I’d love to say that I have special travel clothes that are extremely practical with fifteen pockets each side and anti-theft safety measures, but the truth is I tend to wear what I’d normally wear at home overseas. My focus is on comfortable and stylish daywear, so that I can still look good without worrying about my clothes. Overall I probably dress a little more casually than I would at home, but I still like to look presentable. Traveling out of a backpack means that your travel wardrobe is fairly limited so you have to pack smart. My travel wardrobe is extremely practical while still being cute and feminine.
What to Wear Traveling Long Term?
Clothes in New Zealand are really expensive compared to other countries. I was shocked to see how cheap things were in California, let alone the prices in Asia. I tend to shop a lot online, looking for clothing that is easy to fold up into my backpack. When traveling in hotter climates I tend towards cotton because it’s easy to wash and stays comfortable throughout the day. I wear a lot of dresses because they’re an outfit all in one and take up very little space. Simply add leggings and you’ve got something more suited to colder climates.
On each trip I go on, I make sure that my travel wardrobe contains at least one really nice outfit that I can wear out to special dinners or for a night out drinking. I only travel with three pairs of shoes when I’m in Asia: a pair of flipflops (jandals), a pair of sneakers and a pair of heels. I rarely use the heels, but I love having them just-in-case something special crops up. Guys could easily get buy with just flipflops, and maybe a nicer pair of dress shoes if you want the option to go out.
Dressing to the Country
When I was in Morocco, I noticed there were numerous tourists who were wearing shortshorts and had bra straps poking out of the side of their thin, singlets. Morocco is a Muslim country and the locals dressed very modestly, with some women completely covered up so only their eyes were visible. It made me uncomfortable seeing other tourists with such a strong disregard for the local standards. I tried to cover from neck to toe, which was pretty challenging in the heat that often climbed past 40 degrees, but it was worth it so that I didn’t stand out.
My travel wardrobe always takes into consideration the local customs and what is appropriate where I am visiting; not just what I feel comfortable wearing.
Men are lucky; most places in the world that encourage modest dressing for women will be happy to see men donning shorts and a tshirt. It’s frustrating and can be quite weird when you are originally from a liberal country, but I always feel so much more comfortable dressing appropriately. I always carry with me a pashmina or other scarf so that I can wrap it around myself to cover up a little more when needed.
What do you wear when you’re traveling long term? Are there any clothing pieces you need to be a part of your travel wardrobe?
You always manage to dress cute when you travelling. I love the Morocco outfit.
I totally agree with you about dressing to be comfortable, fashionable and still fit in with the local culture, it looks like your doing it really well. I learnt this mistake myself the hard way in south east asia.
I noticed you’re wearing a large scarf in your image of your in Morocco, I always take one of these travelling with me as you can use them as a normal scarf, a cover up for shoulders, a skirt, a beach towel, folded up to make a pillow and a beach dress to name a few, so it pays for itself several times over.
Usually, i will pack a pair of walking shoes and sandals. Yet my hubby complained i pack too much.
I always pack a sundress for beach going, shopping and if paired with some acccesories, becomes a dress for nightout.
Agree on the pashmina scarf, they re great in keeping myself warm when i am taking budget flight (no blanket given). If going for island hopping, the bigger ones can act as as shift dress.
Yes!!! I use the pashmina for flights too as I’m always freezing. Although I’ve recently started wearing track pants on flights and SO COMFY and warm..