In the Travel-Fashion Dog Show, It’s About Staying at the Front of the Pack

My mother used to go to Europe with clothes from the back of her closet and the bottom drawer, outmoded pantsuits, dresses and tops--items that were nearly ready for Goodwill. Then she would leave them behind, freeing up space in her suitcase for souvenirs. It was a practical way to travel, but I’m not sure I would have wanted to have my picture taken with her.

That was 30 years ago, when she might have been hard pressed to find stylish travel clothes and gear even if she’d wanted to.

“Life’s a dog show. It’s all about looking good,” says my friend Mariana Field Hoppin, who travels widely and owns a New York public relations firm. My mom may chide me for it, but I think Hoppin is right. You simply get better treatment from maitre d’s and hotel receptionists when you look a little stylish.

Annette Zientek, president of Christine Columbus Inc., an Internet travel retailer for women based in Oregon, says that in the past, women who traveled had three choices in clothing styles: safari, masculine and going-on-a-cruise, complete with anchors and epaulets. “Things started to change about four years ago,” Zientek says, “as women demanded travel apparel and accessories that are both functional and fashionable.”

This fall, Zientek is putting two new cool travel items in her Christine Columbus catalog to help women travelers look stylish: a hooded, reversible tissue-weight rain jacket, metallic bronze on one side, leopard-spotted on the other, in the full style of a monk’s robe ($225), and black, watermelon or purple reading glasses (in vision corrections of +1.5, +2.0 and +2.5) that fold into a usable pen ($59.95).

Susan Goldsmith, apparel buyer for Magellan’s Travelers’ Catalog in Santa Barbara, says designs for women travelers have become more attractive, thanks to synthetic microfibers, which make fabrics that feel like silk but endure like polyester. One of the travel gear supplier’s top sellers for women is a microfiber pantsuit ($189) that looks attractive and unrumpled even after being slept in.

These days you can also get a matching set of Bucky U-shaped neck pillows, backrests and eyeshades in cow, ocelot or zebra designs for about $100. “I felt faux fur was in keeping with the trendy, quirky spirit of the company,” says Lee Robinson, designer and co-founder of Seattle-based Bucky Products Inc., which pioneered the use of moldable but firm buckwheat-and millet-hull-filled pillows for travel and home.

For the private-jet set, there’s luggage from Mulholland Brothers, makers of traditionally styled handcrafted leather goods in San Francisco. Particularly popular among women travelers are the hat/shoe and cosmetics cases, custom made in alligator, leather or leather-fabric combinations ($600 to $6,000).

Hoppin’s advice for looking good on the road: “Avoid obvious travel clothes, especially things that go around your waist, like money belts.” Generally she manages with Gucci loafers and polished cotton Faconnable shirts from Nordstrom. She and a friend are planning a drive from Italy to southern France later this month. In inclement weather, her friend will don a $169 reversible raincoat, while Hoppin will stave off the elements in a tres chic purple knee-length rain jacket she found for about the same amount in a shop around the corner from her apartment.

We once went shopping together at Flight 001, a small and entirely cool travel store in New York’s West Village where the register is hidden behind a replica of an airline ticket counter. Owners John Sencion and Brad John, who became acquainted while working in the menswear industry, opened the store 2 1/2 years ago to try to restore the luxury and sophistication of the golden age of travel. On Nov. 1 they’re launching a second Flight 001 in San Francisco.

Among their items most popular with women are matching sets of lizard skin passport covers ($25), ticket wallets ($60) and luggage tags ($10) in pink, red, blue, yellow, green and orange. The store also carries two-tone nylon bags designed by Herve Chapelier ($50 to $95) and hip, Italian-made Mandarina Duck luggage (in a variety of styles and prices).

With choices like these, there’s no longer any excuse for being a traveling fashion disaster.

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Christine Columbus Inc., P.O. Box 2168, Lake Oswego, OR 97035; telephone (800) 280-4775, fax (800) 803-5383, Internet https://www.christinecolumbus.com.

Flight 001, 96 Greenwich Ave., New York, NY 10011; tel. (212) 691-1001, fax (212) 691-8660, https://www.flight001.com.

Magellan’s, 110 W. Sola St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101; tel. (800) 962-4943, fax (800) 962-4940, https://www.magellans.com.

Mulholland Brothers, 190 Napoleon St., San Francisco, CA 94124; tel. (877) 685-4655, https://www.mulhollandbrothers.com.

Bucky products are widely available at travel-gear stores; in the L.A. area, these include El Portal, REI and Magellan’s. Contact the company at 1200 W. Nickerson, Seattle, WA 98119; tel. (800) 692-8259, fax (206) 545-0729, https://www.bucky.com.