Pack for the vibe, not just the weather

Fit in without blending in, with the help of a new tool I made

You check the weather. You check your itinerary. You start tossing things into a pile. A trench coat because Paris. A swimsuit just in case. Sneakers for walking. Maybe one statement piece in case you suddenly turn into the kind of person who drinks cocktails at jazz clubs.

It’s not wrong exactly, it’s just incomplete.

Because here’s the thing: The weather doesn’t tell you how a place feels. And a list of outfits doesn’t tell you how you want to feel in that place.

This is where vibe-based packing comes in.

What does a city feel like?

I don’t just mean “Paris is romantic” or “Tokyo is futuristic.” I mean: is it concrete-heavy and fast-paced? Does it whisper heritage and history? Is it humid and hedonistic? Dry and dusty with vintage bookstores? See, I believe vibes can be described in words, and anything that can be described in words can be visualized. And in style, it can be done with colors!

Over the last year, I started developing a kind of taxonomy for this, grouping places into six vibe categories:

1. Sizzle – music, heat, party (Miami, Ibiza)

2. Nature/Dirt/Grass – hilly, grounded, open (Austin, Tuscany)

3. Heritage/Refined – opulent, elegant, old-world (Rome, Delhi)

4. Breezy/Nature – coastal, chill, spiritual-lite (Bali, Big Sur)

5. Concrete Jungle – dense, gritty, fast (New York, Tokyo)

6. Quiet/Spiritual – serene, introspective (Bhutan, Kyoto)

Note credit for thinking about locations in this way goes to Amy Smilovic. I have watched way too many packing Style Classes by Tibi, and this system is an amalgamation of things she has mentioned in her videos over years. Most cities are a mix. LA is Concrete + Breezy. Florence is Heritage + Nature. Vegas is full Sizzle+Heritage in it’s own way.

And once you know the vibe, you can pack to fit in without blending in.

I used to think packing was about planning outfits. Then I thought it was about having “options.” Now I realize: it’s about energy-matching. Without erasing yourself.

I want to show up in Tokyo and feel like I belong there. But I also want to feel like me.
Not a cosplaying version of the city—just a smart, stylish, comfortable one. Because ultimately I AM me. I am not a local, but I also want to be one with the vibe.

So instead of just looking at the forecast, I ask:

• What’s the city’s pace and aesthetic language?

• What are my style words (chill, modern, commanding), and how can they translate into this environment?

This is where color comes in. Because color = instant visual fluency

You know that feeling when your outfit just clicks in a new place? That’s often color doing the heavy lifting.

But not all colors say the same thing. That’s why I borrow Tibi’s Ring System:

• Ring 1 = Black only (moody, powerful)

• Ring 2 = Neutrals (white, navy, brown—classic, refined)

• Ring 3 = ‘Ish’ colors (dusty, muddy, chill)

• Ring 4 = Obvious colors (bright, happy, clear)

Some cities lean heavy on Rings 1 and 2 (Berlin). Others thrive in 3 and 4 (Austin). When I align my packing palette with that city's mix, I instantly feel like I get it. Even in something as simple as a t-shirt and skirt.

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So I made a tool.

Because of course I did.

It’s called the Fit Happens: Style Vibe Decoder. Bug alert: If you see “Not found” when opening the tool from this link, just swipe back and reopen the GPT from the ChatGPT homepage. It’s a weird app bug—not a me bug. Should work perfectly after that. This problem doesn’t happen on laptop.

You type in a city. It tells you the vibe (based on the 6-category system). Then it builds a color palette using the Ring framework above.

It’s a small tool, built for fun. No profit, no affiliate links, none of that.
It runs on ChatGPT. Now AI can be unpredictable (srsly, stop using it for getting definitive answers to serious questions), but in this use case I have trained the model to be fairly accurate.

Use it to plan your next packing list. Or just to understand why Vegas makes you want to wear gold lamé and Austin makes you reach for muddy ochre.

And if you want to nerd out about color theory, visual belonging, or the politics of looking too put-together while traveling, I’m all ears.

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