Upon returning from a brief city respite, it finally feels like summer has arrived in New York. Flowers blooming, daytime drinking, crazies coming out of the woodwork. For some, it means vacation-time; for those of us in the throes of startup land, little changes. Except for maybe a fresh batch of interns.

For this season, as part of eternal quest for efficiency and maximizing utility (in both my sartorial choices and in life in general), I’ve grown fond of two particular clothing items.

Both are pretty simple: one, the jumpsuit. The other is a baseball cap. The first is no surprise; in the heat of Hong Kong summers, I had always been a fan of the romper: a lightweight, no fuss one-piece that could be worn to the beach, around during the day or out to the nightclub. Boat trip to Shek-O? Terry cloth romper over bikini. Shopping in IFC? Cotton romper with cardigan to protect from the blast of air conditioners. Party time in Lan Kwai Fong warranted a strappy romper with embellishments: zippers or sequins did just fine.

The items I find myself rotating between these days are a khaki and a black jumpsuit. It was the first time I’d acquired a jumpsuit so I stuck with safe colors that would be versatile; I had no idea if it would fit my body type. To my pleasant surprise, they’ve turned into the answer to my slightly chilly mornings/evenings/airconditioned settings. While I’m not usually one to chase trends (detested capri pants back in 7th grade, also a bit apprehensive on one-shoulder things and platform sneaks) I looked into them originally because like rompers, which were my suitcase minimizing secret, I figured jumpsuits could save me from packing a few extra items. Rather than packing a pair of pants (likely jeans) and a shirt I could kill two birds with one stone with a jumpsuit. And so my tote bag for 8 days worth of travel looked like this:

 

 

Of course light packing is a cinch when 5 of your outfits are bikini ensembles, but factor in a pair of jeans, pair of shorts, a t-shirt, toiletries, electronics and shoes and a formidable challenge does begin to present itself. I wore the heaviest items on board the plane, but even then, with a pair of flip flops, two pairs of heels, and one pair of flats, it wasn’t as easy as you’d think. Scarves are also great as an airplane accessory, especially silk ones because they weigh close to nothing but can keep you warm from airplane aircon!

Finally, the trusty ol’ baseball cap. Bros wear these all the time probably for similar reasons… looks like they were on to something. The simple black cap (pictured here from Forever 21) has reduced the amount of time I need to get ready, by eliminating the task of pairing sunglasses with an outfit AND time spent dealing with my hair. Worn backwards, it serves as an alternative to a headband or hair clip, and worn forwards it does quite well in the way of making you look slightly aloof and effectively acting as a shad for the sun…i.e. what caps were meant for in the first place.

And there you have it: a write up on thinly-veiled attempts at laziness with an eye for efficiency and style. Until next time…