I love to travel, and now that my kids have grown up and enjoy doing their own thing (although they wouldn’t say no to ten days in Whistler or a couple of weeks in the Maldives, you understand, let’s not be really silly here) I travel as much as possible for work and for fun.
Long haul is what I do more than anything else, but frankly it doesn’t make that much difference; at some stage you have to decide whether you’re one of those people who wants to travel just for comfort and doesn’t care what they look like when they’ve queued for immigration, hauled their bag off the carousel and wheeled it out into the arrivals hall, or whether they do. And I do. Because usually I’m going somewhere as soon as I arrive, which makes the actual ‘travelling’ bit something of an art.
Travelling is tiring at the best of times, but it is possible to arrive looking, if not your best, then something close to it. Forgive me if you’re travelling with young children, having travelled back and forth across the Atlantic with three tinies more times than I care to remember the only thing I can say is it gets easier, and seat-back tvs make such a difference in comparison with those days when they had to amuse themselves colouring, reading books, fighting, arguing (loudly) and throwing food about in boredom.
So what to wear? - Travel in flats but pack a favourite pair of heels in your carry-on bag. Jersey is my fabric of choice to travel in and arrive looking smart, layered under something warm and preferably cashmere which can easily be slipped away while waiting for the bags to arrive. Both the dresses below are jersey and machine washable. One is casual, the other fitted and smart. Your choice.
You need a good carry-on bag to make life easy, and this is a perfect example - it’s very light, has a front pocket for a laptop (for easy extraction at airport security or to use in flight) an excellent amount of space and it expands to cope with any last minute shopping. Not that that’s me, of course……. Pack your favourite travel pillow, book, the latest edition of Vogue, noise cancelling headphones, soft wool travel wrap in here in a laundry bag or something similar so you can get them out easily before you heave it into the locker above your seat. No arm strain through the airport and you’ll have everything you need close at hand.
Incidentally the throw I’ve shown here is pure lambswool and incredibly soft. Cashmere is always wonderful to snuggle in but if you want something less expensive this is definitely the business. The headphones below are reasonably priced, fold, and come in their own little pouch. Perfect.
Avoid alcohol when flying if you can. Sounds boring? Maybe, but it makes a huge difference to how you feel when you arrive. Anyway, drink as much water as you can during the flight and then bring out your beauty essentials just before landing. The Trish McEvoy makeup planner, the best by far, is still not available online in the UK but you can call up Selfridges or better still go there and get yours customised for you (I sneak in other favourite products as well) it’s just a perfect handbag size and holds absolutely everything. You can also order online from Trish McEvoy in the US.
Unpack your inflight essentials such as travel toothbrush, toothpaste, eyeshade and lip balm into this pretty Cath Kidston cosmetic purse. This all assuming of course, that, like me, you’re travelling coach………..
All I can say now, really, is have a good flight. Is it time for me to check in yet? No, not quite, that’ll be tomorrow……..
Don’t forget to sign up for our competition to win a pair of designer jeans from Donna Ida. The competition will end on May 15th at midnight.
