Some travelers would say you can make do with just two pairs for the entire trip. There's really no strict rule, but it's safe to say that you're good to go with two to three pairs and the actual number would depend on how long your trip will be, where you're going and what you would be doing during that trip.
Yes, you guessed it – the '3 shoe rule' is only pack THREE pairs of shoes. For a summer vacation, this typically means a pair of sneakers and two pairs of sandals – one dressy and one casual. It's simple really.
All you need are three pairs of shoes.
Yep, that's all. For summer that means: sturdy sandal, sneaker, block heel sandal/bootie. And for fall winter just replace the sturdy sandal with a sturdy walking shoe – that can be a lace up or bootie, whatever is your most comfortable go-to.
The traditional rule of elegant dressing recommended seven pairs of shoes, that is, as many pairs as there are days of the week.
For four weeks away, I'd typically pack about 5 pairs of shoes – this gives you enough options so you won't get bored, and you can switch up your footwear if you start getting even a hint of a blister. Take the time to also think about how many bags you'll need; will you need an evening bag for going out?
Select Two Pairs of Shoes
Keep comfort in mind. You'll want to pack two pairs of shoes so choose ones that work with either pants or dresses. Remember, you'll be wearing a third pair. Pack these in a travel shoe bag.
Most frequent travelers swear by the “3 pairs of shoes” rule, which is to pack two pairs of functional and comfortable shoes and one pair that's a little more formal and dressier. Some travelers would say you can make do with just two pairs for the entire trip.
You probably need only 5 pairs of shoes
But assuming you sometimes go out, work out, dress up, or dress down, you probably only need five pairs of shoes: Trainers/running shoe/walking shoe. Black pumps. Sandals.
Millions of people around the world have no shoes at all while the average American has nearly 20 pairs each.
Women owned six pairs on average, while men owned one more on average at seven pairs. 25-34 year olds on the other hand own the biggest collections of all age groups with nine pairs. 35-44 and 16-24 year olds round off the top three with eight and seven pairs of sneakers, respectively.
As a general rule of thumb, shoes should be replaced every 8-12 months for most people or every 500-700 kilometres for running shoes. Some shoes will last longer, and some will wear out more quickly.
2. Do the clothing countdown: If you need a mantra to help streamline your wardrobe, use the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 rule for a weeklong trip: Limit yourself to no more than five sets of socks and underwear, four tops, three bottoms, two pairs of shoes and one hat.
Save some trouble with these handy tips. This may seem an ambitiously small suitcase, but the golden rule of packing is to always take half the clothes you were planning to bring (and twice the money).
Consider the 1-2-3-4-5-6 Rule
One general guideline is to pack one hat, two pairs of shoes, three bottoms, four tops (short or long-sleeve or outer layer), five pairs of socks, six pairs of underwear.
Know which shoes to pack first & which to pack last
If you have any bulky shoes, you're going to put these in the suitcase first. This will allow you to see clearly how much space they take up/what remaining space you have to work with.
A good rule of thumb for the minimalist lifestyle is to keep about five pairs of shoes total, give or take. Five pairs of shoes that each serve a unique purpose will provide sufficient footwear for all of your daily needs without going overboard.
Alternating between two pairs of shoes can help to build the strength of our intrinsic foot muscles by allowing our foot to have to adapt to different shoes. This intrinsic strength is important for strong feet and prevention of injuries such as plantar fasciitis.
Having multiple shoes at your disposal allows you to run in a shoe specific to the type of activity you intend to perform. Another way that having multiple shoes extends the life of each shoe is in preserving the midsole foam. Each time you run, you compress the foam under your foot.
Depending on your laundry schedule, you might need more than 5 pairs of jeans. But for most people, 4 to 5 pairs of casual pants, including denim jeans, are all that is needed to look stylish and well dressed. Keep in mind that you don't need to wash your denim jeans too often.
A half-size represents a 1/8” difference. It may not seem significant but is enough to distinguish between comfort and discomfort. Because there is no standardisation for shoe sizing, a half size difference will also depend on the brand of shoe. With some makes, a half size will be more significant than others.
Leather Uppers especially need time to air out
We define ample time as around 24 hours – so ideally give it a day between wears. If you don't give your shoes a day to air out, the sweat-soaked leather will warp, and your shoes can start to lose their shape — not to mention get musty and start to smell.
Three pairs of shoes are suggested with two of these being absolutely comfortable and the third being a cute option for dressing up (but still comfortable if possible). After 6 weeks of non-stop sightseeing I imagine your feet will thank you if you take it easy on them and stretch out their longevity.
About 4-5 clothes are plenty for a 2-week trip assuming you will be doing laundry. If not, I recommend at least eight clothes, including what you wear on the flight. This should be enough, assuming you can wear the same clothes a few times.