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Travel Wardrobe for Multiple Climates

April 8, 2022

Where Are We Going?

This black trench from Calvin Klein I got at Marshal’s for $15.99! I will wear this a lot.

I have a blog coming up next week where I will share our full itinerary, but for the purposes of today’s post, we are headed out to New York City, the Caribbean Islands, North and West Africa, Paris and the Mediterranean. Packing for these ten weeks means I need slacks and dresses, coats and walking shoes, shorts and tank tops as well as respectful attire for Muslim countries that will be hot in the day and cool at night. It’s a challenge to create this travel wardrobe for multiple climates without over packing.

But I’m always up to a challenge.

New York and Paris

I’ll be in New York City for eleven days and Paris for only one. Both cities could have temperatures anywhere from 45 Fahrenheit to 75. It’s hard to say. Since for the last few years our travels have mostly been to tropical locales, I went out and did some shopping for a variety of new items that I hope will be useful and stylish and flow seamlessly into my existing travel wardrobe.

I bought these black crepe pants at Talbots that I think I am going to love. I also bought a white t-shirt, white button down and a little black and white shrug. Here are four ways I can wear the black crepe pants in the big cities. You’ll see these tops used over and over in the weeks ahead.

I’m also bringing my navy linen pants. They are lightweight and I can dress them up or down. Here they are four ways for both the city and rural destinations;

Morocco

We are really excited to return to Morocco, this time with our two adult sons. Together the four of us will travel for one week, then we will attend a very formal and traditional Moroccan wedding in Fes. The bride and groom are special and dear to us, and we are excited to share this event with them. Carrying formal clothes is definitely not something we normally do. We even purchased a new suit bag to make this easier. We are sending the suit bag with our sons and will ship it home with them too (maybe with some other items) giving us more flexibility with our bags. Here are three formal looks for me;

Probably wear this to the wedding. I love the fit of this dress from Ann Klein

This dress never wrinkles. Might wear this for the wedding breakfast. From Tommy Bahama

And my husband’s wedding looks;

And Into the Oven

Two stops in the Caribbean, Senegal and three countries in the Mediterranean will put us back into tropical weather with highs in the 80’s and lows in the 70’s. Of course we love this weather and already have the wardrobe for it. I purchased two new swimsuits from RipCurl (my new favorite) and have done some mixing and matching in my current tropical wardrobe. Since I am a big fan of linen in the heat, some of my favorite linen pieces have made the cut for this trip. Yes linen wrinkles but in warm humid climates the wrinkles just fall away once the garment is next to my body. We will be in Muslim countries as well as conservative Israel where covering shoulders and sometimes knees is required. I can do that with linen pants, dresses with sleeves and scarves and sweaters. I purchased another item, this rust colored duster which I hope will be versatile. It’s from JJill. Here are some of my new and recycled pieces that made the cut.

This sundress is several years old, topped with the duster

Shoes, Always Too Many Shoes

Shoes create havoc in my packing process, and this time, with the formal events, I am even more stymied on how to not over pack the shoes. But, here are the ones I plan to take, more than usual. Some are new and some are tried and true;

Two new for formal events – I’ll send these with our sons

Ecco brand is comfort all the way, and I love both these shoes for travel

Sneakers for many reasons; walking, running, hiking and more

The Hubs

My husband indulges me with selfies most of the time, but was reluctant to let me photograph him for this blog post. I talked him into it though, because I convinced him this time to update his wardrobe with a few contemporary pieces. He is a pretty simple guy, and especially for travel has found his favorite and minimalist travel pieces and rarely needs anything more. But we did a shopping trip for him this month, and I think he looks amazing in his new travel wardrobe for multiple climates. These items plus the linen blazer (see above) will be great additions.

