I have an upcoming weekend trip to New York. I am extremely excited about it, since I have dreamed of visiting New York since I was a little girl. THe problem, however, is that while I had an idea of what I was going to be taking, the man I'm visiting has other ideas! He drives a motorcycle and will be picking me up at the airport on said cycle. He wants me to only bring a backpack!!! Any ideas of what to pack that will all fit into a backpack?

We are going to the opera and so I'll be needing a nice outfit. Help!!! What else should I take for four days that I can fit into a backpack?!?! (PLEASE HELP!)

Wear black. I've packed a suitcase full of clothes and ended up wearing the same black jeans (with a bit of stretch in them for comfort) the entire trip. Take a change or two of tops and you'll be fine for a weekend.

Buy an outfit at Chico's or similar from that knit fabric that packs small and shows no wrinkles when you unpack. Comfy too.

If you need more clothes, ship a box of them to yourself at the hotel and then ship it back home.

Well, if it were me, I'd take a cab

While I have never done it myself, my sons have packed their backpacks rather efficiently by rolling their clothes. They have even included dress slacks and shirts without little harm. I will admit this would be a challenge for me because I am a "mood" packer - never know what mood I'll be in, so I pack for every single possibility! Take some black along, wear your comfy walking shoes, and pack a pair of dressy shoes.

Another idea is two take along two backpacks - have your man friend wear one for you. That would give you twice as much backpack space! Have a great trip

You could also ship your luggage ahead. Since 9/11 and all the luggage snafus and security hassles, several companies have sprung up that offer this service. It costs, of course, but it may be worth it. I hope others can post specific company names here. Good luck!

A note about rolling clothes v. folding them.

A (nutty) friend of ours actually ran a test in which she first folded her clothes and then rolled them, to see which procedure was the space-saver.

Rolling won.

My first thought was to change the traveling companion. If you have been dreaming about a trip to NYC since you were a little girl, your reality (with a guy that wants you to pack only a backpack) is going to be far different from your dreams. I wonder what the rest of the weekend will be like. Any room for compromises?

I didn't "do Hawaii" once when invited because I knew the reality with the guy I was dating was going to be completely different from the way I wanted to see Hawaii. We went to Alaska and the Yukon territory instead. Nice trip. But, I was later glad when I went to Hawaii that my first memories weren't of a trip with him. Nice guy and all - just polar opposite of what I had in mind.

A cab to the hotel sounds like a good compromise. He can roll up to the hotel on his bike and you can have all the stuff you'll want to have with you in your suitcase!

Thanks for your suggestions everyone! I'm really trying to actually do the backpack thing, because I know I always over-pack and I'm hoping this will help me try to get away from that a little bit. And while it seems kind of insensitive of the man to ask me to bring only a backpack for my first trip to NY, I know that he has all of these AMAZING plans for our weekend. (he's actually going above and beyond to make this an actual "dream trip" for me) So I'm really going to try.

But please, keep up the suggestions!! What type of clothes should I bring? I already know that I'm taking one dress, and only (yikes!) two pairs of shoes, but what should I take for day wear and such??

Peter Greenburg FedEx's his suitcase on every trip.

I often ship stuff to myself to and from the hotel - sometimes clothes.

Label the box well. In addition to the normal mailing label, I write in marker on the box "Hold for guest S. Starrsville - arrival date 10/10/05".

Works for me. UPS ground is not that expensive - especially for clothes.

On vacation, I very often ship dirty clothes home from the road and have room in my suitcase for things I've bought.

What are your "amazing" plans? Knowing this will help "us" decide on what you should pack!

Two pairs of shoes PLUS what you will be wearing? That may be one pair too many. Details please...

...boy...never, ever let my husband read that last statement!! Really, with only a backpack, that would be the challenge right there...SHOES...

I will give you a couple of suggestions which will fit in a backpack. I buy a line of clothing for travel called "Cyrus". They make a great black knit pant and skirt. I take three or more of their sweaters (one is a black knit with a series of four strands of jet which are on the back and another is a black short sleeve pullover with a rhinestone buckle...either of which will create a look sufficiently dressy for the opera, etc). They are washable, don't wrinkle and pack like a dream. I frequently travel with men on business and they are always amazed at how little I take with me (basically whether I am going for three days or three weeks it is about the same). I wear a tailored suit for travel and a Jeri Richards raincoat (looks fine even for evening). You might prefer jeans and a smart leather jacket since you are going to be on the bike.

Okay, lets see if I can keep this straight. Two pairs of shoes meaning one I'm wearing and one that is packed. (i.e. dressy shoes and comfortable to walk a lot in shoes) Some of the plans he has (and I'm not sure when I'm sleeping, but hey. Its my first time in NY I can sleep when I get home) Mentioned the opera. Also seeing a show or two as well as nice dinners, lots of walking during the day. (museum, central park, various "first time in New York" activities) hope that helps.

Definitely hit up Chicos. You only need a couple of squishable outfits. You can wash out stuff if you need to.

Hope he's a good driver. It's pretty scary driving around NYC in a car much less a motorcycle!

The Chico's "Travelers" line is totally comfortable, can be worn elegant to casual, and can be rolled and still need no ironing. Pants, tops, skirts, etc. Black, black, black, bring a string a pearls for the opera.

Wear jeans on the plane & bike, bring black pants. Bring a non-wrinkling dress & dress shoes that will also go with the pants. Wear a light jacket or blazer that is nice enough to wear over all outfits. Bring some casual tops, some more dressy, that will go with pants & jeans. And they don't have to be black because your pants are black. Only a few New Yorkers wear head-to-toe black, and they tend to be either artists or anti-fashion types.

Not to worry, a backpack has as much space as a small suitcase and either is plenty big for only 4 days. I would splurge and bring 3 pair of shoes (2 in the backpack - one dressy & one comfortable) and wear low boots. For daytime I'd wear black or brown jeans and a lightweight sweater with a jacket. For evenings along the lines of the Chico suggestions above (drape-y fabric pants or skirt and slinky top, velvet pants and tight fitting patterned top, like that).

So total pack of 2 casual pants, 2 dressy pants/skirt, 5 tops, 1 jacket, 1 silk cardigan sweater, 3 shoes (some of this is on your body most of the time!). Heck he's the one with the backpack/motorcycle idea, obviously he doesn't expect you to be all fancy & have dozens of costume changes -LOL!

And if you forgot to bring something, remember the following:

1- They sell everything in New York.

2- The Fasion Police are on strike.

You can do it! Excellent advice here. My tips - don't pack extra jewelry or accessories. I usually wear diamond stud earrings and a silver pendant. It works with nearly everything - day or night. Accessorize instead with scarves - they take up almost no room. Have a wonderful time in NYC!

ttt

Thank you sooooooo much to everyone!!