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(This page is rather out of date...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 :) )
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 |
|
- Chinos, T-Shirt, Buttoned Shirt, Vest
- Skort, Short Sleeve Top, Vest
- Full Skirt, Sleeveless Shell, Buttoned Shirt
- Knit Pants, T-Shirt, Vest
- Dress, Long-Sleeve Knit Tunic
- Knit Pants, Short Sleeve Top, Cardigan Jacket
- Dress, Sleeveless Shell
- Chinos, T-Shirt
- Skort, Sleeveless Shell, Buttoned Shirt
- Full Skirt, Short Sleeve Top, Cardigan Jacket
- Knit Pants, Long-Sleeve Knit Tunic
- Full Skirt, T-Shirt, Vest
- Dress, Short Sleeve Top, Vest
- 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 |
- Chinos, Buttoned Shirt (plane)
- Pleated Trousers, Black Shell, Structured Jacket
- Full Skirt, White Shell, Cardigan Jacket
- Slim Skirt, Black Shell, Structured Jacket
- Dress, Long-Sleeve Knit Tunic
- Knit Pants, Short Sleeve Top, Cardigan Jacket
- Dress, Black Shell, Structured Jacket
- Pleated Trousers, Short Sleeve Top, Cardigan Jacket
- Slim Skirt, White Shell, Structured Jacket
- Full Skirt, Short Sleeve Top, Cardigan Jacket
- Knit Pants, Long-Sleeve Knit Tunic
- Full Skirt, Black Shell, Structured Jacket
- Dress, Short Sleeve Top, Cardigan Jacket
- Pleated Trousers, Long-Sleeve Knit Tunic
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:
This Travelring site is owned by: Joan Cole
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Copyright © 1994-1998 Joan Schraith Cole.
Updated December 19, 1998
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