Versatile Henley and new shoes by Cole Haan

He loves these slacks, they are a nice fabric by Perry Ellis

And All the Rest

The total going into the bag for me (I may edit further) is;

3 pants
1 walking shorts
1 hiking shorts
2 t-shirts
2 tank tops
2 short sleeve blouse
3 long sleeve blouse
2 lightweight sweater
1 linen duster
4 sundresses
1 denim jacket
2 formal dresses
2 swimsuits
1 sarong
1 coat and 1 windbreaker
running clothes

It looks like a lot of clothes, but actually it is less than I have brought in the past. And before it all goes in the suitcase I will likely edit it down further. I’ve learned what works and what ends up just being dead weight. I don’t really think much anymore about my toiletries, my jewelry or other items we carry regularly. We have a good system now that includes first aid, our French press, The Mug, a foldable cooler, a beach bag and usually some spices and coffee. Our cords and electronics are all conveniently organized in what we call our gadget bag and it all runs pretty smooth. We covet our packing cubes that are life altering and after so many flights and hundreds of thousands of miles, we are kinda experts with this.

After seven years we continue to use our two REI roller duffel bags. Arne replaced all four wheels on these bags this month and they should be good for thousands more miles. These bags are true workhorses and we love them.

Travel Wardrobe for Multiple Climates

It’s with caution that we launch this next episode of The Grand Adventure. We are excited and ready to tackle the challenges travel presents in this crazy world. Of course we always travel with caution, and will of course do so again…and still look amazing and be comfortable in our travel wardrobe for multiple climates.

I hope you will come back next Friday to read about our nine stops on our itinerary, and why we have chosen these places to visit – we have put a lot of heart and soul in these choices. It’s going to be an amazing journey, and I can’t wait.

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Travel Wardrobe for The Grand Adventure 3.0

My Wardrobe for Nine Months of Travel

August 30, 2019

Laureen

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It’s almost time to go again. I’ve been very busy restocking all my travel needs, including refreshing my travel wardrobe. After three years of traveling, I still feel I can do better with my clothing choices and pack less. So once again as we depart for the third time, I’m narrowing down the travel wardrobe. My goal is to carry the perfect mix and match wardrobe that fits my style, my schedule and my budget.

Last year, my Travel Wardrobe blog was a big hit, so I thought I would write again about what I am bringing with me as we embark on our fourth year of travel. When we left the first year I had way too many things with me. It was a hard lesson learned. Last year for the Grand Adventure 2.0 I based my wardrobe around black and white with splashes of colorful mix and match items. But I’m doing it a bit differently this year.

For the Grand Adventure 3.0 I’ve chosen bottoms (both long and short pants) in black, khaki and navy. These staples will be the basis of most of my wardrobe. I have t-shirts, tank tops and blouses I can mix and match in dozens of ways with these bottoms. I have chosen bright colors that compliment my skin and hair color such as red, navy, coral, orange and turquoise.

Because I wear dresses a lot, especially in hot weather, I have purchased four new dresses. These are also in blue/chambray tones, bright oranges and corals and one black plaid dress.

Our itinerary this year (blog coming about this next Friday) has us visiting several Muslim countries as well as Israel where thoughtful conservative dress is both important and respectful. I have chosen some dresses with longer sleeves and some long sleeve but lightweight tops that I can wear with the navy, black and khaki pants.

As always my suitcase will include hiking clothes (long and short pants and tops), running clothes for both hot and cool weather, and yoga clothes, as well as a coat, sweatshirt, hat and gloves. I have one cardigan sweater (red), one pashmina (also red) and one scarf (teal blue).

I often get asked why I like linen so much for travel, considering how much it wrinkles. But for me, in hot climates, linen is the most breathable and comfortable fabric on earth. I sometimes steam wrinkles out in the shower, iron them, or hey just wear them wrinkled. Because my own body heat works the wrinkles out in no time. Linen is the fabric for me and my Grand Adventure wardrobe.

I didn’t buy a new swimsuit, because both my one piece and my two piece are in good condition. I have a new swimsuit coverup that I love and a new Kaftan to replace the one I wore until it fell apart. The Kaftan and the coverup serve like a bathrobe or lounge wear, in addition to beach wear. Both are colorful and comfortable. I also pack one cotton nightgown.

Underneath it all I have two running bras (Wacoal from Nordstrom) that are new. I have four everyday bras (Dominque and Victorias Secret). I purchased Chantelle lightweight quick dry panties from Nordstrom. I also have two pairs of bloomers (one from Bikie Girl Bloomers the other from Undersummers). I love both of these for wearing under dresses in hot weather to avoid that horrible thigh chafing so many women deal with (including me).

