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Traveling in style: Part III, The traveler’s wardrobe

By Meg | June 15, 2007

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There is no one traveler’s wardrobe since there are so many variables to be considered: Where are you going? What’s the purpose of the trip (e.g. business trip or meeting your boyfriend’s parents)? Who will you be meeting? What’s the weather like? Is the weather highly variable? What activities do you have planned? Will you be walking a lot? How much stuff can you bring? How long will you be gone? Will you be able to wash and/or iron clothes? These are all things to consider. In general, though, you’ll want to bring clothes that are:

In general, you should bring clothes that can be dressed-up or down easily. As mentioned in Traveling in Style, Part II - Shoes Up, choosing your shoes wisely can make the process easier. Choosing nice flats like ballet flats instead of sneakers makes it easier to dress an outfit up and look nice while still being comfortable and taking up less space than sneakers. Unless you’re going to be jogging or going to the gym, consider leaving the sneakers at home. Also consider leaving behind their equivalent - any jeans that you can’t dress up. Jeans are heavy and hard to dress up. If you need to bring jeans, bring a nice pair of dark wash jeans that you could wear with dress shoes. Or better yet, bring dress pants and/or skirts. Instead of t-shirts, bring nice blouses that can be worn with jeans or dress pants or skirts. Skirts are also a great alternative to shorts, which are even harder to dress up than jeans. You don’t need to look like a Stepford wife, but you don’t want to look like a tourist either - or worse, be denied access to a great restaurant because you are under-dressed. Remember when traveling that some cultures expect people to dress up more than you might be used to.

My favorite choice for travel wear is dresses. Dresses can be easily dressed up or down, don’t take a lot of thought since you don’t have to match separates, and can be very comfortable since they typically don’t bind around your waist when you sit down like pants. When selecting travel dresses, get dresses like knit dresses that stretch some and that don’t wrinkle easily.

Don’t forget to give yourself options when it comes to temperature control. Bring outfits that can be layered. While dresses are great for warm weather because they allow for airflow, they can also be a choice for a cooler weather. In most cases you can just add stockings or tights to keep your legs warm. Nice boots with thick socks can keep your feet warm whether you are wearing a dress or long pants. Unless you know you will be needing sweaters as your first layer, consider just bringing on or two items for layering on top like a cardigan and a nice jacket that you can wear together or separately over your blouses. If I am flying, I save room in my suitcase by bringing the layers with me on the plane. It can get hot when I’m dashing around between flights, but my jacket doubles as a blanket during the flight. If the clothes you are bringing draw from different color schemes, you may need more than one of each to match everything, but it probably won’t be necessary (which is good since jackets are bulky). Remember, it is possible to mix brown and black, especially if you wear other accessories in the second color. Don’t forget to bring whatever other accessories you might need like gloves, scarves, ear muffs, hats, umbrellas, rain ponchos, etc. More on accessories later, though.

Don’t forget to bring the right underwear. Make sure that you bring undies that aren’t going to show through unexpectedly because of color or style. You don’t want to be stuck with panty lines showing. Make sure your bras aren’t going to show either. Check color, designs, support, fit and cut. Also, if you will need them, make sure you have clean panty hose in the right color and without runs, and that they work with the shoes you are wearing. Also, remember to bring slips of the right color and length for skirts and dresses if they are necessary.

Don’t forget socks, either. By wearing dress shoes I cut down on the number of socks I need. Generally I only take a pair to keep my feet warm when I’m in my room. There are socks like panty hose feet, though, that can be worn with some dress shoes that otherwise would look tacky with socks.

And finally, don’t forget something to comfortable to sleep in. I bring gym shorts and a t-shirt since I can wear them out of my room in an emergency or wear them to the gym.


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