Selecting Clothes that Make Your Travel Smoother
By Mele Fujiwara
These are just some of the questions I get about what clothes to select for a Europe Trip. They reflect the desire to fit in and to be comfortable. Seldom do I hear anyone ask how to dress to stay safe from theft or other possible molestation—not an immediate American value. It has become a primary one for me when I think of traveling. Any one who lives in a world of tourism (as I do in Hawaii) has a built in sensitivity towards respecting the cultures they plan to visit--particularly clothing-wise. We know we will be treated better by locals if we reflect their dress codes in what we wear as well as in our demeanor. The initial impression we present may determine how successfully we jump the language barrier. With these thoughts in mind, the idea of integrating clothing selection with the benefits of packing light can cause some uneasiness. Since we seldom think of dressing as a way to keep ourselves safe from poor treatment, theft and con artists, I will describe how Mele and daughter, Lisa meet these challenges in selecting their "pack light" wardrobe that helps them to blend in more easily. BENEFITS OF "BLENDING IN": Becoming less of a target for bad service and thievery were a couple of motivating factors Mele and her daughter found for Dressing as temporary locals. They usually travel as two unescorted females and are acutely aware of the need to blend into the crowd for security reasons. They NEVER wear fanny packs or carry camera bags—both are "thief magnets". Mele (who is well over 35), never uses a daypack in downtown London, Paris, Rome or any other fashion conscious city. Daughter, Lisa can use a daypack any where any time and blends in like a local student. So where does Mele put her camera, water bottle, guide book and coin purse? She budgets $15 for an immediate purchase of a cheap big bag (purse) in a local European department store to start her blending in. (Zippered or buttoned down shirt pockets are also safe places to stash wallets and coin purses). They both leave their comfortable athletic shoes and white socks, blue jeans, T shirts with American slogans, Hawaiian print garments, shorts, one piece dresses and jumpsuits at Home. (Bared shoulders and Shorts are not allowed in many public buildings—particularly Cathedrals. Men you may get your leg hairs pulled if you wear shorts off the beach.) "We want to add that now is a time to Avoid "logo and slogan wear"! T-shirts with English language slogans and logos--especially those with place names-- mark you as an American and are best avoided RIGHT NOW. This principle also applies to your bag or backpack. Choose luggage with neutral characteristics and take the flag stickers off your bag. Also leave your baseball cap at home and buy a local "chapeau". A WAIST BAND TIP: For absolute safety for money, credit cards, tickets, passes, and passports use a money belt that goes under your pants or skirt waist band. Mele and Lisa select bottoms with pleats in the front and with elastic in side or back of band or all the way around. It makes it easy for "only you" to get to your money belt with out needing to unzip behind a potted palm! And ladies visualize how you will get to your money belt in a dress or jump suite . So take two piece out fits only.. Be sure and pack your money belt and try each bottom garment on with Money Belt inside. If it isn't comfortable—leave the garment HOME. (The worst stolen money belt stories are from people who's pants were too tight for their money belt—so they put their money belt in their daybag—and yes it got PICKED!) Mele often wears a belt around her waist—even if the bottom doesn't need it. It keeps the Money Belt even more secure and looks fashionable when top is tucked in. TAKE USED CLOTHES: From past trips and research, they learned that Europeans are clothes conscious and in cities, fashion conscious but may not be wearing the latest style. Generally in public, Europeans wear their best clothes. It's not uncommon to see laborers wearing suits and white shirts to work, although they might be a bit grimy and thread bear. What you see most Europeans wear, may constitute half of their wardrobe. This may because closet space in Europe is limited for the average person—usually consisting of a free standing wardrobes about the size of our standard refrigerator. (No wonder they know how to pack light.) Learning this, Mele and Lisa added further to their blend-in quality by taking used clothing with classic style. This saved allot of money as they pulled out old garments (i.e. wool lined slacks, long sleeved polyester shirt, and vest) from the back of their closet and found other needed items at Thrift Shops. Since they also enjoy sight seeing in department and second hand stores on their travels—they have packed old clothes they were willing to toss if they found a good deal to replace them. (Applying the principle of take used clothes, Lisa decided to give her 10 pairs of old underwear "one last wearing" in Europe and tossed them as she went and until she found a sale for new ones—cut down on hand washing!) Over time they have developed a "well used" Europe travel wardrobe that contains a lot of European made garments. COLOR Co-ORDINATE AND MULTIPLE USE APPROACH: These principles will make it feel like you have more clothing choices with fewer garments. Northern Europeans dress in somber colors, while brighter colors are more common in the South below the Alps.. With this in mind Mele and Lisa select a basic color scheme. Mele has picked navy blue and taupe and Lisa starts with black. Before packing, they spread their chosen wardrobe out on the living room couch—tops on the back and bottoms on the seat. Each top must go with each bottom. If it doesn't—it stays home. Then what's left gets compared to their itinerary activities and weather possibilities. Can the long sleeve shirt/blouse go hiking and get me in and out of the Theatre another time? Every thing is checked for possible multiple uses. Do I want a bathing suit for the Roman bath in Germany.Yes! With