you really should be personalizing your luggage
like why are we keeping factory settings that's boring and impractical
I travel a lot and I have a truly dumb amount of luggage and travel bags because of it. The photos I am going to include in this post aren’t even going to be all of my luggage which is dumb but things are all over my apartment right now.
Because I pretty much exclusively travel for work right now, I have developed many a system so I only fly with a carry on and a personal item. Longer trips I often have no choice but to bring a checked bag if for no reason other than I will need room to pack any freebies for the trip home. Perk of making event reviews.
This also means I spend much time at airports and occasionally much time at baggage claim. I also spend farrrrr too much time online which means I see many of the travel trends.
Including trends in luggage.
I am not immune to trends but when it comes to luggage I am not. I may learn about a brand from socials or another creator I like but I’m not buying such a vital piece of my life because of a post.
Your luggage is arguably the most important security measure of your trip. When you are traveling your luggage is basically your home or car, protecting all your items not just transporting them. You shouldn’t just buy something because the color is cute or a Tiktoker posted it with a matching Louis. You shouldn’t buy a Rimowa for $1900 just cuz you saw it on Pinterest.
But this is not about which luggage to buy. No this is about what you do with the luggage once you have it, before your trip.
You really should be personalizing your luggage.
I know, I know, with AirTags now you can track your luggage if it gets lost or stolen. However I am talking about when you are grabbing your carryon from the overhead and rushing to a connection. When you are getting messages from your Uber driver that they are outside the terminal and you can’t tell which of the fifteen black fabric suitcases is yours. When the gate agents made you check your carryon because they are out of overhead space. Hell I live in LA! Do you know how many identical silver Rimowa trunks I have seen tumble down onto the belt? Arguably too many.
As you can see I am adding stickers to my Calpak checked bag slowly. This is the Medium size I think. Already it is green so I know what to look for and it stands out on the belt, but with Calpak being fairly popular and green being a popular color way, I wanted to take advantage of the hardshell case and start adding stickers for further personalization.
On all my bags you can see I have a ribbon or fabric scrap tied to the handle. This helps easily identify my suitcase on the belt regardless of which way it’s facing as well as in the overhead. This is probably my favorite personalization method because it is so easy and you can use pretty much anything just make sure it’s tied tight. I have even stitched the knot shut before for extra security.
You don’t even have to do something so obvious. Luggage tags are not just popular for storing your information (though for safety I beg you to use one with a cover over your address and phone number I have heard horror stories from other women), but you can choose from hundreds of different ones that can help you identify your bag more easily. And you can easily swap the luggage tag between multiple bags.
A more permanent option that can also be very subtle or obvious and over the top depending where your fancy is painting your luggage. This can be as simple as a red stripe with nail polish on the handles. You can also go crazy and paint a big ass sunset. It’s your luggage there are no rules.
I know many people do not travel like a psycho like I do, and I still think this is important to do especially if you are borrowing luggage. So much of the best luggage available today is second hand or tucked away in your parents garage. Probably a non descript black fabric carryon that your dad or mom only used for that one industry tradeshow every year. If that’s the case you definitely need to be tieng a bright ribbon or something that is easy to remember to that handle.
No one want’s to lose their luggage, grab someone else’s, or miss a connection because you were trying to remember which bag was yours and the airport want you to recheck your bag before going international.