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When you're preparing for work travel to a different part of the country, how do you decide just what to pack? Reader B has a question about business trips:
I find myself traveling to various cities for work and when I get there finding that I've not packed well for the weather or not brought the right makeup and/or hair products for the weather and/or water. Are you aware of any website or blog that discusses practical issues relating to getting ready for work in different cities? I have found articles about what products are popular in various parts of the country to be helpful but would like something more. Thanks.
Wow, what a great question, and I'm curious to see what readers say. Some thoughts:
- Ask right here! I often see readers asking questions in the comment sections here on the TPS Reports or Coffee Breaks — so of course always feel free to come here and shout it out.
- If you're attending a conference, look at pictures from previous years. I've suggested in the past that if you're traveling for a particular event you can look at pictures of past conferences, as well as call the organizers.
- Wear a suit. I've also noted in the past that sometimes, this is really where the suit simplifies things — a simple black or gray pants suit (preferably bought with a matching sheath dress or pencil skirt) can take you across a wide range of climates, and if you're the one who's a little bit overdressed, that's OK… take the suit jacket off, wear the sheath dress by itself, mix the pencil skirt and pants suits with other non-suiting clothes…
- Check the Weather Channel and Instagram. Increasingly Instagram is becoming useful for this kind of thing — The Muse just had a whole article about how you should dress for interviews by stalking employees on Instagram. While that may be taking it too far for a conservative industry like banking or law, you can still get a lot of information about a city, what people wear, and more via Instagram. (Of course, please follow @corporette!).
Ladies, what are your top resources if you're traveling for work and need to figure out what to wear?
Further reading:
- Why the City You Live in Should Affect Your Beauty Routine [Makeup.com]
- 5 Short City Guides for the Business Traveler [Working Girl Press]
- City Guides (soon to include fashion/beauty!) [Travelle]
- A Journeywoman Guide to Packing… (location-based advice) [Journeywoman]
- What Should I Wear, Where? [Journeywoman]
- Packing lists (more of a focus on vacation trips) [Travel Fashion Girl]
(Pictured at top: angry suitcase, doe-eyed suitcase, originally uploaded to Flickr by molly steenson.)
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TravelMoreRoads
I second Travel Fashion Girl’s website, she has lists by type of trip and location that may help you.
We also have a general, more detailed packing checklist in PDF form that we can email you: http://travelmoreroads.com/resources/packing-list/ You can download and customize for this and other trips.
Have a great trip!
TravelMoreRoads
Also on this topic, if your tip is for a conference, lifehacker just posted this article http://vitals.lifehacker.com/how-to-stay-healthy-before-during-and-after-a-convent-1716150934 on staying healthy during a conference.
Ellen
I agree that you need to wear a suit, when there, but you should fly comforteably, meaning wearing Nike Air’s with sweatpant’s and a sweatshirt. Also wear a schrunchie on the plane b/c you do NOT want your hair to get dirty on the filthy seatback. It realy does NOT matter what you look like on the plane and you want to dress so as to MINIMISE the number of dreg’s that will come over and ask you question’s. The schrunchie’s tend to help here. Once you get there, you can go to a hotel and change in the ladie’s room and then leave your bag’s with the maitre d like I do. Tell them you will be checkeing in later (even if you are not). Then, when you come back, you can pick up your bag’s and change back into your sweatpant’s, and say you will not be checkeing in after all! YAY!!!!
Plink
Not so bad advice, Ellen. You’re always good value.
Laura
Check out Road Warriorette – she frequently talks about travel fashion, though it’s not really a fashion blog.
I would NOT recommend wearing sweats on a plane… what if you are late and you need to head straight to a meeting? Or what if there are colleagues or clients on your flight? There are plenty of completely work-appropriate outfits that are also very comfortable to travel in – jersey wrap dresses, etc. Bring a pashmina that can shift from scarf to blanket if you are cold.
Liz
I couldn’t agree more. I never fly in sweats, business or personal. You never know who you’re going to run into or what impression you need to make. I usually aim for nice leggings with tall boots/nicer sandals with a tunic, that way you’re comfortable but polished on the plane. And additionally, I always pack an outfit for when I arrive in my carry-on either business clothes or vacation clothes. You never know when your luggage might disappear.
You could post on LinkedIn or Facebook asking friends/family/associates if anyone knows the area you will be traveling to or knows anyone there. That way you could get the real scoop on what you need.
Anonymous Associate
Maybe this is because I travel all the time, but I don’t understand what is hard about this. You generally will know what you are going on the trip for, so this should tell you the type of clothes you need (business formal, business casual, casual, some combination, etc.). And then you just check the weather and pick clothes/a jacket that fall into that category for the temperatures you’ll be experiences. And if you aren’t sure, just throw in a suit for good measure. Any decent hotel will have umbrellas you can use if it rains, likely in the closet in your room.
I would recommend keeping a set of mini-toiletries always packed for travel (mini so you don’t have to check a bag), so you don’t even have to think about this. I am not sure how toiletries/makeup would change with weather/water. Although sometimes I bring sunscreen and sometimes I don’t, so there is that.
Elle
+1 This is not hard at all. Check the weather, know why you’re traveling. And if your meeting includes locals from your company, ask them how they will dress for the event/meeting. I also agree that I almost never change makeup for the location.