How to Plan Your Travel Outfits | 6 Style Mistakes to Avoid! 😬 👚

Some of the most common travel style mistakes can seem innocent, but the consequences could be anything from overweight luggage to not looking and feeling as good as you'd like to having all the wrong stuff and even committing a full on cultural faux pas. In this video, I will show you six of the worst style mistakes in travel fashion, followed by seven of my best travel style ideas. Although, of course, my anecdotes are female centric. These are universal tips for both women and men and you can apply them to your own personal sense of style. Let's do this. Outfit planning for travel is about so much more than throwing some stuff in a bag. How you dress while you travel can boost your confidence and positively impact your experiences. The flip side is also true. If you've got all the wrong stuff, either in terms of style or comfort or what the destination requires, it's not, well, it doesn't end well. Trust me. I will get more into this in a minute. Let's start by digging into the top six style mistakes to avoid so you can put together the best travel wardrobe for your needs. Mistake number one, just in case has no place. When you're putting together your packing list for each item on the list, literally say out loud what you plan to use it for. If there's even a hint of, Oh, I might need it just in case in there, get rid of it, cross it off. You don't need it. Just in case items will literally weigh you down. Most of the time you won't need those things. And if you do, you can probably find some kind of alternative at your destination. Mistake number two is neglecting your personal style. The worst thing you can do is go out and buy an entire travel wardrobe because you think it's what you should wear on a trip. If it's not inherently you, you'll hate it. And this will affect how you feel on your trip. And I'm not going to say that it could ruin your trip, but when I started traveling full time, I knew that quick dry stuff was a good idea, but it didn't occur to me that regular clothes could also dry quickly if it was the right material. Instead, I got all these ill fitting polyester shirts and these itchy convertible pants. And I hated all of it at my destinations. All I saw was clothing that looks so much nicer than what I had. But since my luggage was full of all this travel clothing that I didn't like, I didn't have space for anything new. I actually started to become a bit antisocial partly because I didn't feel good in the clothes that I had. When I eventually realized what I'd done, I started strategically replacing the worst offenders in my travel capsule wardrobe with pieces that I found along the way that were more my style. Mistake number three is making footwear an afterthought. Shoes can not only make or break an outfit, and trust me, you can tell a lot about a person by the shoes they wear, but they can also make or break your trip. Shoes take up a lot of space and weight in your luggage. So it's important to limit the number of shoes that you bring. Two, maybe three pairs of shoes is enough. This means everything in your luggage basically needs to match your shoes. People often choose their clothes first and then pick their shoes. But in some cases I'd suggest that the exact opposite is better. Your shoes have to tick a lot of boxes when you travel. They need to be comfortable for walking since most trips involve more walking than perhaps you even do at home. You may also be facing different types of terrain from sidewalks to grass, to gravel, to trails, to cobblestones and more. And they have to be versatile to go with multiple styles and colors of outfits. For my current three month carry on only trip through Europe, I brought two pairs of shoes. The ones that I wear most of the time when I'm not exercising or hiking are these because they're in a neutral color, so they match almost everything. And they're amazing for walking on all kinds of surfaces. They can be worn casually, but they can also seriously level up an outfit. They also perfectly match this tunic, which is my go-to layer for all of my outfits if I need a bit more warmth. Between how well these match, I feel incredibly well put together in all of my travel outfits. This was by design because in Europe people tend to dress a little bit nicer than in other parts of the world. I created a whole episode about packing for a European trip if you want more tips for that. When I packed for this trip, my choice of shoes were one of the very first decisions that I made. All of my other clothing choices like this shirt were predicated on matching the shoes. I have more to say on the topic of shoes, but we'll get to that in a bit. Mistake number four is forgetting about hats. I come and go with my love or lack thereof of hats, but they can do two things really well. They can protect you from the sun and they can make or break your outfit. Similar to shoes, your hat says a lot about you. Once again, make sure you choose a hat that matches most if not all of your outfits. Bonus points if the hat is packable