I grabbed a few long-sleeved Fred Perry polo shirts for my trip to England last year and they served me well at the time as it was in the early autumn. The temperatures here in Florida stepped down again recently so they all may see the light of day again in the coming months.
Sunglasses – Ray Ban New Wayfarers
Polo Shirt – Fred Perry
Strides – Levi’s 511 Commuters
Desert Boots – Clark’s
This was the first of three Prince of Wales suits I own. Dusted off today with my favorite accessories to complement it.
I’ve mentioned before my Parisian cyber-pal Gilles and his occasional menswear challenges over on http://www.styleforum.net. He recently won a challenge to emulate an album cover with his re-creation of the Quadrophenia Soundtrack album:
As his reward for winning the vote, he got to pick the next challenge, so he came up with a contest to display the trucker jacket, but with an interesting rule that no jeans are allowed down below. I own trucker jackets in white and blue denim, dark brown leather and tan suede. Here’s my entry:
Sunglasses – Garrett Leight Harding
Jacket – ASOS
Rugby shirt – Kent Wang
Strides – Levi’s sta pressts
Chelseas – Meermin
Vote early, vote often starting on 17th November at:
https://www.styleforum.net/threads/friday-challenge-november-2018-the-smart-trucker-jacket.639237/page-2
The temperature did its traditional October slight step-down here recently, which for me means moving away from linens and back to polo-and-jeans for my weekend ‘uniform’. I like this new take on the polo shirt by Lacoste:
Sunglasses – Ray Ban
Polo shirt – Lacoste Sport
Jeans – Levi’s 501
Socks – Gold Toe
Trainers – Adidas Gazelle OGs
Many years ago my wardrobe used to heavily lean towards black items. I seem to have moved away from black in recent years but recently picked up a few new t shirts that will get used during the autumn.
Sunglasses – Ray Ban New Wayfarers
Polo shirts – Fred Perry
T-shirt – Zara (nice heavy cotton)
Watch – Heuer Autavia
Strides – Levi’s selvedge Made and Crafted
Desert Boots – Clark’s
There are several places on the internet which offer a number of guides on what to wear when travelling, so this will focus on business travel within the context of a three-day trip and a focus on travelling as light as possible.
And on the subject of formality – context is everything so keep that in mind as you’re packing. Will odd jackets be enough or will suits be needed?
If day one is purely getting there, the polo shirt outfit above will work. If day one is travel and straight to business, then one of the blazer outfits could work. That means two more complete outfits – suits or jackets and strides – need to go in the case, which is just about doable.
Shoes are key as they take up so much space. If you have to bring a pair other than the ones you’re wearing to travel it will increase weight and volume and take a bite out of the space available for clothes. Try to plan your outfits around wearing only one pair of versatile shoes. I realise that violates the received wisdom of letting shoes ‘rest’ a day after wearing. Cap-toes, brogues or oxfords in black, brown or burgundy can work, or even dark suede if weather permits.
Example (business formal):
Travel in dark blue suit on day one. Pack grey and navy pinstripe suits for days two and three. Burgundy punch caps could work for all three days.
Example (business casual):
Travel in navy cotton blazer and tan chinos. Pack olive linen blazer with grey linen strides for day two, and khaki cotton blazer and dark jeans for day three. Choose from loafers, desert boots or Chelsea boots for all three outfits.
Other possibilities:
I have a heavy, spongey grey herringbone tweed jacket for frigid weather, and a grey Donegal jacket (pictured below) for cold weather. These are both versatile jackets that can be worn with dark jeans, heavy chinos or flannels.
I have a rust coloured cashmere blazer that can be worn with mid grey to dark grey flannels or even heavy winter white flannels.
Also worth considering is a ‘blazer suit’. I have a tobacco linen suit with patch pockets that can be split up so the jacket can be worn with odd trousers without looking orphaned. This kind of move can save you precious space in the rollaboard.
There are several things to consider but if you keep in mind context and versatility, and plan ahead so you’re not throwing things into the case while you’re ride to the airport is waiting in front of your house, you can not only get there, but also get through the business and get home – with style!
Most weeks I travel for work, usually for two to three days and usually involving flying to some other city within the US. I thought it might be useful to some readers for me to share my thoughts on how to navigate the hazards of business travel with some semblance of style.
Appropriate clothing is important but first comes the equipment. My workhorse rollaboard case is a hard sided Tumi Vapor in graphite gray. It’s lightweight, fits into standard overhead bins and being a four-wheeler, it’s a lot more comfortable if you’re forced to do the ‘airport sprint’ than dragging a two-wheeler behind you banging on your heels.
One side of the interior is curtained off with a zipped divider and behind this I keep all my non-clothing essentials: wash kit and workout gear, all selected for low weight and volume
At Christmas I usually ask for a sampler set of mini after-shave bottles. I don’t carry soap and shampoo as I use whatever the hotels provide. Other essential items like toothpaste and shaving foam I get travel size, as small as possible, and these will go through the airport X-ray undetected without me having to remove them. All are packed into a small Tumi wash kit including comb, toothbrush and emergency sewing kit.
For exercising I have Adidas five-finger shoes. I haven’t been taken in by any claims of physiological advantage gained by wearing these, I simply have them because they’re light in weight, low in volume and don’t require me to pack extra socks. They are fine for me to use when I jump on the elliptical machine in the hotel gym. I also pack a pair of shorts and t shirt for working out, and swim shorts to use if the hotel has a decent pool.
Other packing items include shoe bags to keep dirt or polish from shoes coming into contact with clothing, and a shirt pack which helps to prevent shirts from wrinkling and has pockets for ties to be packed flat.
Finally a leather tray which packs flat but fixes up with four pairs of press studs. Handy for keeping all personal items in one place.
Stay tuned for part two in which I’ll make some clothing suggestions.