And what about the feet? Well, as usual, deciding what shoes to bring is my most difficult task. I have my running shoes that also serve as hiking shoes. I have a very comfortable tan colored walking sandal by Vionic that I can wear with most things and is great for my plantar fasciitis. I have a black flat sandal and my Keen’s which are great walking shoes and can also be worn in the water. That’s four pairs. Pretty sure that is all I am taking. That’s the fewest pairs I have ever packed.

To top it off I have a wide brimmed straw hat, a cloth floppy brimmed hat, my hiking hat and a baseball cap. I also have several headbands that I like to wear for running or to the beach.

So my entire wardrobe for nine months consists 29 pieces to mix and match (pants, shorts, t-shirts, tank tops, dresses, blouses, sweater and jackets), 7 workout pieces, 5 hiking pieces, 4 pairs of shoes, 4 bras, 7 panties, 1 coat and one sweatshirt. In one suitcase. Boom.

I’m packing fewer earrings and necklaces too…I have just a couple of each that are my go-to for both comfort and style. Everything else will stay behind this year.

We’ve added a few new non-clothing items this year including a travel yoga mat, an REI nylon hammock that folds up tiny and a travel steamer/iron. These are all things we have discussed in the past we would like to have. These items join several other wonderful travel essentials such as our collapsible cooler, our titanium french press and battery charger. To see the entire list check out our newly updated blog What’s in My Suitcase.

Speaking of suitcase – The Grand Adventure 3.0 continues with the REI roller bags we purchased more than three years ago. We had to replace the wheels on one bag but other than that these bags have been worth every penny, serving us well on 95 flights so far. In addition Arne has his backpack (also three years old) and I have a carryon roller bag that I purchased last year. I also have a large “purse” that I stuff full on flight day but use a small over the shoulder bag for every day. And finally we really like our day pack that folds up tiny and weighs nearly nothing.

Travel Jewelry — Five earrings and four necklaces. Significantly fewer than last year but I found I only wore a handful of the ones I brought with me last time. Simple.

We depart in less than two weeks and I have begun to organize and sort all of the above as well as our medicines, first aid, toiletries and other items that we will take on our journey.

PLEASE watch for a blog next Friday for our FULL ITINERARY for The Grand Adventure 3.0. We are so excited to share the incredible places we are going. Countdown to lift off 11 days!

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Fabulous Travel Wardrobe with Just One Suitcase

Looking and Feeling Grand on the Grand Adventure

July 13, 2018

Laureen

Location: United States

After wearing the same clothes over and over on our Grand Adventure I was looking forward to some major shopping once I got back in the USA. I knew I could create a fabulous travel wardrobe that would fit in just one suitcase.

I’ve spent a lot of time over the past two months purging my old travel wardrobe and adding fresh new and fabulously fun and comfortable items. There are only five items from my previous wardrobe (excluding underwear) that make the cut for this next phase of my fabulous travel wardrobe.

The white dress five ways. This is from J. Jill. I’m gonna love this dress I think.

I have a really good understanding now of what works for me as a full-time traveler; what makes me feel good; is comfortable, pretty and easy to care for; what is well constructed and can withstand hand washing, sweat and constant wear; and most importantly what is versatile for many kinds of climates and all kinds of fabulous.

That’s what I look for in a fabulous travel wardrobe.

Black Dress six ways. This is a TravelSmith purchase, wrinkle free fabric. I love it. It made the cut for this next phase. Denim jacket is Levi. Black and white kimono scarf I bought in Bali. White tie blouse is from Macy’s.

Granted, most of the clothes I need are for warmer climates. However on this next phase we will see some cool weather, especially while we are in Spain and Portugal in late October and November. So I need to take this into consideration.

I’m basing my fabulous travel wardrobe on some anchor pieces including; one white dress, one black dress, one pink dress and one green dress. In addition I have added; one black linen drawstring pants, one white linen drawstring pants, one white walking shorts and one black walking shorts.

With these anchor pieces I have added multiple tank tops and t-shirts and blouses as well as one sweater, two cardigans and my denim jacket. I also have two kimono scarf wraps (one silk, one cotton) and two

The green dress four ways. This is another Travel Smith purchase. The silk Kimono scarf and the black leggings are from Sirvana

scarfs. All of these items together can create an endless array of options for me. The photos show just some of the ideas I have.