and versatile in a variety of situations. I got this super lightweight packable hat at a craft market in Peru and it has served me really well. It's cute. It serves the function of keeping the sun off my face and it has a story and a nice memory attached to it and it's neutral enough to go with most of my outfits. Although I tend to only wear it when hiking. Mistake number five is wearing flashy jackets. If you're buying travel clothing staple items like rain jackets or jackets that you use as layers for warmth work best if they're not too bold or flashy. This means that trip after trip, regardless of the specific color palette you're going to go with overall, these staple jackets will match whatever you have. Dark and neutral colors tend to work best. Now, I'm a sucker for a bright color, but too many times I've chosen the wrong color and ended up looking mismatched when I needed to wear the bright jacket over a specific piece of clothing that I needed for that trip or that occasion. For my latest rain jacket, I chose this neutral shade of green and it served me pretty well. I could even have gone with something a little more neutral, like a beige or black, but like I said, I'm a sucker for colors. It's a weak point. Mistake number six is bringing clothes with too many patterns or logos. If you're going to bring something that has patterns or logos on them, then make sure it matches everything else in your wardrobe. Also, if you are a sucker for patterns, limit them to either the top or the bottom part of your wardrobe. That way, all your pattern tops, for example, will match the solid color bottoms in your wardrobe. A busy top and bottom rarely if ever go together, which limits your travel outfit mix and match possibilities. Now, don't worry if I'm cramping your style. You can wear all the pretty colors you want by strategically accessorizing. This leads me to the first of my top eight travel style trips to elevate your travel wardrobe and also help you pack lighter and smarter. Tip number one, focus on accent pieces and accessories in order for your travel capsule wardrobe to be properly versatile. You will of course have to limit the total number of colors that you pack. And as I've already mentioned, staple items like jackets should be in neutral colors so they can be used on every trip and you would do well to limit items of clothing with patterns or logos. If you love colors and this all sounds a bit soul destroying, then your opportunity for personal expression lies in accent pieces and accessories. Things like scarves and costume jewelry can change the entire look of an outfit and you can add splashes of color with these things without taking up too much room in your luggage. I'm a big fan of scarves because depending on the design, they can be worn in different ways. I could wear it around my neck or as a belt or in my hair, et cetera. They can be practical for sun protection or warmth or even covering my shoulders and head in certain places where that's a cultural requirement. They're also generally easily packable and I enjoy shopping for scarves at my destination because they make great souvenirs. Jewelry works similarly. A fun piece of costume jewelry can elevate or accentuate an outfit and as long as it's not too chunky, it's fairly easy to pack and also to shop for at your destination and take home as a souvenir. Fellas, I'm sorry, I don't have quite the same solution for you since things like scarves and jewelry tend to be worn by women. Rest assured, this is the most female centric tip I have. From here on in, my tips are universal. Tip number two, research the weather and plan for extremes, but not too much. When planning for this trip that I'm currently on, I had a pretty good sense of what the weather would be in each of the three destinations I was visiting. However, I was warned in advance that my trip would start off with unseasonably cold weather at my first destination. In reality, that quickly passed and progressed to unreasonably hot weather for the rest of my trip. I didn't know how long it would be cold though, so because I was afraid that I didn't have enough warm clothing, I brought an extra layer that I only needed for like two days. I could have gotten away with just using the scarf that I had anyway, plus the long sleeve layers that I had. Once again, I was reminded of a prime travel lesson that less is more. And if I didn't have enough clothing, I could have bought or even borrowed an extra layer along the way rather than dragging too much clothing with me right from the start and not needing it for most of my trip. Tip number three along the lines of research is to research your destination and activities where you're going and what you plan to do are the biggest determining factors of your travel style for that trip. For example, the leather shoes on cobblestones, not a great idea. If you're visiting an old European town, bring flats or wedges instead. Also, what are the cultural dress code requirements of a destination? In some places women may need to cover their shoulders or heads. Although