What to wear on a road trip
Last week our reduced family of three set off on an adventure.
It was an idea thought up over a couple of wines one Friday evening and then scaled back a little the following Friday.
Our original plan had been to drive all the way to Adelaide for the very RAD Unlock Your Style book launch. With Mr SY only having one week off work and further studying of Google Maps, we came to our senses.
We scaled back the driving part – driving to Canberra via the NSW Southern Highlands – and then flew from Canberra to Adelaide and return before heading home via the NSW Central Coast and Coffs Harbour.
The scaled-back version ended up being one of the most fun holidays weeks we’ve ever had. Yes, there was work involved with me along the way and in Adelaide but it was broken up by visiting fabulous friends, seeing new parts of Australia and sharing the time together.
We didn’t do more than six hours’ driving each day. I got to read two books (Gone Girl and Dress, Memory) in the stints where I was the passenger/navigator. And we both wondered why we’d never done it sooner.
(You can read more about part of the road trip in this post; check out my Instagram feed for places we stopped at along the way; and don’t miss Mrs Woog’s account of the afternoon I spent locked in her toilet; BigWords’ account of our stay in her caravan, Audrey; and BabyMac’s Tour Guide Barbie post from our time with her)
Now, I feel a bit of a fraud every time I do a “what to pack” post because, well, you know already that I’m an over-packer.
This isn’t the place to come if you’re looking for ways to travel for five weeks out of an overnight bag. For me, an overnight bag is called an overnight bag for a reason … it’s meant to contain all you need for overnight. Not longer.
Anyway, you can imagine the freedom that comes with a driving holiday in terms of space. No luggage weight restriction and plenty of room for options.
Did I take advantage of this freedom? You bet.
In my defence, I did need to pack more than just clothes for a road trip. I needed to pack clothes for the Adelaide event as well as the pieces I use in my styling demonstration. I also did the shoot for this post in the Southern Highlands as I thought it a more jacket-appropriate location, so I took all the clothes for that shoot with me as well.
This post won’t address all the extra-curricular garments that made their way into the car. It will look at what to wear on a road trip based on the clothes I mostly wore each day of the trip.
The outfits were about comfort while in the car – or on the plane – but also about including pieces that would pretty much work whether we were out for dinner or shopping for spending an afternoon in the sun at the local pub.
Motto pants and cardi | Sussan tee | Frankie4 Footwear slides
Bohemian Traders dress | Seed Heritage scarf | MYOMY bag | Frankie4 Footwear slides
Mela Purdie top | Metalicus tank | Mela Purdie pants | Zoe Kratzmann sandals
Mela Purdie pants | Blue Illusion top and hat | Frankie4 Footwear slides
Blue Illusion jacket | Bohemian Traders top | NYDJ jeans | Everyday Cashmere scarf | Frankie4 Footwear slides
Mela Purdie top over sass and bide tank | NYDJ jeans | Frankie4 Footwear slides
Blue Illusion jacket, pants and scarf | Sussan tee | Frankie4 Footwear slides
Mela Purdie top and pants | sass and bide tank | Frankie4 Footwear slides
Style tips
1. Wear clothes you’d happily sit in for hours at a time. I know this seems obvious but just like travelling on a long flight, you need to have clothes that are super comfortable. Think elasticated pants, leggings and relaxed dresses.
2. Wear flat, comfortable shoes. I like to slip my shoes off when I’m a passenger in a car so shoes that did that easily were a must. I also needed those same shoes to be safe and comfortable for driving so the Frankie4 Footwear slides I wore most days were ideal.
3. Opt for clothes that don’t crush. This is a good motto for your whole wardrobe but even more so when on the road and living out of a suitcase. I didn’t pack anything that couldn’t spend the week rolled up in my suitcase. This also meant that I never look crumpled after a day of driving. I packed a combination of Mela Purdie, Motto, Metlicus, Bohemian Traders and Blue Illusion.
4. Stick with a colour palette that easily mixes and matches. This gives you more bang for your buck in outfit department. For me it meant that the same pair of pants could be re-worked with different tops to extend the clothes choices I had on offer.
5. Be prepared with garments you can layer. The temperature ranges we experienced over the week ranged from single figures through high 20s. A jacket – leather or denim – and a light knit served me well.
Do you road trip regularly? What do you wear? Got any tips to share?
The post What to wear on a road trip appeared first on Styling You. Click through to continue the conversation. The most fun happens in the comments' section on the blog.
