Side Trips / Black Packers

Despite all the Technicolor, high-tech gadgets around, travelers still want something classic. In fact, something black. There’s no more stylish, dirt-hiding, go-with-everything color for travel than no color at all.

Cool Aid

Freeze it and this small gel pack is good for up to 24 hours, keeping such things as lipstick, candy bars, medication or vitamins from meltdown. “It’s Cool Inside” is available in two sizes (blue and purple, too). $15 and $20, at Going in Style, Century City.

Warming Trend

Classic of classics: the little black dress in a travel-friendly wrap style, made of superfine knit wool for fall/winter. By day, add gray cable knit tights and sneakers; for evening, black sheer stockings and velvet pumps. $755, at TSE, South Coast Plaza Shopping Center, Costa Mesa and Saks Fifth Avenue, Beverly Hills.

Get a Grip

Antique silver-plated knife handles give the boring fold-up umbrella a touch of class. The handles are available in silverware patterns from Victorian to Art Deco. About $55, at Fred Segal Melrose, Los Angeles and Our Favorite Things, Tarzana.

Pushes Its Weight

A multi-position handle lets you push (as well as pull) this four-roller luggage-on-wheels like a baby stroller. Removable, adjustable shelves separate bulky items from clothes. “EZ CART” (also available in seascape green) comes in two sizes. About $315 and about $360 at Macy’s stores and H. Savinar Luggage Co., Los Angeles.

Photo Op

In a field of ever-shrinking cameras, Canon’s latest is no larger than a deck of cards. And the “Elph” takes photos in 4x6, 4x7 or panoramic print sizes, all on the same roll of special film. $349, at Samy’s Camera, Los Angeles.

Good Timing

Say you’re in Hong Kong and he’s in Los Angeles. Will your call wake him up or say nighty-night? A “relative time dial” on the battery-operated “World Travel Alarm” (two inches in diameter) makes the calculation for you. $95, at Fred Segal Melrose, Los Angeles.

In Glorious Black & White

Most coffee table travel books are rainbow bright. Chris Rainier uses black-and-white photography to stunning effect to capture the art and lives of New Guinea’s indigenous people in “Where Masks Still Dance: New Guinea,” Little, Brown and Company. $60, available at Rizzoli and Crown Books.

Produced by Barbara Thornburg