The Right Clothes To Travel
How much clothing do I need for my trip?
Surprisingly what happens for most travelers is that they pack too much. And I have so many friends that I've taken trips with, a lot of times women, and they find out that, "Gosh, I packed all these clothes, I didn't even wear them on my trip." So what you want to kind of really do is be selective in what you're choosing to pack. And also you want to think about what's going to be comfortable for you, because very often when you're traveling, if you're sitting on a plane or train, you want to be comfortable. So think about comfortable shoes, think about comfortable clothing, shirts, blouses, pants and think about what is just necessary. One of the things you can do with your clothing is you can mix it up. Maybe if you have a couple of business meetings you can get away with one shoe or one outfit. What you can do is mix it up with a different tie, maybe wear a shirt that has cufflinks and one that doesn't. And also women can wear silk blouses and sort of interchange their outfits so that they're not packing too much.
What is 'versatile clothing'?
Versatile clothing are clothing that will meet a variety of needs and one of the favorite things that I like are the pants that will actually turn into shorts. So they have a zipper down by the legs so you can have long pants in case you need a situation where you want long pants but when it's too hot out and you want some shorts you can zip them off and you have short pants. And also, versatile clothing are maybe like having a sports coat that you can wear with different slacks. So that way you can kind of mix up your outfit a little bit. Then the same thing for women, maybe they can have a skirt with a different blouse. And really the key is, is looking for those types of clothing that are interchangeable, so that your not having to pack too many different sets of items.
Are certain fabrics better for traveling?
There are certain fabrics that you can pack and that you can use during your travels that are going to make it easier. One of the things I like to do is look for fabrics that are not going to wrinkle as much. For instance I won't pack a linen shirt because by the time I arrive at my destination it's going to be all wrinkled. I look for maybe cotton type of fabrics, I also look for stuff that I can wrap easily and maybe wrap it in plastic and that way I can avoid some of the wrinkling. And another thing that you want to think about, if you're going to be hiking or if you're going to be in the heat you want to wear some of the clothing that has some moisture wicking, some of the clothes that you might use for exercising. That can help you say cool and you can also wick some of the moisture away from you while you are traveling.
How can I know my clothing needs before I travel?
What you want to do is, you want to go onto your computer, maybe go onto a site like weather.com and check out the weather for the destination that you're going to be in because that gives you an indication of what type of clothing you should wear. A lot of times maybe there might be wind chill in a city and what you can do, you can cure that by just bringing a scarf. That can help you stay warm. Or, in the summer time there can be high levels of humidity, and what you want to do is make sure that you have the proper clothing. So, what I always do, and I suggest to travelers, is to go onto the computer, check out the 5-day, 10-day outlook for the city you're traveling to so you have a good idea of what to pack.
Is it a good idea to buy clothes while traveling?
Buying clothes while you are traveling is kind of an interesting strategy because sometimes you can buy clothes that are inexpensive that you can use at your destination and maybe give away to charity when you are done. It really depends. If you are going away for say two weeks, three weeks, you will be in South America or some location where you can buy inexpensive jeans, that type of stuff that you might wear, it may help with your packing needs but then you can donate them for charity afterward. But if you are going away for a shorter trip, you probably are not going to think about buying clothes on the road because it might get expensive. You might not be able to find exactly what you need. You know one of the things also if you are thinking about buying clothes while you are traveling is that if you are traveling internationally, sizes are different. A lot of times for men's items, they are a lot slimmer than they are here in the States. So if you are thinking about pants or shirts you have to be aware that a lot of times the sizes are slimmer. They are more fitted. And also shoe sizes are different. So you have to take that into consideration while you are traveling. If you are going to stick to the basics such as jeans and polo shirts and tee shirts, then you can do OK. Again, if it is something you are going to donate to charity, it can be worthwhile and it can lighten up your bags.
