Whenever I head off on a trip I spend probably two weeks prior stressing over what I will pack. It becomes so overwhelming that I tend to wait until two days prior before I put anything into a suitcase.

Where will I be going? Is there a pool? Are we going out to dinner? All these various occasions require different outfits, different footwear and different accessories. A first world problem I know, yet still one I have to deal with time to time. 

On recent travels to Hong Kong I had an epiphany with my packing and I have some thoughts on dressing for travels and what to pack that might be helpful to some. 

My first thought is let your accessories do the talking. Whether it’s your John Taylor watch, pair of converse sneakers or in my case Louis Vuitton cross body speedy, that’s what makes the travel outfit chic. A diamond bracelet teamed with your John Taylor Watch adds an immediate element of class for a dinner out. 

Keeping the outfit simple is important, as it needs to be when walking extensive amounts. By keeping it simple you have more freedom to change things up with your accessory game. 

Another tip is to keep everything in a similar tone or shade. For this trip I packed a lot of white and blue, crisp and cool shades. Outfits were easier to style when things were similar in tone. By wearing say a white t-shirt and slacks, you can always pop on a floral cover up to completely change the look of the outfit, and it weighs next to nothing in your luggage, bonus! 

Fit was the important factor. Hong Kong is a city that requires a lot of walking so keeping my outfits cool, breezy and a comfortable fit was important. I chose flowy dresses, loose blouses and black comfy tights. 

A major part of enjoying my travels is feeling comfortable, chic and put together. With just a little bit of planning and some clever accessories this is made a whole lot easier. 

When it comes to style there are hundreds possibly thousands of takes that each and everyone of us could have on which John Taylor watch is perfect for you! 

Being the co-creator I have access to every style and I am kind of glad for that. Every five minutes I change my mind on my favourite style and why. Let me give you a break down on my thoughts on the six different styles. Keep in mind that this is purely my opinion and there are no hard and fast rules on any of the styles. How I choose to style my watch is my opinion and I so value YOUR opinion. When your JT watch arrives make sure that you tag #myjtstory or #johntaylorwatches and we can all have a look how you uniquely style your watch! I am certain that you will inspire not only me but anyone else who sees your picture. 

THE BYRON: The Byron, a famous Australian beach, is to me is our most traditional design. A classic tan strap paired with silver hardware is the ultimate traditionalist. A pair of Chino’s for a guy with a white linen shirt, add in the Byron and you are ready for drinks on the terrace for a sundowner. For a woman, the Byron is gorgeous with dark blue skinny jeans and also that same white linen classic shirt. I would even make the look pop with a red lip. 

THE NOOSA: The Noosa is stunning, clean and crisp white face, with rose gold hardware. I would call Noosa our feminine watch but the call is yours, if you’re a guy who rocks blush and rose gold GO for it! Typically when I look at the Noosa I think pearls, chambray blues and white skinny jeans. 

THE COTTESLOE:  Many people that I have talked to on my travels have assumed the Cottesloe with it’s black face and brown strap is decidedly a male watch. I actually disagree. I believe the black face and tan strap is such a gorgeous strong style and I have worn it myself with either blue jeans and a black top or even a more day appropriate black dress. 

THE WHITEHAVEN:  The Whitehaven is certainly a statement. All white its fresh, minimal and clean appeal makes me imagine white bohemian flowing dresses. The Whitehaven surprised me with it’s versatility. I have worn this during the day with a more relaxed style and even at night with a beige short dress and strappy nude heels. 

THE BELLS: A unisex style and once again an understated elegant watch. Black on black design is truly a gorgeous addition to any outfit. Today I paired a short denim dress with black tights and boots, the Bells looked amazing. Definitely a standout accessory, yet didn’t overwhelm in any way. 

THE BONDI: The Bondi is certainly elegant, black face with gold hardware immediately dresses up any outfit. My dad being a professional is often having to be quite well dressed day to day and the Bondi was a natural choice for him. I think for a man, this style, is a confident expression of style. For me I love to pair the Bondi with lots of gold rings and bracelets to bring out the gold hardware. 

