Posts Tagged travel fashion
Stylish Merino Wool Separates from Icebreaker
I’ve probably said before that I’m a slavish devotee to the wonders of merino wool for travel clothing. It makes great base layers, it lasts for a very long time, it’s laundry friendly, and it’s soft and gets softer over time. It makes for great base layers (I have a full kit of merino long underwear) and now, thanks to Icebreaker, it makes for great everyday wear, too.
Icebreaker’s new Zenith top has a really flattering, girly cut to it, but it’s not a fussy piece of clothing, not by a long shot. It’s made from Icebreakers 150 merino fabric; that’s their super lightweight material. You could absolutely wear it as a base layer, but you might not want to cover it up, it’s that cute. It’s a scoop neck, but a modest scoop, and the long sleeves have a bit of a flare at the end. It’s cut to be a little loose, so it’s really comfortable. This is great airplane wear for when you want to look sharp but want room to breathe. The top comes in two colors, black and a deep blue that Icebreaker calls “Cosmic.”
In a slightly heavier weight, Icebreaker’s 200 merino, there’s a cute companion, the Maya skirt. This is another super soft, well cut piece of clothing that feels great. A roll top waist means no buttons, zips, anything hard or scratchy, and you can do what you like with that — either fold it down or not, depending on how you want to put your outfit together. The fabric drapes beautifully and the cut is, again, flattering and stylish. There’s a nod towards practically — there’s a little inside pocket at the waist, just big enough for a girl to stow her driver’s license, handful of cash, and a key. The skirt comes in three colors, black, jasper (a sort of cherry color) and titanic, a purplish blue. This is another piece that’s got a great shape, an attractive fit. It’s also so comfortable that you can wear it through a long haul flight or a day in the city.
Icebreaker says you shouldn’t put these items in the dryer. I wash and dry everything just to test how it makes it through because when you’re traveling, you can’t tell what’s going to happen to your laundry. While I can’t advise you to do this because you may risk shrinking your fancy new merino separates down to childlike sizes, the pieces I tested held their size and shape.
Icebreaker has some pride in the source of their materials and to express that, they’ve got a “baa-code” on the tags in their clothing. I typed mine into the site and ended up learning that some of the wool for this shirt comes from Waitangi Station in New Zealand. This isn’t a critical marketing point for me, but it’s fun to check it out.
The clothing Icebreaker makes isn’t cheap, not by any stretch, but it’s high quality stuff that’s meant to last through hard wear. I like knowing that my clothes have many seasons — or continents — worth of wear in them. You can get the Zenith top or the Maya skirt from Amazon or directly from Icebreaker.
Posted by Pam in General Gear, Travel Light on June 17th, 2011
Serengeti Sunglasses with Polar PhD Lenses
Serengeti Cetera with polarized PhD lenses
When does one graduate from mall kiosk shades to performance sunglasses? If you’re there yet, check out this new line from Serengeti Eyewear.
When you’re a purist backpacker traveling on a shoestring, scoffing at anything requiring a sizable layout of cash is a necessary survival instinct. You laugh at the rich package tourists who spend more on a week’s hotels than you do for months of nights in guesthouses. You make fun of those “adventure travelers” outfitted in jackets that cost more than your backpack did. And why buy $100+ sunglasses when you can get a pair at the local mercado for three bucks?
When most eventually leave that phase and get a real job, however, the superior attitude fades a bit over time. Staying in a hostel doesn’t have the same appeal when you can easily afford better and you realize people treat you differently when you’re not dressed like a hobo. And wow—things really do look a lot different when you’re wearing good sunglasses!
I’ve been in both camps and still move back and forth between them as a travel writer, but I’ve definitely learned my lesson with the sunglasses as the decades have wore on. I’ve spent the past few weeks wearing one pair only—these Serengeti Cetera ones pictured at the top. Well, except for a few times I did some before and after tests with other shades to compare.
