Carolyn Robertson worked in Paris and Geneva before she joined Dickins & Jones in 1994 as personal shopping manager

PACKED LIVES

I've selected and packed travel wardrobes for clients and get calls from hotels for help when airlines lose guest luggage. With the whole store to shop in, a co-ordinated look can be quickly got together.

For my own travels, I favour mix-and-match quality classics teamed with the latest accessories. I travel light; one check-in bag when I go to see my family in Australia or a nylon zip bag for Paris weekends by Eurostar when visiting my boyfriend. I'm tired of carrying too much on my shoulders.

Cashmere is ideal for travelling because it is light and warm. For long flights I take a cardigan that's easy to tie round the shoulders since pulling things over your head in a crowded plane is difficult. For Paris I wear a simple dress worn under a long tunic in the day and dress it up at night with interesting jewellery or scarves. Cashmere socks act as slippers on planes, trains and indoors.

A coat is impractical for travel and sweaters too bulky. My solution is a soft cashmere/silk shawl that becomes rug, wrap, cover-up and, rolled up, a small pillow. Donna Karan's perfumed baby pillows scent luggage and soothe sleep. Scent is important; a scented candle for hotel rooms is ideal to blot out any previous smoking smells. On planes I spray my face and wrists with Jurlique floral sprays; lemon is reviving and lavender calming. Eve Lom's all-in-one cleanser, toner and moisturiser saves space. I use Shiseido's 22-factor sun lotion - so matt I can put a silk shirt straight on top without marking it.

A small bottle of water goes everywhere; refilled with dissolved vitamin C tablets. Fruit helps when I'm travel tired. I carry a little fruit knife and a small jar of, say, chopped mango. I had a 24-hour delay at Heathrow en route to Australia last year and would have preferred fruit to the coffee and buns we were given. Mariage Freres' muslin tea bags go in suitcase corners.

An advantage of working in Dickins & Jones is ready supplies of tissue paper and clip-top plastic sweater bags. I use tissue in quantity to stop creasing. I line my nylon bag with plastic as I am convinced that someone will put it down in a puddle.

I pack family photos, fold-up umbrella, a Psion organiser, travel related books and a dictionary. I speak fluent French but remember, aged 11, insisting on ordering in a Paris restaurant - the family all received plates of too life-like sheep's brains.