Tuesday, December 6, 2011

What to Wear When You Travel Anywhere



Last weekend I attended the most fun wedding on earth. It was probably more fun than the wedding where Jesus turned water into wine. The only not fun part about the whole weekend was schlepping myself and my bags across country on a red-eye from LA to Baltimore with a stop in Charlotte in between. I am not a fan of the red-eye, or of layovers, but being a last minute flight booker, I was stuck with both.

I do, however, need to give myself a pat on the back for my in-flight fashion. Travel fashion isn’t necessarily just about looking good when you step on and off the plane, it is much more about comfort and strategy. Here are some of my favorite travel tips that I learned over at least a decade of crazy cross-country flights:

(1) The perfect flight jacket- I love my Lulu Lemon hoodie! It is a splurge, but totally worth it because it has a deep hood that allows you to throw it over your head and eyes for sleeping and/or avoiding talking to the person next to you. It is also much thicker than your average sweater and is tailored to fit the contour of your body. I am convinced that it is the only sweatshirt that won’t make you look frumpy. Another great feature is the fact that it has thumbholes to keep your hands warm, but your digits free. They really did think of everything!

(2) Jeggings- I generally want to vomit when I see travelers wearing printed pajama pants, even on a red-eye. This is not acceptable if you are old enough to walk. Jeggings are a great alternative because they look just like jeans, but feel like you are wearing stretch pants. I paired mine with a pair of tall boots (mainly because it was easier to wear them rather than to pack them). Make sure if you do choose the boot and jegging combo your boots are easy to slip off otherwise the security screening will be more awkward than it already is (think body scanner getting an up close and personal look at your goodies).

(3) The fancy t-shirt- Once again in the spirit of looking like I am wearing normal clothes, but in reality being much more comfortable, I love to wear long, thin t-shirts that don’t really look like t-shirts at all. Specifically, I have this jersey cotton top that is long (so it covers my jegging ass), but it is totally soft. It has a lace short sleeve to turn things up a notch. It really is the type of travel look where you can get right off the plane and not feel totally embarrassed about grabbing a bite to eat before showering or changing.

(4) The GIANT scarf- I have this great scarf from H&M that is attached at both ends like a circle. It is great because the entire thing is as big as a blanket which comes in handy if you are flying coach where blankets and pillows are a rare thing these days. It is great because I can just stuff it in my carryon or wear it around my neck (double wrapped) when my carryon gets too full.

These are by far my travel essentials, but I also like to get on board with a pair of earplugs which serve two purposes (1) to let people near me know I am not interested in talking to them and (2) to block the crazy loudness of the airplane and the children that scream when their ears pop. I also make sure to pack a pair of flip-flops in my carryon if my destination is a warm weather place because I hate when my feet are either too hot or too cold. Apparently they are more temperamental than I am. I also throw in a toothbrush and my makeup bag. I always bring my makeup bag in my carryon because having to replace all that stuff if it gets lost with your luggage can get really expensive. It is particularly essential for me because I have no real eyebrows (as part of my Asian hairlessness) and while sleeping with my hood on during the flight I tend to rub my penciled eyebrows off leaving me with either one eyebrow or two half eyebrows. Because of my potentially awkward eyebrow situation, you can see why I always carry my makeup bag with me.

Happy holiday travels my fashion-minded friends! May this Christmas bring you joy and great clothes!

No comments:

Post a Comment