These are, hands down, the most comfortable and lightweight sunglasses I can ever remember wearing, and that’s no fluke. These special polarized PhD lenses “weigh 75% less than glass and 10% less than polycarbonate.” Yet they’re polarized too, so I could see clearly when we got a snow dumping last week and I went sledding and snowman building. I took a walk by a lake and noticed a significant reduction in glare from the water. On top of that they’re photochromic, so they get darker as conditions get brighter. Otherwise, they do what sunglasses should: cut down brightness and glare without changing the colors of what you are seeing. My eyes are protected and comfortable without seeing anything distorted.
Serengeti Maestrale
The tech specs on these lenses fill half a page of copy, but the real differentiators are that the polarizing is built into the back layer of the lenses, not the front, so there’s no risk of degradation from abrasion or other factors. You also get “anti-scratch hard coat, seven layer backside anti-reflective coating, and oleo phobic coating technology for oil and water resistance.” And they’re shatterproof under normal conditions.
All that is well and good, but if you’re going to pay a premium like this (list prices between $150 and $200, but sometimes under $100 at retail), the glasses had better make you look great too. While I’m a big fan of more competitively-priced shades we’ve reviewed here before from the likes of Julbo and Tifosi Optics, these make you think of Milan and Paris, not Boulder and Bariloche. The home page of Serengeti’s website features a winding mountain road on which you should picture yourself in an Italian sportscar, top down, someone beautiful and stylish beside you. We can’t all travel like that, but we can feel like it with their shades on our eyes.
If you want high performance but you want to look fabulous when you make your grand entrance, check out the new Serengeti line with Polar PhD lenses.
Search Serengeti products at SierraTradingPost.com
Posted by Tim L. in General Gear, Travel Light on February 4th, 2010
Warm and Stylish Nobis Hats
I did a post about Nobis hats back in June when I reviewed the Oliver Closeoff cap I still wear around at least a couple times a month.
Alas, Nobis is getting all serious on us and has dropped the puns from their names. Now it’s just Cassie instead of Cassie Roll, or just Colette instead of Colette Iday. Maybe Nordstrom didn’t like people pulling out each tag and snickering while their posh shoppers were trying to decide which $200 pair of sunglasses to buy.
Or perhaps they just wanted everyone to focus more on the product instead of the name, since these are some very cool hats. A Nobis representative was nice enough to send me two samples to try out from the fall line and since I haven’t suddenly become a woman, the prettier member of my household has been wearing them around for weeks. I’ve witnessed lots of compliments from friends and strangers, so it’s safe to say these hats will definitely get you noticed.
The first one pictured above is the Cassie, which is woven wool at the top, felt wool on the rim and brim, and with an acrylic liner inside. There’s a bit of elastic on the back. Cassie comes in two colors, chocolate and gunmetal.
This second photo is the Waverly hat (on the head of a model). This one is hip enough to wear with almost anything, but is again lined wool to keep your head nice and warm, but comfy. This one even traveled with us to Ecuador and back last month and was great for cool nights in Quito or on a boat out at sea. The elastic kept it snug in the wind. This one comes in black, gray, or olive.
It’s got a pretty applique on the side, but next to it you’ll notice my wife’s main gripe with these hats that she otherwise loved: that annoying yellow Nobis logo stuck on with a rivet. On a black or gray hat it sticks out like a cheap track suit at the Vogue offices and is impossible to remove without risking a big hole in your hat. So my wife did the next best thing and colored it over with a Sharpie. Now you can barely tell it’s there, but unfortunately it still is.
Otherwise, though I miss the silly names like Dee Tox, these are great hats (for both men and women) that boldly go beyond the norm. You can see the whole line of hats and outerwear at this Nobis Fall 09 link.
Most models retail between $30 and $70. Check the Nobis dealer locater page to find where to pick up one near you.
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Posted by Tim L. in General Gear on November 12th, 2009
