Traveling Attire for Personal Travel

When Americans travel for pleasure these days, most of them look like the proverbial unwashed masses! They look sloppier and dirtier than I do after a hard day of gardening!! I grew up with the philosophy that you do not leave your bedroom unless you are properly attired and to leave your home looking anything but your best was considered a crime against humanity.

When I travel for personal reasons, I choose comfortable clothes, especially for my overseas flights. Slacks, usually knits, low heels and a jacket or sweater to wear if it gets chilly on the plane are standard for my traveling ensemble.

This photo was taken in London while we were sight seeing. I also wore this on the airplane; I was comfortable but I looked nice.

When my husband and I were in Madrid sight seeing, after his business meetings, we wore comfortable, but not sloppy outfits.

Even when my husband and I are traveling just for pleasure, we always throw in at least one ‘dressy’ outfit because we like to go to a formal restaurant for dinner at least once during a trip. In this photo my husband and I are dining at the Ritz in Lisbon after our tour of Portugal.

I have learned to color-coordinate my outfits to minimize the number of clothes, and especially shoes, that I will need to take to my destination. My goal is to be well dressed, but not to bring a lot of luggage.

On the recent trip I took to London with my husband, I knew that we would be sight seeing, shopping and going to the theatre, but that we would also have dinner at some formal restaurants in the evening. I coordinated my wardrobe around tan and black and took only clothes that would travel well, such as my knits.

I took 2 skirts: one short, black skirt and one ankle length tan skirt, two slacks: one tan, one black and three sweaters: one tan, one black and tan and one black, tan and red. I took two pairs of low-heeled shoes, one tan and one black and one pair with higher heels for dressier evenings. I also took two jackets, one a short fur in cream and tan and the other a ¾ length tan cashmere. I also brought some jewelry, a scarf, and a mink tam with matching mink evening purse.

By mixing and matching these relatively few pieces of clothing, I was able to have several outfits, which ranged from casual to dressy.

I have everything such as my face cleansers, toners, moisturizers, and hair spray in small sizes for traveling which I put into my make-up bag.

I also carry a small hair dryer, roller kit, umbrella, alarm clock, make-up mirror and of course, converter plugs for overseas electricity.

I carry my passport, business cards, credit cards, airline tickets, cash and driver’s license in a special wallet that I slip into my purse. A man can slip the wallet into a pocket of his suit or sport coat when traveling.

My luggage is on wheels! For short stays, I can get everything I need into my little suitcase, but for longer stays, I carry the little suitcase on the airplane with me and check the larger bag. In my carry on I have all of my make-up and hair stuff as well as fresh undergarments and a nitie. If I am bringing my computer, I put it in the carry on suitcase also.