When one of my friends mentioned heading to Vegas to celebrate her birthday, which just happens to be the day before New Year’s Eve, visions of sequined dresses danced in my head. As much fun as heading out of town to celebrate with friends can be, packing can present a challenge, especially if air travel is involved. In order to make packing a little easier and still arrive in style, I’ve devised a few tips and tricks that ensure your outfits will arrive looking as fabulous as you do.

First, I lay out my outfits in advance. This helps me see which pieces coordinate with each other to make multiple ensembles.

Doing this also helps me visualize which shoes or clutches could pull double duty and to think through any undergarments or other accessories that may be needed for each.

This brings me to…pack any necessary undergarments. I also recommend trying on your outfits before they go in your suitcase just to make sure your unmentionables don’t shine through your dress or show below the hemline of your skirt. Nothing is worse than having been so excited to wear a outfit that is ruined by an ill-fitting or inappropriate base layer. You can buy lingerie bags, but I like using Piperlime bags since they are the perfect size and think the new style is so pretty!

When packing shoes, I also like to pack them in individual bags to make sure they don’t knock against each other in my suitcase and scuff. This also prevents stiletto heels from picking any garments you’ve packed as well. Some shoes come with their own dust bags, but any small drawstring bag works well.

Also make sure to individually pack anything with sequins or embellishments that can snag with plastic or tissue paper. This keeps the sequins or other embellishments from catching on each other or snagging other items. I just saved up a few drying cleaning bags and reused those for an easy way to keep my sequin dresses pristine in my garment bag.

Jewelry can also be tricky to pack since it is easy for necklaces to get knotted up in one another or earrings to go missing. It’s worth the space in your suitcase to pack these items in an organizer or travel container made especially for jewelry.

Given the stringent restrictions on liquids and limited space in checked luggage, I like to stock up on miniature versions of my favorite facial products to have on hand for travel. Buying products during “bonus” times can be a great way to snag them for free!

Finally, when actually placing items in my suitcase, I prefer to put harder and heavier items at the bottom so that they don’t crush my clothing when I stand the suitcase up to roll it through the airport.

This is by no means and exhaustive list of travel tips, but I have a flight to catch! What are your go-to travel tips and tricks?