I also have a couple of fun hats and a small collection of versatile jewelry to mix and match. Although most of the time we aren’t getting dressed up, it’s nice to have some jewelry options for casual outfits as well.

My wardrobe includes

Pink dress four ways. I got this dress on a clearance rack at J.Jills. It’s linen – my favorite fabric. There is that Sirvana kimono again. Teal and pink scarf is from Target.

some handbags and six pairs of shoes. My shoe choices are flat or low heeled with excellent arch support and lots of comfort. Anything other than that doesn’t make the cut of a fabulous travel wardrobe.

In my suitcase you will also find my small collection of mix and match items that serve me for hiking, running and yoga. These activities are a big part of most every day in My Fab Fifties Life so making sure I am comfortable when I’m working out is a priority. Our fall hike of the Porto Camino will likely include some rainy days, so I am preparing with a better rain poncho

White pants and or shorts six ways. There are endless options here. Linen pants are Caslon from Nordstrom. The white shorts I have had for years. Black lace duster from Sirvana. Blue and white striped tank is DraperJane by Reece Witherspoon. White Lace tank from Travel Smith. Washed denim top from Marshalls and red top from StitchFix.

than the one I had last year on the Spain Camino.

I bought two of the same swimsuit but in different colors. This way I can wear the first one until it starts to fall apart and have a back up ready. I hated trying to shop for a swimsuit on our travels. And because I wear a suit almost every day, mostly in salt water, they really wear out. I’m also bringing my older one-piece suit that I found in storage. I prefer a one piece suit when snorkeling so I want to have it for those times.

Making the cut from last years wardrobe are my

Black pants and or shorts eight ways. Of course black is flattering, but these pants are also comfortable. Linen pants are Caslon from Nordstrom, black shorts I have had for years. Teal button up tank and print tank from J Jill. White top with black embellishment is from Macys. Mustard sweater is Coldwater Creek.

bold flowered print long sleeve gauze blouse. I love the color and comfort of this top and even though it’s long sleeved it is perfect in hot weather. It will come in handy in Muslim countries where I want to cover my arms.

My gear for running and yoga. Black shorts and shoes are Brooks. Leggings from Sirvana.

I’m also bringing my 12-year-old teal linen sundress which is my favorite and is a perfect beach coverup. I did some hand stitching to it this summer to fix the hem and some fraying. Good as new and ready to go again.

I have hiking options for all weather possibilities. And we likely will use them all! Most everything you see here is from REI. Poncho from Magellan. My hiking shoes are from Kuru- specifically designed for plantar fasciaitis.

In addition I’m throwing in my denim cropped white jeans. I’ve never had a more comfortable pair of jeans and they work in so many ways. A keeper for sure. My black shorts are also on the return list.

And finally, my black dress from Travel Smith I wore over and over on the last phase of our travels I will wear over and over on the next phase. This dress is a wonderful wrinkle free fabric and feels really good to wear.

There are a few other minor miscellaneous items I plan to bring, but I feel more pared-down than when we left two years ago. We both will continue to use our sturdy REI roller bags, now in their fourth year and who knows how many miles and baggage handlers they have endured. We had to change the wheels on one of them, and are carrying a set of wheels for the other bag just in case.

My swim attire – the blue and the green tops are identical except for color. I bought the Sarong in Bali and there is my old trusty teal linen sundress that has been around the world several times.

In addition Arne has his backpack and I have my new roller carry-on. I’m confident we will have plenty of room. Not only for our clothes but for all the other items (did you see the YouTube video we posted about packing non clothing items? We also posted a time-lapse on Youtube that is fun to watch).

The thing is, you would basically pack the same if you were going on a month-long vacation. Granted there are some things you wouldn’t need to pack (back up wheels for your suitcase or 12-months of contact lenses), but it’s essentially the same. I would most likely bring the same amount of clothes for a month as I am for a year, a fabulous travel wardrobe. It’s all about planning and knowing how to mix and match to feel and be your fabulous best. Everyday, every country, everywhere. Go. Be. Fabulous.

Launch is in T-minus 25 days!