efficient?

3. Does it make me feel confident?

If the answers are yes, it qualifies as a Workhorse. Yay!

Confidently Yours,
Marina

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