If there was a word that expressed our John Taylor Collections I would say versatile. There isn’t a style I wouldn’t wear, yes I am slightly biased but I do believe in what I have helped to create. As I mentioned above I would LOVE to see what style you end up choosing and how you make your watch work with your lifestyle. 

We all know that skill or passion is not the only thing you need to achieve success in life. If you don’t have a charming and elegant personality, you might end up in the failure category in spite of having the best talent and skill in your  field. You need to do anything to make yourself a better professional every day, and wearing a watch can boost your confidence as a professional and even add a certain charismatic element to your personality. Although people often argue smartphones and other electronic devices are all that's needed to keep the time, millions of people still buy and wear watches as it can bring the following few elements in your life that can really make a big difference both personally and professionally.

Watches Bring Elegance and Charisma in Your Personality

Only a few people have the charisma in order to pursue their career in a corporate world or become popular in their social circle. Most people have to try harder in order to get that kind of social charisma and watches surely bring a particular charisma to your personality, which makes you confident and fearless no matter how tough the other one is.

Watches Let You Enjoy Professional Success

Have you ever felt the need to find out what the time is during an interview? Most of us do and imagine if you’re looking at your smartphone during an interview. Won’t it destroy your chances of getting the job at the spot?

Job interview is the one of the toughest tasks for employees to go through especially if you’re applying for a job for the first time. You just have a degree but don’t have much relevant experience to convince the customer on paper. Now it depends all upon your interview skills. Remember the quotation, “First impression is your last impression” and your job interview requires you to get your first impression to be great. First impression won’t come with your skill and talent to answer the questions being asked during the interview but it’ll actually be the kind of personality you have and how you feel towards the required job. Here you need essential life changing factors like confidence, fearlessness, a risk-taker and a perfect professional. Watches will surely help you boost your skill set. 

A watch is a statement. It says many things when it comes to fashion. First and foremost it says time matters, time is important, and I am willing to make it a priority.

Secondly, a watch says I care about how I look and I take pride in my appearance. I find this intriguing, as we are often taught from quite young, that its what's inside that matters. Whilst this is true, we are living in a time where fashion can make a huge statement about who we are, before we even open our mouths.

Thirdly, a watch can be a super fun way to accessorise an outfit! We can match up colours, metals, textures and a general feel about our outfit. We can be ultra sophisticated or rock our street wear on a trip to the local cafe. 

Are you going for a relaxed and casual look? Are you going out for a special occasion? All these things can weigh on which watch you choose, and how you choose to accessorise the watch. 

Being a co-creator in a timepiece like these John Taylor Watches, I am often amazed at how much you can change up a look simply by adding the right timepiece. When I wear our ‘Byron' style, proudly named after an Iconic Australian beach, with its tan strap and silver hardware, I feel smart casual. I would also team this watch with skinny jeans and a nice shirt. Even a short floral dress with a cardigan and booties would look amazing with the 'Byron!'

Generally when I am wearing this type of outfit I will try and pick up the tones of the tan strap with say a pair of similar boots or even a cross-body bag. 

Another style which I completely am in love with is our ‘Bondi’ watch. The ‘Bondi’ for me is my dressed up watch. Recently to an event I wore a charcoal Michael Lauren dress paired with strappy black heels with gold accents. The gold accents in the shoes tied in beautifully with the watch. I also made sure that my jewellery choices paired well and brought out the gold tones in the watch. 

Another tip on how to accessorise and dress up a watch is with the example of our 'Noosa'. Our Noosa watch is my pretty girl watch, also named after a gorgeous iconic Australian beach. I find this style also extremely versatile.

Whether I am wearing a pair of white skinny jeans with a cute t-shirt, or a floral playsuit and white cardie I find this style versatile. To tie everything together for this watch I would generally choose jewellery with rose gold accents.

There are also so many affordable options available to a shopper now, one of my favourites is ‘Collette’. 'Colette' has so many beautiful pieces, jewellery and handbags that can compliment your outfit and watch choice perfectly. 

I have included some pictures to give you some ideas on how I choose to style my outfits, but check out our Instagram for more inspiration.