or with out top on the Riviera? With! "Hey, a 2 piece suit could also act as a panty and bra". NOTE: If you are over 40 and using black as your basic color, you may get different treatment from your traveling companions in small villages and Southern Europe. Black is the color of mourning. Navy blue is a more common color in these later areas. ADD WARMTH with the "LAYERED LOOK" and SYNTHETIC FIBERS. Us "Hawaiian" who feel wide swings in temperatures more easily than our mainland peers--find packing light uniquely challenging for shoulder and winter seasons. So what do Mele and Lisa take and how do they put it together to keep warm and dry with 20-30 degree temperature changes, cold breezes off glacier fed lakes and rivers, and slow drying cold rain during a day of sight seeing? Sometimes we've felt chilled enough to wear half the contents of our suitcase. A neck hugging turtle-neck top (and a more recent find of a hooded sweater) help deflect chilly breezes. Mele's favorite garment is her loose Poplin Jacket with hood she purchased at C&A Dept. Store (chain in Europe) She treated with a water repellent later. (TIP: The longer the Jacket the better when you sit on a "iceberg" cold marble bench.) Under that she layered with tank top, long sleeved shirt, vest and maybe a cardigan sweater on top. The lined wool pants plus silk thermal tights (also used for sleeping) and heavy gauge nylons (found in Europe) and wool socks got her in and out of freezing Alpine peaks. . If need they might purchase a neck scarf and a pair of gloves (the latter being very difficult to find in Europe MAY through OCTOBER!). Mele and Lisa keep their bag light "rain gear-wise" by bringing a pocket sized plastic poncho with hood (which covers them and their daybag) instead of an umbrella. They have even used it as a wind breaker and as a drop cloth for picnicking. Chico's, a chain of US women's clothing stores, illustrates the traveler's layered look on their website page: http://www.chicos.com/collections/basics_and_layering/basics_and_layering/ They recommend: blazer, vest, short-sleeve shirt, long-sleeve shirt, tank top, long pants, full skirt, shorts and long-sleeve buttoned overshirt. They have a hand-out showing the 30 layering schemes you can get with the above (if you have a Chico's in your area, ask them for this handout or write for catalog and handout at: Chico's, 11215 Metro Parkway Fort Meyers, FL 33912, ph. 941 277 6200 E-mail: info@chicos.com website: http://www.chicos.com/ Synthetic fabrics--with Polyester knits being the favorite--are what Mele and Lisa want for their travel garments because of their warmth, ease of care and light weightness. Now days it is easy to find them in a treatment and in blends that look like natural fibers such as silk, wool, and linen. This fits with blending in, because Europeans do use a lot of natural fibers in their garments. Our beloved 100% cottons get left home because they allow cold breezes to cut through and don't dry quickly. For More Cold Weather Packing Tips see Alison Shigekini's Winter Packing Tips and Lani Lok's Winter Dressing.
ABOUT FOOT WEAR: Since Europeans judge each other by one's appearance and behave accordingly. (sound familiar?)--they quite often start seeing you by starting with your shoes and socks before their eyes come up to meet yours, if they ever do. Mele and Lisa discovered that one pair of sturdy flat leather topped, rubber soled, well polished shoes got them in any where--including theater in London. (White sport shoes and socks can really make you stand out in a crowd in downtown Paris.) The rubber soles kept them from slipping and sliding as they climbed to see Rheinfels Castle or hiked the Cinque Terre. A little mink oil (or better yet, Keri Hand Lotion) rubbed into the leather tops regularly kept them looking good and made them water resistant. (Of course these were broken-in 6 months before their trip) They still packed and used some of Dr. Shoal's Mole Skin because they always get one blister or so. Its difficult to develop shoe calluses on our feet that most mainlanders take for granted. Taking only 1 pair of shoes is one of Mele's "space saving" goals she doesn't always meet. HOW DO THEY PUT IT ALL TOGETHER? They each selected a basic color theme for their 3 pair of wrinkle resistant slacks, 1 knee length coullote (which looks like a skirt) , and a lined jacket to match all 4 bottoms. Then they started working on the Layered Looks and added a couple of Silky looking polyester Tank Tops in contrasting colors. A couple of long and short sleeved wash and wear shirts completed the basic wardrobe. Mele likes a vest (which she calls her bib and cuts down on laundry) Us gals like to bring a skirt with pockets which mixes with our tops for city dress up occasions such as a Royal Guard Theater night and Sunday Tea Dancing in London. (European women are more likely to dress up in skirts rather than pants) For shoulder season and mountain weather they throw in 1 microfleece pull over top that layers well with their long sleeved tops and pants. They like to add some inexpensive jewelry to accessorize with--often purchased along the way. Yes they did take lingerie, some toiletries, a mini hair dryer that dried more hand washed socks and damp shoes than hair, and sleep ware they would be caught dead in! The rubber slippers stayed home--and in their place they brought a pair of rubber soled sandals for those slipper days. MALE BLENDING TIP: Wear socks with sandals! Men may want to pack a neck tie that matches a dark long sleeve shirt for most dress up occasions they will encounter. A blazer isn't necessary. Some Casinos will furnish what you need to meet their dress code. Several men have told us that they left their hard to dry cotton under shorts at home and took space saving, fast drying silk undershorts. Many men find one pair of sturdy shoes lightens and saves lots of room in their bags. This approach works whether you travel for 2 weeks or 3 months. See Packing Check Lists for more specifics and Recent Updates.
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