The travel clothing guide

47!

This is the number of train journeys I made in 2023, so almost one per week . Needless to say, I was able to have time to think about and optimize my clothes and my suitcase/backpack while on the move.

And it's a subject that I love: how to dress when on the move, far from home?

In this guide, I want to share with you my 15 years of travel and clothing experience.

But first of all, you need to determine whether you are leaving with a suitcase or a backpack, because this will determine the clothes you bring.

And when you choose one or the other, there is a somewhat unexpected question to ask yourself…

First and foremost, do you want to wear a dress coat and/or blazer on the go?

It is this question which will be decisive. In fact, coats and blazers often have an epaulet . This element allows you to have a nice shoulder that holds up, otherwise the piece would fall like a shirt.

Unfortunately, it is an element that can quickly become damaged by carrying a backpack, or worse yet, a shoulder bag . The shoulder pads of your coat will then become deformed little by little, completely ruining your silhouette.

So if you want to carry a formal coat with you when traveling, it's a must-have suitcase (and why not a small bag to carry in your hand to put a computer and a few small things for the trip).

But then what outerwear to wear with a backpack? Everything else ! The parka is king, but it can also be a jacket, a mac, an overshirt, a workwear jacket, there's no shortage of choices. If you like outdoor pieces, treat yourself too, they are often designed to be worn with backpacks.

Personally, with a backpack, I carried a lot:

• outerwear in Ventile fabric, a 100% cotton technical fabric
• workwear jackets, often very practical with their multiple pockets for traveling
• overshirts of all kinds

Many of our outerwears are “back pack friendly”, with a shoulder construction without epaulets:

Let's talk a little about the very extreme cases, but I know that this concerns some of you: if you wear the same outerwear almost every day , for months and months, or even years, with a relatively loaded backpack , there are bound to be areas where the fabric of your piece will show some areas with a little abrasion.

And obviously, this is a non-existent situation in the case of a suitcase! The suitcase is therefore an essential choice if you wear clothes with fabrics and/or materials that need to be treated delicately .

So if I have to summarize my usage:

• Weekend travel = backpack, especially if there is a lot of walking between stations and accommodation, no lockers available, etc.
• Weekend where I know I won't walk much with my suitcase (e.g. someone picks me up by car at the station) and where I want a different outfit every day = suitcase
• Trip of a week or more = suitcase + backpack
• Travel week where I frequently change accommodation = minimalist wardrobe + backpack

Be careful with delicate stitches with a backpack, friction can prematurely wear out the natural fibers and create holes.

For the record, this is what led Goruck, a famous brand of ultra-robust backpacks, to replace the fabric on the back panel. From an indestructible but terribly abrasive 1000 denier Cordura fabric for t-shirts and other knitwear, they moved to a 210 denier fabric, much softer for clothing.

Personally, I had a period where I took my suitcase a lot, but I gradually changed to only taking a backpack , perhaps because I started walking a lot more.

Which leads me to the following observations:

• We greatly underestimate the heat that a body can release when walking briskly with a backpack , so be careful not to cover up too much when leaving the train or your accommodation!
  If you live in France, wearing a good sweater, a warm parka and a backpack will be overkill in 99% of cases. You're going to be too hot, that's almost certain. In winter, when stationary, you should be “comfortably cold”, and you will be at a good temperature after a few minutes of walking.
• There is obviously a risk of sweating on the back for walks lasting more than ten minutes, and for this I only wear our merino t-shirts and any other wool piece (one of our sweaters too) for the anti-aging properties. smell on the days I travel.

And I love that feeling of freedom and flow when walking with a backpack rather than a suitcase. It's much simpler:

• to slalom between people,
• to take the stairs,
• to move through the corridors of a train,
• to run to catch a train about to leave,
• or simply hurry up and change sidewalks.

As for the backpack, if I take a capacity of 35 - 40 liters, I can easily push it to have enough to wear with variety for 3 - 4 days.

Beyond that, you will need to have access to a washing machine or agree to be redundant with your clothes, even more so if you take with you a second pair of shoes and/or sports clothing for a specific use (outdoor, gym …or sometimes all at once!).

