More Travel Tips-What To Wear

If I told you I'm walking all over New York City today where it's in the high 80s while wearing a wool dress, you'd probably think I was crazy. In fact, I'm being the savvy traverler. A company that I adore, Icebreaker, just sent me two merino wool items to test out. One is a tank top and the other is a dress, both in black, of course, because in New York we seem to gravitate to that color palette.

I only recommend products that I'm particularly found of and I bought their hoodie ages ago and can't live without it, whether I'm in Madrid or in Iceland. It always provides a warm, comfortable layer and looks good at night, too, when paired with a skirt or jeans. In fact, I've blogged about this hoodie before in a travel tip post of mine.)


Most people associate wool with a scratchy factor and with being bulky and overly hot. And who would think of wearing such a fabric during a sweltering New York City summer? In fact, Icebreaker manufactures different merino wool fabric weights and the ones that make up these two items are some of the thinnest. But no Icebreaker product is every scratchy or uncomfortable. In fact, it's so comfortable, you may not want to take it off.

But why wear wool when it's warm? For one thing, these specific products keep you cool when it's warm out by wicking away sweat and body heat. So none of that sticky feeling you get when wearing cotton or some synthetics after racing around the city all day while carrying a heavy backpack, which I often do. In addition, I'm also running in and out of highly air conditioned venues and a/c makes me shiver, but not when I'm wearing Icebreaker.

Yesterday I wore the Retreat Tank Emu which has a lovely floral-type pattern. It's their lightest weight fabric. And it kept me cool during one of our hottest and most humid days we've had so far. Plus, it looked great for a networking event I had at night where I paired it with black capri pants and black sandals. Some of my friends felt the fabric and thought it was silk, that's how thin and luxurious it feels.

Today it's another hot day, though not as humid, and I'm wearing the Villa dress which is just a wee bit thicker than the Tank's fabric. I've been comfortable all day while I walked a total of three miles in the heat all over the city as I went from meeting to meeting. I'm also carrying my Icebreakder hoodie to put over the dress in case it gets a little cooler at night. But aside from all this cool functionality, the dress fits well, looks sophisticated, perfect for the boardroom or the bar.

And aside from all these fab features, these two items pack small and don't wrinkle. And that's important because, as many of you know, I never check luggage when I travel.

I'll be traveling to Florida soon and I'll be taking my two new favorite Icebreaker items with me, even though I'm told that the temperatures are rising above 95!

Travel Tips