tourists may not always be held to all the same dress code requirements as locals, it's still a sign of respect to adhere to them. And also it's a safety thing to not stand out as an unknowledgeable foreigner. I discussed this in my episode about outsmarting pickpockets. In other cases, a dress code is 100% necessary. For example, in order to visit some temples or religious sites in certain parts of Asia, women and men may need to wear full length pants or skirts rather than shorts or skirts above the knee. Also in some parts of Southeast Asia, it's common to have to remove your shoes to enter anywhere, including stores. So if you research this in advance, you can pack shoes that are easy to slip on and off. Tip number four, dress in layers. I've mentioned this before, but along the theme of outfit planning for travel, it's worth repeating. A tank top, t-shirt, long sleeve button up, jacket and scarf can be worn each individually and also together in different combinations depending on the scenario. This gives you way more outfit possibilities as well as the ability to adapt to various climates and circumstances. This leads me to tip number five, which is to limit bold colors. In general, I suggest making your travel wardrobe a maximum of about three colors overall so that everything matches and looks well put together. However, I learned for myself on this particular trip that making one of those colors, a bold color can be a little fatiguing. On this trip, I chose two dresses in similar bold pink, red colors, and frankly, it's overwhelming. Even though they're different dresses, something about the color makes me feel like I'm wearing the same dress all the time. And with a limited travel wardrobe to begin with, over a three month period, it means I'm getting a little bored with my options. In retrospect, I would rather have chosen two more contrasting colors for these dresses, but still colors that would match all of my accessories, shoes and extra layers that I'm bringing. For example, as much as I adore this red color for the Sofia Midi dress, this blue color might've been a better choice since my Cora shift dress is already similar to this one. Tip number six is to bring something comfy. On my last trip, I didn't have anything that I could just lounge around in and I regretted it, especially if you're traveling long term or full time as a lifestyle, there are going to be times when you're just going to want to hang out inside and maybe curl up on the couch and watch Netflix. Wouldn't it be nice to be in something comfy when you do that? Ideally your lounge wear can also be multifunctional. For example, maybe they're your PJs, but they're also nice enough to run to the store if you had to, or at least to greet a food delivery driver. Tip number seven is to do the wrinkle test on anything you're considering packing. I actually do the wrinkle test in stores before I buy clothes. It's super simple. I grab a handful of the clothing in my fist. I hold it there for a few seconds and then I let it go. If there are wrinkles, I don't pack it. I want to know that when I unpack my clothes after they've been crammed into my luggage for up to a few days while in transit, that I can pull out any outfit and wear it pretty much right away. I never know if there's going to be a proper iron or ironing board at my accommodation. And quite frankly, I don't have the time or patience for a travel wardrobe that requires that kind of maintenance. Now, I will admit that I did break my rule with this shirt, which is not wrinkle free. This is a merino wool shirt that has a small amount of linen in the fabric. And because of that, it behaves and looks more like linen than wool. But I loved the look of it and I was curious to try it out. So here we are. So in order to accommodate this wrinkle prone material, I have to be very careful about how I pack it. Luckily, if it's wrinkled beyond repair and there's no iron in sight, I can just wash it again, reshape it and allow it to air dry. And it comes out looking pretty good. Tip number eight is to choose quick dry clothes. This does not mean that you need to buy super lightweight polyester athletic clothing. If that's not your style, it's just a matter of making sure that the clothes you do bring can be relatively easily hand washed and will air dry overnight. Even if you're not planning on doing hand laundry, many parts of the world do not have clothes dryers. So the faster it air dries, the better. Jeans are of course the worst offenders when it comes to clothes that don't air dry gracefully or quickly. But I want to give a shout out to Aviator, which makes travel friendly jeans that are still legit denim, but they dry 25% faster than regular jeans. I have a couple of pairs and I will say the Flystraight are hands down the comfiest jeans I have ever owned and they air dry overnight. I'll leave a link in the description if you're interested. What are your top travel style tips? Please share in the comments so we can all travel smart in style. I'm Nora Dunn, aka The Professional Hobo, and I'll catch you next time. Bye.