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Travel Wardrobing

(This page is rather out of date... Since having a baby, I haven't traveled. I leave it up in case it is of use to anyone in my old situation :) )

Contents

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How it Works

When I travel the last thing I want to be dealing with is lugging around huge bags of stuff or worrying about whether my bags are going to arrive in the same place I do. This means that I put everything in a carry-on, and I pay close attention to how heavy the bag is (so I don't cram the carry-on so full that the zippers are bursting).

  • Pick a major color and two contrasts, each of which work with each other. They will probably all be neutrals, but this is one of the fun creative things - coming up with a color scheme that works this way, with colors you wouldn't expect to be neutrals. Each piece should be in plain solid colors to maximize flexibility.
  • Bring scarves and belts to vary the looks of your garments.
  • Use fabrics that don't wrinkle and which dry quickly. For me, this means a high quality interlock knit. For someone who is not a "knit" person, it would probably mean some of the new natural-fiber seeming nylon blends (like Nycott). Jeans are bulky and take a long time to dry. (But they are a link to home - I'll often wear a pair on the day I fly.)
  • On the day you fly, wear only natural fibers and never hose or tights (so your clothes don't melt to you should there be a fire), and make sure you have long sleeves, and wear shoes that tie (also for safety). These garments should be non-binding because you'll be spending hours crammed into a very tiny space.
  • Each night in the hotel room, fill the sink with water and a squirt of travel laundry-soap-in-a-tube, and wash out the top and undergarments (including socks) you are wearing. If the pants/skirt need washing, wash them. Hang on a travel clothesline or inflatable hanger as appropriate. This will take you about five minutes.

I'll be showing two tables, one for a more casual tourist-type travel situation, and the other for a business trip. The tourist trip uses one sleeveless top, two short sleeve tops, two long sleeve tops (one a tunic, and one a buttoned shirt, loose enough to double as a jacket), two pairs of slacks, a skirt and a dress, and a skort (wide leg shorts). A vest and a cardigan jacket fill it out. For the business trip, I don't take the skort, but I add another sleeveless shell, another pair of trousers, another skirt, and another blazer. I'll just play out 13 days, but this doesn't even cover every possible combination. I have another constraint in that I am not repeating any piece (other than the vest) two days in a row (to allow time to air out, or dry if washed).

Tourist Sequence

  100% Cotton Chinos
Khaki (or Blue Jeans)
Skort
White
Full Skirt
Black
Knit Pants
Red
Knit Dress
Black
!00% Cotton T-Shirt
White
1,8 14 12 4  
Short Sleeve Top
Red
  2 10 6 13
Sleeveless Shell
White
  9 3   7
Long-Sleeve Knit Tunic
White
      11 5
Buttoned Long-Sleeve Shirt
Cream
1 9 3    
Vest
Khaki
1 2 12 4 13
Cardigan Jacket
Black
  14 10 6  
  1. Chinos, T-Shirt, Buttoned Shirt, Vest
  2. Skort, Short Sleeve Top, Vest
  3. Full Skirt, Sleeveless Shell, Buttoned Shirt
  4. Knit Pants, T-Shirt, Vest
  5. Dress, Long-Sleeve Knit Tunic
  6. Knit Pants, Short Sleeve Top, Cardigan Jacket
  7. Dress, Sleeveless Shell
  8. Chinos, T-Shirt
  9. Skort, Sleeveless Shell, Buttoned Shirt
  10. Full Skirt, Short Sleeve Top, Cardigan Jacket
  11. Knit Pants, Long-Sleeve Knit Tunic
  12. Full Skirt, T-Shirt, Vest
  13. Dress, Short Sleeve Top, Vest
  14. Skort, T-Shirt, Cardigan Jacket

Business Travel Sequence

  100% Cotton Chinos
Khaki (or Blue Jeans)
Pleated Knit Trousers
Black
Slim Skirt
Royal Blue
Full Skirt
Black
Knit Pants
Red
Knit Dress
Black
Sleeveless Shell
Black
  2 4 12   7
Short Sleeve Top
Red
  8   10 6 13
Sleeveless Shell
White
  14 9 3    
Long-Sleeve Knit Tunic
White
        11 5
Buttoned Long-Sleeve Shirt
Cream
1          
Structured Knit Jacket
Royal Blue
  2, 14 4, 9 12   7
Cardigan Jacket
Black
  8   3, 10 6 13
  1. Chinos, Buttoned Shirt (plane)
  2. Pleated Trousers, Black Shell, Structured Jacket
  3. Full Skirt, White Shell, Cardigan Jacket
  4. Slim Skirt, Black Shell, Structured Jacket
  5. Dress, Long-Sleeve Knit Tunic
  6. Knit Pants, Short Sleeve Top, Cardigan Jacket
  7. Dress, Black Shell, Structured Jacket
  8. Pleated Trousers, Short Sleeve Top, Cardigan Jacket
  9. Slim Skirt, White Shell, Structured Jacket
  10. Full Skirt, Short Sleeve Top, Cardigan Jacket
  11. Knit Pants, Long-Sleeve Knit Tunic
  12. Full Skirt, Black Shell, Structured Jacket
  13. Dress, Short Sleeve Top, Cardigan Jacket
  14. Pleated Trousers, Long-Sleeve Knit Tunic

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Where You Can Acquire Travel Garments

Knit Strategy

You want to make sure that you are getting interlock knit rather than the cheaper and more common jersey knit. Interlock will hold its shape; knees in pants won't bag, cuffs in jacket sleeves won't stretch out when you push up the sleeves. Interlock knits are usually a little more expensive than the cheaper stuff, but they are definitely worth it in the long run. I've personally had very good luck with two brands: Land's End, a mail order merchant, and Weekenders, which is direct sold by independent fashion coordinators in a party plan. I also like both brands because they do not believe in the preposterous notion of "one size fits all". Being a larger-size woman, I can assure you that that "one size" does not fit me.

  • Weekenders, USA
    sleeveless top="Shell Top/$25", short sleeve top="Classic Short Sleeve Top/$32", long sleeve tunic="Classic V-Neck Tunic/$35", knit pants="Jodpur/$39", skirt="Full Skirt/$45", skort="Skort/$30", and the dress is their "T-Dress/$35" which has straps that can be arranged for a huge variety of looks all on its own. The cardigan jacket="Classic Jacket/$69", and each season (Fall and Spring) there is an additional line of additional styles of clothing. Seeing the presentation is worth it, just to see all the different looks you can get from their T-Dress and the sashes they also sell.
  • Land's End
    knit pants="Sport Knit Pants/$32.50", skirt="Sport Knit Skirt/$32.50", and the dress could be one of their T-shirt, Jewelneck or T-Neck dresses/$54.50. The cardigan jacket="Interlock Cardigan/$42.50". Their web site is one of the better catalog sites I've seen with a well-thought out shopping cart system.

Specialty Travel Fabrics Strategy

I don't really have much experience with these products, though I have bought a few pieces for my husband. These items are incredibly light in weight and fast drying.

Travel Laundry Supplies

I carry a tube of laundry soap, a clothesline, and two inflatable hangers. It all fits in a space about 5x3x1 inches.

 

Excellent How-To Information about Carry-on Travel

The following sites will fill out the topics I haven't covered here, including recommendations for bags, and folding methods to help prevent wrinkles in ordinary fabrics.

For more general travel information, check out the following:

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Copyright © 1994-1998 Joan Schraith Cole.
Updated December 19, 1998
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