Posts Tagged women’s clothing
ExOfficio Insect Shield Halo Shirt Keeps the Mozzies Away
Mozzies? Well if you travel internationally in the tropics, you hear that word a lot—a slang term for mosquitoes—often accompanied by some kind of swear word. When you’re in a place with hungry mosquitoes it’s always annoying, but when those bugs carry malaria or dengue fever, you need an arsenal of weapons to stay healthy.
This Halo Check shirt with Insect Shield takes ExOfficio’s usual double-duty usefulness to a higher level, hitting all the right points for active travelers and keeping the bugs away as well. This fabric treatment is a no-brainer really once you get past the cost: there’s no odor, no harm to your skin, and no change to the feel of the fabric. Yet it holds up for 70 washings or so. I don’t know about you, but there are very few items of travel clothing I own that have been washed that many times.
The shirt itself has most of the attributes I love from ExOfficio . It’s lightweight nylon that doesn’t wrinkle, it dries quickly after a sink washing, it’s ventilated, and there’s a 30+ SPF sun protection. Provided you’re not in a place that’s super hot and humid, it’ll wick away the sweat. With the color I tried out—the khaki checked one—it doesn’t show sweaty areas too badly either.
As usual, there are lots of nice thoughtful extra features built in as well. It has snaps instead of buttons, which I really like. A mesh liner extends much of the way down the inside. There’s a 
fabric hook on the back for hanging it up and a flap and snap system to hold the sleeves up when you roll them up. (Rolled up during the day when the mosquitoes aren’t around, down at night to protect the arms.) Each breast pocket has a regular pocket and a handy zippered hidden pocket for stashing some cash or a credit card.
This is a great all-around, double-duty travel shirt that should keep looking good for years and keep the mosquitoes away for however long it takes you to wear it enough to need to wash it 70 times. It lists for $90, but prices will vary depending on who is selling it and what colors aren’t moving. As I wrote this, some colors were selling for around $50, so shop around.
There’s a version for women and a version for men, some in solid colors, others in checked patterns.
See more at the source, ExOfficio.com: Halo Check Shirt for Men and Halo Check Shirt for Women
Get the ExOfficio Halo shirt at Amazon.
ExOfficio Insect Shield Halo Check Shirt – Men’s or Women’s at REI.
Check prices at Magellan’s – Halo ExOfficio shirt
Posted by Tim in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on July 15th, 2010
Tangier Quick-dry, Sunblock Top from Columbia
I’ll be the first to admit that us guys are not all too picky about what our travel clothing looks like when we go on vacation or are backpacking around the world. The women in our lives don’t always agree though. So they’re less enthusiastic about rugged clothes meant for travel and often want to pack 20 pretty blouses for 10 days of travel.
This Tangier Travel Top from Columbia Sportswear got a major thumbs-up from my significant other though, thanks to its ability to effectively combine form with function. Think of it as a Lulu Lemon top at half the price: a list price of $45 and even less for close-out colors at Amazon. (Follow that link.)
What sold my personal trainer wife on this top was that it made her look great. The usual complaint about travel clothing is that it’s too baggy and is not flattering to a figure that stays in shape. This Tangier Travel Top is a different story, fitting snugly but with plenty of stretchy movement built in. It is drawn in at the waist and goes partway down the hips, accentuating the body shape.
It looks like something a trainer could be wearing to a gym, but is made to wear well on the road. It dries fast after a sink washing or a strenuous climb. It is made with Columbia’s Omni-shade technology, giving you an SPF factor of 50. (So you can ride a camel through the desert, but be more sensibly dressed than the Sex & the City bimbos.)
It’s all synthetic of course, but this travel top is soft, comfortable, and feels nice to the touch. No swishy-swishy as you sashay.
For some reason only the black color is available at the Columbia Sportswear site, but I’ve seen others at retail and you can find the whole spectrum at Amazon and at Backcountry.com
Related post: Fashion and Function for the “It Girl”
Posted by Tim in Adventure Gear, Travel Light on July 7th, 2010
Ex Officio Skirt from the Women’s Go-To Collection
Here’s a skirt that I know will make its way into my luggage for lots of future trips. It’s the black, women’s “Go-To” skirt by ExOfficio, a manufacturer that specializes in travel clothing (and a company that we love here at Practical Travel Gear). Here are just a few highlights:
Comfy, practical fabric: It’s made with Dri-Release jersey, a “microblend performance fabric,” that is not only super soft, but it also dries four times faster than cotton, it’s odor resistant, it wicks away moisture and it won’t shrink. Specifically, it’s 81% polyester, 14% cotton and 5% Spandex
Flattering style: The skirt has a drop-waist silhouette, which means it doesn’t hug your tummy at all; there’s a seam that sits below your hips. It’s falls below the knee (on my 5-foot, 9-inch frame).
Doesn’t weigh much: It’s lightweight and can be easily rolled down tight to fit into a carry-on bag.
Security pocket: The tagless skirt has just one small, hidden zippered pocket at the side of the waist — big enough to fit a set of keys, lipstick and ID with room to spare. (I wore the skirt for a night and didn’t even realize it was there! It’s that subtle.)