25-30 liters seems to me the minimum for a 24-48 hour trip taking a computer. Below, you better travel very, very light!

To go further on the volume needed, read my article on choosing the size of a backpack .

I wrote it above: a suitcase allows you to carry elegant coats with you, but not only that. Due to its very angular shape and its rigidity, ironed clothes wrinkle less, and a possible second pair of shoes will be easier to store.

Typically, this is a great choice if you want to travel with several shirts and chinos in packing cubes .

Another argument of the suitcase: we can take heavier! For example, it is much more pleasant to carry your clothes + a generous toiletry bag + two glass bottles of kombucha + a pair of dress shoes with wooden shoe trees in a suitcase than in a backpack weighing more than ten kilos. And it's for those who like to comfortably wear a wardrobe and have a perfectly organized trip where you jump on public transport as soon as you leave the station, or if someone comes to pick you up.

On the other hand, if it is a trip where you will have to walk at least ten minutes (for example between the station and your accommodation), seriously think about a backpack .

As for me, I like to take a suitcase when my trip lasts more than 4 days.

These are bags that are carried by holding them by the handle or over the shoulder.

To be honest, it's a format that I haven't explored much yet, probably because I don't hesitate to walk 30 minutes to go to the station (just to do a minimum of physical activity neither seen nor known), and that I can't see myself carrying on one side, with one arm, a weekend bag weighing several kilos.

But the weekend bag still has some advantages:

• it's still super stylish compared to a suitcase or a backpack,
• they exist in all possible volumes
• it is easy to handle, especially if you already carry a backpack with you
• given its “soft” structure, it can easily be placed in a well-loaded car trunk
• and you can easily put objects of exotic dimensions that would not fit easily in a backpack

This is an absolutely perfect bag if you put your bag directly in the trunk of your vehicle when leaving home.

But we will have the opportunity to come back in more detail in a future article.

Now let's get down to business, with the 5 types of travel that I encounter most frequently.

Little or no sports issue here, on the other hand we like to treat ourselves with beautiful shirts and beautiful knitwear.

Basically, dress how you want !

As for shoes, if you are in the countryside, you will inevitably walk on gravel or old stone: so remember to have comfortable soles, like sneakers or a good big Vibram or Dainite sole.

And finally, it's my little vanity, I like to take a pair of shoes to wear indoors, so as not to dirty my friends' living room:

• a pair of slippers or slippers in winter,
• a pair of espadrille or flip-flops in summer.

I remember a wedding at the end of August 2023 where I had to bring a blazer and a tuxedo at that.

Fortunately, the journey was smooth, with taxis between important places, so there was no need to walk for miles.

So I took a small backpack (computer, book, chargers, etc.), a cabin suitcase, and a suit cover.

Today, there are bags specially designed for transporting costumes, but if traveling in a costume remains exceptional for you, any cover sold with your costume will do the trick.

You can try the option where you pack your suit in your suitcase, but only do it if:

• the trip does not last 12 hours,
• the wool of your suit creases little.

To fold it, you will find many tutorials on Youtube, but I admit to having a preference for the delicacy with which the Artling brand takes care of the jacket:

Unfortunately, hiking gear is rather bulky : you will have to carry a second pair of shoes, a mid layer, outerwear, another base layer, etc.

I mourned the fact of having a single bag where I can take:

• my computer,
• all my hiking gear,
• my “non-hiking” things, aka what I'm going to wear to my friends' house or restaurant (I don't want to go there dressed like a hiker)
• and all with a backpack big enough to carry everything but small enough for a day hike,

So now, I necessarily take a suitcase with all my clothes + a backpack for the train trip and which will also serve as a backpack for the day of hiking, like a Mystery Ranch, a Remote Equipment, a Kifaru or a Hill People gear.

It's a typical summer vacation!

Unless you opt for a “backpacking” type trip, I would still advise you to take a suitcase, so you can dress as you want, without being constrained by a backpack that is too small.

