A New Option in Travel Clothing

I've had multiple travel related chats lately with my friend Sheri, by phone and various electronic messaging apps. She'll embark on a year-long travel adventure in a couple of months, with only the allowable carry-on sized backpack and one personal item that includes her camera gear and MacBook. 

I wish Sheri and I were able to sit and chat in person here in Monteriggioni, in the Chianti district!
We're limited to electronic and telephone communications until September, when I'll join her in Barcelona.

That's a wardrobe planning challenge that I hope to never face. It would be a nightmare for me to limit what I wear for one year to so few pieces! However, I enjoy helping her figure this out, so in the process I've discovered a few new travel pieces to try for myself.

Merino wool clothing from Icebreaker is lauded as itch-free, stink-free, and comfortable in all climates. Despite having no need for any new clothing, I purchased their Villa dress (in a shade of lavender that they call "Abyss") on a 40% discount web sale to take with me to Andalusia in late May. It will be hot during the day, so I'll be able to test (and hope to refute) my assumption that wool is too warm to wear in such conditions. Here's the dress:

Image from icebreaker.com website, cropped.

As soon as it arrived, I tried it on alone, and then as a top layer over a turtleneck and leggings. The wool feels like a heavy cotton knit, and it really does not itch.  Next, I scrunched it into a quart size ziploc bag, and left it there for three days.

They're not kidding when they claim that it packs to nothing!

Happily, the dress emerged unwrinkled, unscathed, and ready to wear. I can't wait to wear it!

In addition, I discovered two items that I've decided are "must haves" for my future travels. They include what I hope will be the perfect pair of navy pants, and what seems to be the optimal choice for a personal item carry-on bag. I haven't purchased these yet, and will write about them in another post.

Model T

Any color you want, as long as it's black. Wait! That applied to Ford Model T cars, not to my t-shirt collection. Although, I will admit to owning four black "luxury t-shirts" -- five if I count the charcoal v-neck. In addition, there's the $9 Merona charcoal with black stripes v-neck that's become a staple.

For several years, Splendid has been my preferred t-shirt brand -- finally a perfect t-shirt! No others fit, feel, and hold up as beautifully as my Splendid t-shirts. They're very pricey, and the basic colors don't go on sale often, but when they do, I buy a few. The lightweight jersey (of cotton and modal) is a perfect weight for the Kohala Coast, and works very well for layering when I travel or visit friends in cooler Waimea. I have a few in heavier cotton knits, and several styles (scoop, v, and crew neck). Unfortunately, a couple of my Splendid Ts have landed accidentally in the dryer, and those two shrunk -- just a little. To prevent this, I purchased more net bags (the kind I use for delicate wash), and only wash my good t-shirts in these bags. That way, I don't miss the shirt when I'm sorting the washed clothes into piles for line or machine drying.

I've nearly given up on finding the perfect white t-shirt, because none retain their pristine whiteness for much time beyond the initial wearing. Haven't tried a white t from Splendid yet, because I fear they could be see-through. I will when I find the right one on sale ...

Experimenting with other brands that have good reviews, I have a handful of t-shirts by Eileen Fisher, Lafayette 148 New York, Vince, Elie Tahari, Calvin Klein, and 2 decent Target Merona v-necks. In my experience, none is equal to Splendid for luxurious (but not over full) drape, fine fabrics, flattering cuts, and consistent quality construction. Of course, part of the higher price is because Splendid t-shirts are made in the USA, unlike these other high end brands. I feel good about supporting American workers ... as long as corporations are not creating a new generation of sweat shops here at home.

11 of these 23 t-shirts are made by Splendid

Since late last summer, there's a newcomer in the t-shirt business, with a mission to craft and sell a luxury shirt that's made in Los Angeles from 100% cotton that's grown in the U.S., primarily California. Pickwick & Weller is working hard to earn customers and gain widespread recognition. Currently, they offer a couple promotions that show up on nearly every ad-serving page that I visit on the web. Follow my link, and register on their site, and soon you'll get a (buy one, get one) free t-shirt offer. Two of my t-shirts are from Pickwick & Weller, and I intend to try a couple more in a smaller size. Returns are free, but when I received my order, I decided to keep the oversized comfy ones for lounging around the house and to order a few more in a smaller size. I'll report back when that happens.

Overkill, part 1

Trying to streamline and refine my wardrobe presents an on-going challenge for me, both physically and emotionally. As a baby step today, I decided to collect and try on all of my black skirts. In this exercise, I did not include two black skirts that are halves of two-piece dresses, three black gauchos, and one black palazzo pant, which are six black skirt-like pieces in addition to the 24 skirts that are in the photo:

A black skirt for any and every occasion!

One pencil skirt is charcoal grey. Seven of the skirts are prints, patterns or tweeds, primarily black and without any other color except white or neutral. The one with a bit of brown reverses to black with tiny white dots, and another is black lace over a nude underskirt. To be fair, six of the skirts are essentially duplicates: two each of three skirts in two different sizes. I still fit in all of them, but the smaller sized ones are tight. I will wear them comfortably again!

There are professional and dressy skirts, resort wear skirts, party and dancing skirts, and lounging or hippie skirts in about four lengths.

From my perspective, I have a complete wardrobe of any kind of black skirt I could need for any occasion. Yes, a couple of them are duplicates in two sizes. Get over it. Can someone tell me why this isn't a sensible set of basics?

As a collector, I want to record the bouclé pencil skirt by Lanvin, the black St. John knit pencil skirt, the flirty black skirt with a "booty flounce" by Alexander McQueen, two straight skirts (one wool and one knit) by Ann Klein II, a cotton pleated full skirt by Elie Tahari, several by Jones New York, a long print jersey skirt with contrasting pocket trim by Max Edition, a faux-sarong style rayon mini by Jams World, and several generic brands, mostly the multi-tiered cotton gauze skirts and the jersey skirts.

I dread the next step of collecting and sorting my black tops and black pants. But this seems to be an efficient way for me to categorize and assess my things. Fortunately I have few items in colors ... but I do have a Jams World resort clothing collection to rival a retail outlet!

The prospect of collecting all of my black shirts and black pants is daunting, but during that process I certainly will lose quite a few items to the donation box! But next in line for consolidation and cataloging is my collection of resort wear.

Seven Basic Pieces

These items of clothing, plus a few accessories shown here, form the core of my travel wardrobe:

1. black ponte pants (by Not Your Daughter's Jeans)
2. black straight leg jeans (also NYDJ)
3. white v-neck top, 3/4 sleeves (by Carole Little)
4. black long sleeved turtleneck (by Carole Little)
5. short, straight black knit skirt (by Ann Klein)
6. black and white graphical print dress (by En Focus Petite)
7. dressy black vest with lace overlay back (by Charles Gray - London)

In the photo are my seven basic pieces of travel clothing, a couple of scarves and a bag.

So far, I've added my lipstick red silk chiffon scarf (by Laura Ashley), and my Alexander McQueen silk chiffon skull scarf, along with a vintage quilted leather Bally bag with a woven leather and chain strap.

Better photos will follow!