I think my only caveat in recommending this skirt is that it seems to run big. I have a medium, but I’m pretty sure I could fit into a small (and I rarely fit anything that says “small”). It gaps a little on my waist and slips down to my hips a bit. Still, I wore it on a trip to Wildcatter Ranch, a guest ranch just outside of Graham, Texas, last month — paired with cowboy boots (when in Rome!) and a patterned, sleeveless jersey top. That was for a dinner out at the ranch’s steakhouse; but I’d wear it with a cotton tank top and flip flops to the beach, or even a fancier top and pumps for a more formal affair. It’s definitely a versatile garment that travels well — it remained wrinkle free after being squished into my carry on bag during a day of travel.
Purchase the Go-To skirt in black or port (deep wine purple) for $60 at the Ex Officio website; other items from the Go-To collection that are made from the same Dri-Release material include a Go To short-sleeve T-shirt ($40) and a Sleeveless Dress ($65).
Related post: Ex Officio Savvy Skirt
Posted by Kara in Travel Light on May 7th, 2010
Heidi Hat / Heidi Bottom: Chic, Handmade Clothing & Accessories
When Heidi Wade was an Aspen ski instructor in the late 1990s, she didn’t love the sporty winter hats available at local stores. So she started stitching together clever patterns and unexpected fabrics to produce her own feminine yet functional headwear. About five years later, she turned her hat-making hobby into a business, and Heidi Hat was born.
Recently, Heidi evolved beyond winter in the mountains and expanded her line to include activewear to include stretchy, super-comfy yoga pants, capris, skirts and board shorts — awesome, versatile pieces that pack easily into a suitcase.
Heidi Hats & Other Accessories
Heidi’s signature hat is a pillbox shape, lined in fleece and typically enhanced with silk brocade, lace or whimsical tassels. I sampled one similar to the faux leopard fur pillbox pictured at right ($56), though mine is topped with French lace instead of the the black silk brocade and my bead is black. I love this hat and feel 0h-so-chic wearing it; but honestly, it doesn’t look near as cute on me as it does on the model pictured here. With my bigger-than-a-typical-woman’s head, the fold doesn’t come down on my forehead or over as much of my ears as I think it should.
Here’s the nifty thing: although these hats are “one size fits most,” each is hand-sewn and made to order, so if I were placing an order, I could ask for some extra fabric to give it some extra length. (The hat does look great on my 10-year-old daughter; but there’s no way I’m going to let her go to school with it.)
Other hat styles include form-fitted beanies and “novelty hats” that might feature sparkly fabric, pom-poms, fabric flowers or lace. Peruse the plentiful images on the hat section of the Heidi Hat website to see if something catches your eye, or you can create your hat from the dozens of material swatches. Neck gators, baby beanies and blankets, fleece nose covers (to attach to your goggles and prevent sunburn on the slopes), and gorgeous lace scarves lined in fleece and fringed with beads ($98) round out Heidi’s winter line.
Heidi Bottoms & Bandeau Tops
For the beach and the yoga studio, Heidi makes strapless bandeau tops, teeny tiny hot shorts (not for this particular 40-year-old body) as well as board shorts crafted out of great stretchy swimsuit material. I dig the slinky bandeau-waist capris and pants (offering plenty more leg coverage) that are ideal for wearing on a plane or long car trip.
But my favorite item from the “bottoms” collection is the 20-inch, A-line skirt finished with a sweet lace waistband; it flatters just about any figure (mine for sure). The upbeat flowery prints scream “Hawaiian vacation,” and I can’t wait to pack mine in “blue wildflower” ($74) for my next beach trip. The same skirt style in black French lace over stretchy beige fabric ($98) can be dressed up with a pair of black boots and smart black top — instant comfortable outfit to wear out to the theater or fancy dinner while traveling.
The best part about Heidi Bottoms? No snaps, zippers or buttons — eat and drink as much as you want on your vacation, and you’ll still have something comfortable to wear on the flight home!
Peruse all the options for custom orders of bottoms or hats on the Heidi Hat website. Beware, no automated online store here; you actually do it old-school by placing an order over the phone, via email or by fax. Or see if Heidi Hat items are sold at a store near you.
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Posted by Kara in Travel Light on April 2nd, 2010
Columbia Sportswear’s Fashion and Function for the “It Girl”
Columbia Sportswear didn’t get so popular without some clever marketing and equally clever design to back it up. After spending 16 hours surfing the manufacturer’s booths at the winter Outdoor Retailers show, it was easy for me to get a little cynical. Are there really major noticeable differences between 500 fleece jackets or 200 different pairs of hiking socks?
I capped the show off though with something that reminded me why there’s a lot to celebrate about the current crop of wonder apparel: a fashion show from Columbia. The company slid me into a VIP seat next to the runway where I could be dazzled by their form-meets-function collection for women that will be hitting the stores this coming fall.
I gotta say I like their attitude. They say this collection is for the “it girl” out there, who may be in her 20s but may be a 40-something mother. She bikes, she snowboards, she hikes, but she works, she pounds the city pavement, and she runs errands. What she wears needs to be comfortable and warm but look good. Her clothes need to do more than one thing. They need to do what they promise without a lot of fuss.
That’s my paraphrasing of a more finely-tuned marketing message, one you’ll surely have seen a lot of by this time next year. Based on what I saw, touched, and tried on, however, they back up the hype with great technology and design.
Enjoy the fashion show video above, especially if you thought that being warm in the outdoors and looking great had to be mutually exclusive.
For more on what’s out there now, visit Columbia.com or search for Columbia at your local retailer, REI.com or Backcountry.com.
Posted by Tim in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on January 24th, 2010