Indeed, the holidays are often an opportunity to treat yourself by wearing clothes that you don't necessarily wear the rest of the year, like colorful shirts, accessories, etc., it's a shame to have to deprive!

Personal anecdote: for a very long time I tried to fit two weeks' worth of clothes into a cabin suitcase (36 liters) but it was sometimes very painful. So I sometimes use a 61 liter suitcase (the H6 from the Horizn Studios brand), and it's still infinitely more practical, especially if you want to take two or three pairs of shoes.

This is the case where you want to be very light and go with a 25 liter backpack, no more! It’s a “high mobility”, intense trip, where you will walk a lot, take a multitude of transports, change accommodation and wander around everywhere.

The advantage is that your backpack will be light, and therefore less abrasive on your clothes.

There are no 36 solutions, and your salvation will come from two words: merino wool . The anti-odor and thermal properties will be very useful, and will allow you to wear the same merino wool t-shirt (or the same underwear) for three days without problem.

This is why our Newtim t-shirts are one of the BonneGueule pieces that I wear the most, especially when traveling.

As for pants, I favor pieces with a little bit of stretch , very practical for sitting for several hours on a train .

Here is a typical gear list for this type of weekend:

• pants, worn on you, and a second one as a back up,
• a merino t-shirt, worn on you, and a second as a back up,
• a fine wool sweater, worn on you, like our Asti sweater or the Trévise
• a shirt in the bag, if you want to push the coquetry
• a set of merino underwear and another as a backup (take an extra set if you are not comfortable leaving with so few spare underwear)
• a mid layer: our Bergamo jacket or our Milo wool overshirt are perfect candidates for this role,
• rather light outerwear, because you already have enough to be warm, to be adjusted according to the forecast weather.
• and your toiletries, your charging cables, etc.

And remember: don't underestimate the heat your body will produce when walking briskly with a backpack, so don't cover up too much!

Over the past ten years, we have seen a great emergence of brands specializing in technical Swiss army clothing, both adapted to urban life and travel with a lot of movement . We talk about techwear or urban techwear , and we have already written several times about these brands:

• File: How to dress in a TECHWEAR / OUTDOOR #1 style (pieces and brands)
• My introduction to techwear – Let’s Talk Clothes #41
• Our test and opinion: the Seagale “Action Merino” henley
• What size backpack to choose?
• Outdoor clothing without synthetic material?

They come mainly from the United States, because Americans are very demanding on comfort, more than on pure style. The result is sober clothing, but in many stretch fabrics and/or with merino for anti-odor properties.

Outlier and Mission Workshop are the two pioneering brands of this movement, with very high-end materials and American manufacturing, hence very high prices.

But let's also mention Western Rise (much more entry-level), Ministry of Supply, Aclhemy Equipement, Huckberry, Goruck, Prana, Wool & Prince. In France, it is Seagale ( with whom we have already collaborated! ) who is known for this technical clothing niche.

However, I find that the deliberately very sober design of this type of brand can sometimes leave me wanting more: they are often the most consensual colors, cuts, and shapes possible and the most versatile, because it is precisely what we expect from these clothes. No strong design to fit into as many outfits as possible .

And a polyester fabric, however stretchy and breathable it may be, will never have the beauty, drape, fluidity and light of a natural fiber fabric (whether cotton, wool or linen). a beautiful Italian supplier.

Let's be clear: I love technical clothing, and BonneGueule was one of the first French brands to release technical urban pants in Schoeller fabric almost ten years ago, but apart from occasions when I want going very light and having pants for everything (travel, urban outings, and outdoor activities), I increasingly like to have outfits with a style that goes further when traveling.

So my recommendation, for the most adventurous among you, is to test these pieces (especially the pants because they are a piece that makes the slightest movement horrible if it is not comfortable) but not to forget the interest of a beautiful textured Japanese fabric for example! In most cases, a simple chino with a little stretch (or a straight cut for more comfort) will be more than enough.

That's it for this travel clothing guide, don't hesitate if you have any questions in the comments, I'll be happy to answer them!