what i wore: tips for a tropical trip
I just landed in the snow at Dulles Airport after leaving Siem Riep, Cambodia, where it was sunny at 97 degrees. It was the last stop on a two-week Southeast Asia trip that saw me and a close girlfriend hopping around Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia in both steamy heat and sunny cool (who knew Laos was so green and chilly this time of year?).
Dressing (and packing for) a mostly-warm-temps getaway like this requires a bit of prep; here’s what I packed for a tropical getaway, plus some easy suggestions for ways to find similar items in Alexandria shops. Now if I only I could use good fashion to conquer this jetlag!
Chunky-soled shoes
Flip flops are swell for the beach, but for trawling through busy, sometimes-dusty craft and food markets or Cambodian temples (good morning, Angkor Wat!), you’ll need a sandal or a sneaker with a little bit of sole. They’ll stand up to uneven surfaces and lots of climbing temple steps. I always pack a slip-on, Vans-type skate shoe (you can wear them with pants, skirts or even a casual dress); lug-soled sandals can also work well to snazz up a fancier outfit. Here are a couple of pairs I brought on our bungalow porch in Siem Riep, Cambodia. (FYI, you don’t wear shoes inside the house in Buddhist countries.) You can find many slip-on sneaker options, like these on the right above, at The Shoe Hive.
Floaty tunics and tops
Baby, it’s hot in the tropics, be that Bangkok or Belize. I often take a cue from traditional dress in warmer climes—Indian tunics, breezy dresses that feel straight out of a Hawaiian lanai. Natural fabrics that breathe (cotton, linen) keep you cool, and there’s often so much humidity in these places that the whole ironing thing doesn’t matter. You’ll both feel comfortable and like a fashionable citizen of the world. Here I am in a cotton tunic in Luang Prabang, Laos; I picked the tunic up in Thailand, but Kiskadee has many similar options, shown above. The nice thing about a good tunic is it can go casual (like I’m wearing it here, with a pair of dressy jogger pants), poolside (just plop it over your bikini) or special-night-out-ready with fancy pants and a bunch of jewelry.
Neck Candy
Bringing a lot of shoes on a long trip (particularly one like this, where we knew we’d be stuffing our luggage with shopping booty) doesn’t actually give you that many more outfit options on holiday. What does? Something I’m terming neck candy—colorful, lightweight scarves and long necklaces. The scarves double as shoulder covering both at religious sites (Buddhist temples have similar modesty rules to Catholic churches, aka, don’t show a lot of skin) and at overly AC-ed restaurants. Long necklaces lengthen your whole look and take up very little space in your luggage. Here I am at a wine bar in Chiang Mai, Thailand in a scarf I picked up earlier that day at the market; look to Coco Blanca for other options. For necklaces, The Shoe Hive is a go-to for pieces like Tara Montgomery’s slate and wood pieces and Heather Benjamin’s dreamy, tribal-style pendants, picture above.
Melt-proof Make-Up (and a high SPF)
On vacay, I’m a low-maintenance girl—just a little B.B. cream (I love Smashbox Camera Ready, which I score at Bellacara), blotting papers and lip balm. And the souvenir stands selling straw hats outside nearly every temple in Southeast Asia have a point—SPF-ing up here, and wearing a big hat, is a must.
Take Fashion Trophies!
There’s a huge craft and design scene in SE Asia, so I knew I’d be scoring accessories and gifts along the way. That’s why I a) try to keep my luggage at least half empty on trips like this and b) don’t pack as many bags and jewelry pieces as usual. I knew that textiles and metalwork where a big thing in Thailand, where we spent the first week of our trip, so it was no surprise that by this night out in Cambodia, I was rocking a long Buddha amulet necklace from a Chiang Mai temple and a Hill Tribe bag and ring I snagged at a market. Oh, and those white things on my arm are Buddhist blessing bracelets, aka white strings tied on by Lao village elders.
You can also pick up exotic, worldly-wise items locally, but part of the fun of travel is bringing back a few pieces (and a few stories) that you can wear on your sleeve, er, back.
