Submitted by VinceBrogan8 t3_10t27ch in LifeProTips
Your 'Trunk Bag' depends on what your day-to-day life is, and the bag should be the opposite.
- If your daily life is as a suit or dress person, then have a set of crappy clothes in the bag in the event you have to get dirty
- If you get dirty for a living, have a nice set of clothes in case you have to go to an event that requires nicer attire
I'm well above average in height, so running into the local Kohl's or TJ Maxx last minute isn't an option. I keep a nice change of clothes available, as I can't count the number of times I've been away from home and get invited to an upscale event.
Edit: Fair enough, maybe 'upscale' wasn't the best nomenclature to describe any type of event that requires Business Casual as a minimum.
I can think of a few events that I'd wished I'd brought (or had) a change of clothes, simply because the clothes I was wearing would be considered out of place :
- went to drop off something to a relative (in a suit from an earlier meeting), the relative called and asked if I wanted to take a ride with he and his neighbor on the neighbor's boat over to the sand bar for a little while... couldn't do it, didn't have a swimsuit
- girlfriend and I helped a buddy and his wife clean out a storage locker, afterwards they asked if we wanted to go to (fancy restaurant)... the wife had clothes for the girlfriend, but I was in dirty jeans and t shirt. Sorry honey, we can't go
- took a different girlfriend to the Metro Toronto Convention Center one year for the CNE, wore A Tommy Bahama type shirt and tan shorts. Got invited by one of the vendors to an after hours party at a neighboring hotel... we went for a little while, but there was a stark contrast between what I was wearing and what everyone else was
- took a buddy to pick up a used car, had my suit on, couldn't really get in there to help him with anything once the car stalled out and I ruined the front of the suit pants trying to help him under the hood
I've got more, but that's pretty much what led me to keep a bag in the trunk with:
- socks & underwear
- black polo shirt
- black chinos
- black casual dress shoes
- swimsuit
- towel
- toiletry bag
Yes, on some level it's a Go Bag or Overnight Bag (and black goes with pretty much everything), but it's more curtailed to what your changing day-to-day situation may be, versus a "true" (?) Bag full of what you would usually wear.
A grease monkey might want to keep a pair of slacks and a collared shirt handy. A lawyer might be smart to have a pair of jeans and a t-shirt in the trunk. And in some cases those backup clothes are dependent on the season.
Take all that for what you will.