Bleuflamme Custom Designed Dress Shirts
Bleuflamme Shirt Wizard
Shopping for tailored dress shirts requires time in your schedule to visit a retailer and get measured. Bleuflamme.com has the perfect solution for busy travelers. High-quality dress shirts can be designed from start to finish on the website and shipped directly to you negating the need to carve out time in your schedule to visit a tailor.
It begins on the company’s website, which is comprehensive with high resolution photos, 3-D designs, and customizable features. It can be hard to use if you have a slow Internet connection because of the high definition, but it is very user friendly. The best feature of the entire site are the videos that seem to answer your questions before you think of them.Videos show how to measure sleeves, chest, and neck size, for example. There is even a demo that walks people through the entire process of ordering a shirt online.
The Shirt Wizard features a 3-D design and simple drop-down menu that allows you to select the width of the collar, color of buttons, the addition of a pocket or monogram, and cuff style. Detailed photos of the hundreds of fabric options (updated seasonally) can be enlarged to get a better look at the material and design. The shirts are all produced with 100% Italian cotton.
As you are designing the shirt, the 3-D program changes the image based on your specifications allowing you to have a full look of the shirt being created. This feature is excellent because you can play around with a variety of combinations and get a peak at an unending number of shirt designs before picking your favorite.
Items ship within ten days, and adjustments can be made if the fit is not perfect. Bleuflamme guarantees that you will love the shirt, which is a great offer for people unsure about buying dress shirts online. The prices are highly competitive especially since these tailored shirts are made to order. It makes a great gift because of the personalized design allowing people to get the perfect shirt. Busy travelers can do their wardrobe shopping no matter where they are in the world and trust the high quality.
Posted by Ramsey in Business Gear on February 6th, 2012
Vivarati Designer Socks
Vivarati Sidebar designer socks
Dress socks can be plain and boring. As a frequent traveler, I am constantly having to remove my shoes at airport security. It’s time to spice up my feet with clever colors and designs!
Vivarati has a full line of colorful, designer socks produced with high quality and eye-catching style. The company’s motto is creating “socks for the modern man,” and these socks are both modern and hip. Vivarati believes that socks should represent boldness and confidence, and these socks certainly express personality.
They are produced with high-quality Turkish combed cotton fiber (meaning impurities have been removed from the material before use) and have a hand linked toe meaning there is no line at the bottom of the sock connecting the base to the toes giving it a snug, comfortable fit. Vivarati.com offers high resolution photos showing the vivid designs, which makes shopping for your favorite pairs a cinch. Free shipping is another benefit, and returns are happily accepted through the use of a prepaid return shipping label.
The socks are thick and comfortable with a padded base and reinforced heels. A problem I face is that my dress socks usually end up with holes because I am walking so much, but these high quality socks feel both durable and comfortable thanks to the combed cotton material. They breathe so that your feet do not become too hot, which is another thing that I find important. The material stretches for comfort and keeps them from sliding down your leg. These socks are neither too thin or too thick making them perfect for year-round use.
Designers have also given their insight on how to pair these colorful socks with various clothing styles and colors. These socks are one size fits all. My favorite design is the Rollover, which has a certain Mad Men vibe to it. The Sidebar pair is another playful combination of colors. The socks are delivered in a classy gift box wrapped in paper making an excellent impression.
Vivarati has turned a somewhat boring piece of clothing into a fun, vibrant personality statement that is sure to turn heads at work or airport security. Unfortunately, they’re hard to find at retail at this point (online or off), so you’ll need to order direct from their own site.
See more reviews of good travel socks here at Practical Travel Gear.
Posted by Ramsey in Business Gear, Travel Light on January 30th, 2012
Osprey Flap Jill Courier
It’s hard to find a bag that can carry both your laptop and camera, have room for other travel items, be easy to carry—and look good while doing it all. The Osprey FlapJill Courier is my new favorite bag that meets those criteria.
Constructed much like the standard messenger-style bag, the Flap Jill Courier adds details that are much more than standard. One of the best things is that it has three different pockets (aside from the main pouch) to organize your things, whether it’s a cell phone, notebook and pens, or just your lip balm.
If you’re carrying your electronics, you certainly want to keep them safe from the weather, and this bag has a draw-cord collar closure to protect your precious gear. The padded laptop sleeve further cushions your electronic pal (up to 15.4 inches), so you can continue to work or play without smacking it around.
The strap has a comfortable cushion so it doesn’t cut into your shoulder, but even when your shoulders get tired, you can use the waist strap to balance the weight. And speaking of straps, you get three different webbing colors to switch out, so the bag always feels like new.
