My taste in clothing is conservative and classic but I never dress this way. Like most things in my life, clothing must be pragmatic, spare and inexpensive. As you can imagine, I am the picture of style.
My father dressed well. Suits, white shirts, rep ties, wingtips. His travel clothing was also classy and he bought only the best brands.
When Dad died Mom did not even attempt to give me his dress clothes but thought my pragmatic side might accept the gift of Dad’s travel wardrobe. Due to the timing, I thought that for once in my life I could at least try to please my mother’s sense of style. The clothes featured useful things like hidden pockets, vents, security zippers and epaulets–I had lots to learn about traveling in style.
I quickly found that travel clothing is severely overrated.
- The quick drying fabric needs to be that way because it is quick wetting. After just a few minutes in the tropical sun the travel shirts were glued to my back, chest and armpits despite the vents, full cut and fast-wicking material.
- There are just too many pockets and zippers. To protect against pickpockets, a safety pin is the best protection going—even better protection is to carry hardly anything.
- Epaulets? Why?
- Though the clothing might be comfortable on a plane, it felt like I was attending a two week pajama party.
- The worst point about travel clothing is that it pegs me as a rich traveler. The clothes practically scream to thieves, “Hey over here, come rob me while I am distracted by all the cool stuff in your country!” Don’t even get me started on flowered Hawaiian print shirts anyplace outside of Hawaii….
Like most consumer products, travel clothing is sold to us by creating a dream of who we will be when we wear them: Explorer out on safari. Tech clothing aficionado. Snappy dresser with an epaulet fetish.
The reality is that we all have clothes in our closets that will work fine for most travel. Better yet, go to a thrift store and buy clothes that you don’t care about in the event you need to jettison weight during your travels. This is way easier to justify with a $2 second-hand button-down than a $65 fully-epauletted travel shirt.
And, if you don’t buy several hundred dollars worth of travel clothes for your trip, you can shop for clothes wherever you are going. Not only does this put you in touch with locals, it also will help you blend in a little better.
And my father’s travel clothes? Well, there are some well dressed street people wandering around our former neighborhood in Mexico. Hope they don’t get mugged.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Clothing at your destination has the benefit of being suited to the climate and culture – another reason to buy your clothes when you hit the ground. Like, for example, fanny packs in Argentina.
Love your point of view!
You squeeze that fannypack into just anywhere you can don’t you….
Thanks Paz!
When I traveled overland through the middle east in 1979, I wore what I had after teaching a year in England, which happened to include Oxford button-down shirts, and carried a battered medium-size LL Bean Duffel with a makeshift shoulder strap and a British Army surplus gas mask shoulder bag. I don’t remember any particular problems – but then perhaps my hygiene standards in my 20s were a bit less than in my 50s.
When we planned for a month in Europe a couple years ago, I ‘splurged’ and bought a couple travel shirts, a GoLite day pack and REI travel pants. The shirts are kind of ridiculous, though they do dry quickly and serve for passports, boarding passes. The day pack, which weighs just a few ounces, is a real nice thing (though not actually clothing, sorry). The pants – with their hidden pockets – are IT. Carry a dummy wallet with a little cash, some old credit cards, and keep cash and real credit cards in concealed pockets – that’s a plan.
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Ten years ago, our son went on a Europe trip in 6th grade with his school. The headmistress had suggested buying t-shirts to last the whole trip at Goodwill, and leaving them behind, since there would be no time for laundry. I found such great t-shirts for a buck apiece in nearby Asheville NC that he returned with all of them.
Interesting subject – thanks for addressing it.
But what about a travel hat? Even a well-dressed nudist requires a Tilley hat, or so I learned today: “The American Association of Nude Recreation (AANR) hosts an annual, national convention for its members, and because the activities typically take place outside, clothing might be optional, but stylish, sun-protective Hats are not.”
Just thought I’d throw that comment in the ring (so to speak!).
Ah yes, the AANR does also require the smaller but still stylish Willi Hat, but only have half of its attendees….
Thanks for the input. The piece was written sort of tongue in cheek but at the same time, would hate to think that people CANNOT go traveling if they don’t have the right clothing. We went for a 3 month trip to India and Nepal and bought clothes at Goodwill–I had most of them several years later. Good memories, good shirts.
One question, did you take the gas mask traveling as well? That would have been a sight!
I couldn’t agree more. For travel clothes, nothing beats going to a charity/thrift shop and buying a ton of cheap, lightweight stuff. Traveling in winter is a pain, but fleeces can be layered and worn indefinitely. And I always have an all-purpose travel shawl for screening out the sun, providing modesty for those al fresco toilet experiences, or covering me up when it’s clearly the done thing. People who travel in brand-new khaki suits with epaulets are just asking for trouble.