Friday, June 25, 2010

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!

25 comments:

sarah henry said...

Love the chic look of this top, and as an Aussie I know all about the wonders of merino wool.

The name Retreat Tank Emu has me intrigued. Is this a Down Under company, per chance?

J The Travel Authority said...

Hi sarah, good observation on the name: the company has offices in both Australia and New Zealand.

Roxanne @ Champion of My Heart said...

It's finally starting to feel like summer here at 8,200 feet above sea level in the Rockies. It's hard for me to imagine wool working in heat, but you're the authority!

Christine at Origami Mommy said...

I'm a huge wool fan. I have used cloth diapers with all four children and used wool covers almost exclusively because they are breathable yet waterproof, even in summer, and have so many more excellent properties people don't know about. I'm definitely going to look into these items - thank you for the heads up!

Anonymous said...

Wow! This is great to know.

J The Travel Authority said...

Hi marthaandme, Yes, once I found Icebreaker, I was hooked.

J The Travel Authority said...

Hi Christine, great to meet another quality wool fan. I think you'll love the Icebreaker products. They perform very well.

J The Travel Authority said...

Hi Roxanne, It's definitely hard to convince people at first about wearing wool -- at least these merino wool products -- even when it's warm. But once they try it, they become believers.

Susan Johnston Taylor said...

What a neat product! I've never heard of this.

Kerry Dexter said...

I'm familiar with lightweight wool, but had not heard of Icebreaker. enjoyed looking through their site and reading about their philosophy and history.

Anna said...

I love Icebreaker,I live in the long sleeve and long johns in the winter and they are always in my backpack. Not itchy not hot and keep you warm if it is cold! Did not know they had a dress will have to check it out! Thanks for the info.

Melanie Haiken said...

After a period of adhering to the "no-buying" philosophy, this spring/sumer I've been completely seduced by all the hip new exercise and yoga-related fashions out there. LOVE Prana, feel like an addict in REI, and the Athleta catalog is my undoing....this will just be more fuel for the fire!

Frugal Kiwi said...

Icebreaker is a New Zealand company. If you ever travel to NZ, they have an outlet shop that you pass on the way to and from the International Airport. Very handy.

sheryl said...

Seems counterintuitive that wool would keep you cool...but now I believe it. Thanks for posting this!

Jennifer Margulis said...

Wool is so amazing. I've recently discovered how fantastic it is for diaper covers. I TOTALLY WANT to get some of these clothes!!

Stephanie Stiavetti said...

Interesting. Are they hand-wash only?

J The Travel Authority said...

Hi Stephanie, No, catually the clothes can be machine washed.

J The Travel Authority said...

Hi Jennifer, I didn't realize there were wool diaper covers. You're totally right: wool is amazing.

J The Travel Authority said...

HI Frugal Kiwi, I knew they were in NZ but didn't know about the convenient outlet store. Thanks for the heads up.

J The Travel Authority said...

Hi Melanie, I love Prana, too, so I know how you feel about getting seduced by some cool clothing lines.

J The Travel Authority said...

Hi AnnaMac, I was totally surprised to find out about their dresses and tank tops. Now I'm even more hooked than I was before.

J The Travel Authority said...

Hi kerry, thanks for your comments. I love that Icebreaker sells such a diversity of clothing. Some of these adventure wear companies don't sell items for the traveler who'd like a pretty but functional dress.

J The Travel Authority said...

Hi Susan, It's always fun for me to find out that a company I thought I knew (like Icebreaker) has clothes that I didn't know they carried.

Name Tags said...

I have never considered wearing wool in the heat, I guess it's not too bad of call. Thanks for your recommendation.

cheap canvas print said...

Really good tips, thanks a lot for sharing them with us.