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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2004)
Thursday, April 29, 2004 Alina Walker, a graduate student in English literature, is wearing the perfect casual outfit for a day of trav- art of the fun of traveling is leaving bad habits and boring clothes at home, ications are a chance to let your inhibitions go, without -Jlling a Britney Spears and IfBarrying the guy at the end of ■lebar. When it comes to pack- right without crossing the fine line into overpacking, cessories are the key. Just like the transformer toys, an outfit can become something w with just a flip of a switch, j/j| an accessory switch that is. The Very same shirt that you wore on the airplane will be ready for the M ' clubs of Spain with just a few simple tips. Since sticking with a color scheme is the most important part of keeping your suitcase light, female travelers should pack two scarves that fit in with the overall color scheme they choose. The perfect scarf for a night on the town is one that has vibrant colors and an intri cate pattern. Not only do scarves work around the neck, they can also be tied around your waist. Belts can also turn the aver age Joe into a hip, bar hopping, big city-fashionista. Well, belts aren’t magic, but they do help ^ ^Fashionfades; style is eternal. — Yves Saint Laurent Designer make an ordinary outfit night time ready. For men, I am not talking about an ordinary brown or black belt that you See Packing on page 2 Uaumjr 'Snittti out LI re Randal Ford • THE BATTALION Walker is sure to be the VIP at any club in this striking ensemble. She has traded out her denim for a black miniskirt and added a silver belt and leg warmers for a little post-dinner partying. Y ou have finally arrived in Europe for a long-awaited graduation trip or the ulti mate of study abroad program. Although exhausted from the journey, it is impossible not to notice that you seem to be the only one in the airport weighed down by a small army of suit cases. On top of aching muscles, you are surprised to find that not .everyone wears orthopedic shoes and a sweat suit to travel. Just because your trip requires a lot of walking, it does not have to mean compromising style. “Overpacking is one of peo ple’s biggest travel problems,” said Carolyn Haberfeld, executive editor of Fodor’s travel publica tions, as reported on CNN.com. “1 think people have separation anxiety from their clothing — like one piece of clothing is going to make or break their vacation.” Rick Steves, whose Web site ricksteves.com has extensive information on packing for any vacation as well as an online trav el store that is especially helpful for European vacations, suggests spreading out everything you think you might need on the liv ing room floor. “Pick up each item one at a time and scrutinize it,” Steves said. “Don’t pack for the worst case sce nario. Risk shivering for a day rather than taking a heavy coat.” All packing experts seem to agree that lists are the only way to go, and every traveler should make a packing list at least a week before his departure. “Make a list of things that you would like to bring, then edit that list down to half its length (at least),” Haberfeld said. “To help cut down clothes, choose like-col ors to mix and match, pick either black shoes or brown shoes to wear throughout the trip and quit daydreaming that your vacation will be a fashion show.” Picking a general color scheme for vacation packing will also save space because the trav eler will not have to pack too many extra accessories to match different colors. Shirley Pierce and .Janet Behmer, authors of “Dress Me Now: How to Make a Wardrobe Behave,” suggest on dress- menow.com to choose three col ors that match like rust, gold and beige or red, white and black — while making one of the colors neutral. “Fabrics that travel well are silk, light wool crepes, stretchy nylon and some velvets. And, don’t forget that old standbys denim and khaki,” Pierce said. “Avoid linens and heavy cottons because they wrinkle like crazy.” While avoiding certain fab rics that wrinkle is a good tip, Pierce said the traveler should also not fold everything into neat little bundles. “The key to minimizing wrin kles is to fold long items, like pants and skirts, only once and place them one on top of the other like layers on a birthday cake,” Pierce said. “Pack with the heaviest items on top. 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