The Osprey Flap Jill Courier lists for $79 on the eBags website. It’s also available on RockCreek.com and on Altrec.com at prices ranging from $54.30 to $78.95, depending on color.
(There’s a men’s version of this too, called the FlapJack Courier. Get it…?)
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Posted by Jill in Business Gear, General Gear on January 27th, 2012
eBags Packing Cubes Set
Packing for a long trip can be frustrating for a number of reasons. First, if you are traveling to destinations with different climates, it feels like you are double packing. Second, it is hard to keep things organized in your bag so that you can easily reach the things you need at each destination. It often seems that the thing you need most is always at the bottom of the bag and you end up wrinkling or shifting everything else to get to it.
These packing cubes from eBags are the perfect way to keep your luggage contents organized and your clothing neatly pressed and organized. It is also perfect for separating electronic devices and shoes from delicate clothes or for storing a sweater or charging cable that you might need to access in a jiffy on the plane.
Each durable, nylon pouch has a zippered top with mesh covers to keep the contents visible and well-ventilated. There is also a handle on each pouch making them easy to carry individually. A variety of colors are perfect for families who share a bag and want to color code their packing cubes. They are lightweight and add virtually no additional poundage to your suitcase.
The packing cubes keep clothing from wrinkling and moving around in your bag during transit. They are sold in sets with small, medium, and large cases making them great for both smaller, carryon bags or larger suitcases.
If packing for more than one person in the same bag, these cubes also help to separate things without splitting the bag into two sides. This allows for the most efficient use of space in your suitcase. It also serves a dual purpose because they can be used for laundry to keep your dirty clothes separated from clean clothes.
These make a great gift for busy travelers and are available on the eBags website or on Amazon. They run from $20 to $28 for a set of three, depending on size. They are always in my suitcase now making me feel more organized and keeping my clothes looking spiffy no matter how long my trip.
Posted by Ramsey in Business Gear, General Gear, Kids and Family on January 23rd, 2012
Eagle Creek Swift 22 Carry-on Suitcase
The Swift 22-inch rolling bag is another winner from Eagle Creek—if you prefer an open compartment over multiple pockets.
With most airlines sticking it to you for checking a bag on domestic flights, but only one in the U.S. charging you for a carry-on, most frequent fliers have gravitated to a 22-inch bag. These generally fit into the overhead bin okay and if you’re just moving around airports and hotels, you’ve got wheels to make it easy. If you pack well, you can get by for four or five days with one this size, or longer if you do some laundry. This Swift one from Eagle Creek has a capacity of 45 liters or 2,750 cubic inches.
There’s nothing fancy about the organization of this bag. Apart from a mesh section on the flap, it’s just one big compartment inside. This is because it’s meant to be used with Eagle Creek’s Pack-it cube system. (Watch for a detailed review of those cubes next week.) There’s a little diagram in the instructions tag telling you the most efficient way to pack using these. As I’ve posted before, I’ve got mixed feelings about packing cubes, so most of the time I don’t use them; I can stuff more into my bag without them. If you’re going to be moving from hotel to hotel though, they can help you keep organized. Here’s a quick rule of thumb: if your favorite retail outlet is The Container Store, you’ll love packing cubes. If you have a messy jumbled sock drawer, maybe not.
A set of compression straps will keep everything in place inside, then on the outside you’ve got one large pocket running the length of the bag and one small zippered pocket. This suitcase weighs in at 5 pounds 11 ounces (3kg), despite having a good handle system, heavy-duty large wheels, and rugged material with trademarked names like Stratus, Helix, Cordura, and “900D Bi-Tech.” It’s not advertised as waterproof, but the material did repel water in a drizzle and all the zippers are either covered or sealed.
There are two cushioned handles, which always makes me happy: one on the top and one on the side. One odd omission though: there’s no built-in luggage tag holder. It’s been a while since I saw a quality suitcase without one of those.
Overall this bag performed admirably on my trips, with smooth rolling action, a good handle mechanism, and a surface that can easily be wiped clean. As with all Eagle Creek luggage, it comes with a “no matter what” lifetime warranty—not something you see very often with wheeled suitcases.
This bag only comes in a black/gray combo but it’s different enough looking from the other sea of black bags that you can easily pick it out on the airport carousel. You can’t easily see it in this photo, but the surface has an attractive subtle striped pattern. It lists for $200, but goes for $130 or less at most online retailers. That’s a good value for something that will last a lifetime.
Find the Eagle Creek Swift 22 at Sierra Trading Post or buy the Swift 22 at Campmor.
See more Eagle Creek travel gear reviews
Posted by Tim L. in Business Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on January 18th, 2012
