It’s all about the bag, 'bout the bag: No trouble.

Fashion has its own place in the travel adventurer’s life. At the party filled with travel buffs, fashion is the wallflower while practicality is commanding the room. Awesome to witness, fun to lightly participate in, value in the international politics of the French Monarchy. If you come from a place like Brooklyn, where you are surrounded by underground cool and surreptitious couture, chances are style comes naturally. You don’t aspire to it, you don’t ignore it, it’s just a part of you while you continue your day-to-day whatever that may be. In Brooklyn, it’s not uncomfortable, it’s not over the top, it’s practical and easily steers clear of schlump.

Packing for travel however, is full of decisions; it can be stressful for those unclear of who they are or aspire to be. Everyone has multiple personalities and social goals, but how do you plan for the unknown if you’re stubbornly spontaneous and too cheap for a checked bag? You’ve got to edit well. Whatever makes it into the bag should be hard-working, demure pieces made of snagproof, wrinkleproof, smellproof quality material. An outfit to fit in like a faux local, but a slightly elevated presentation. You’re noticed by others, but mostly because you are glowing with a travel buzz and “not from around here”. Effortless clothing meant for all times of the day and all types of social drinking; from brass-bar-standing espresso to dusty benches with sweating cans of Foster’s to the clinking of ice in your Ritz-Carlton Negroni.

A traveler’s bag is a candidate under intense scrutiny. The day before leaving for a month in Europe, I was in Muji. Grabbed a small black, simple satchel not thinking much of it. $25, no big loss if it doesn’t work out. This adoption is now my blood sister. Never intending to do more than run around the Zócalo in Mexico City, I now have a new committed relationship with this one. It is made of lightweight silky polyester, high quality zipper for endless grabs of your phone, sleek enough for a Mandarin Oriental cocktail in Barcelona while rugged enough to withstand a sweaty, surprisingly life-threatening hike up Arizona’s steep and rock slippery Camelback Mountain.

If you are struggling with your search for the best travel packs with discreet, durable style, go Muji. Beautiful design without extraneous pockets, zippers or add-ons. Like all things Japanese, only necessary elements remain. Quick tip: there’s at least 20X the amount of products online as there are in store. Sleek design and quality materials on a traveler’s budget? Yes. Go forth in your effortless style without paying for that damn checked bag! (Oh! And Norwegian, I love you but not your bank robbery…err..I mean bag policy.)

Below are a few items to whet your shopping appetite.