Study Abroad Fashion-More Packing Tips

As a student in another country, you may want to fit in more than you stand out. In this case, you'll want to investigate the culture prior to departure. Figure out occasions you'll need outfits for.

Primarily:
1. Traveling clothes (weekend trips, fall/spring break destinations). These should be comfy, easy to pack and easy to mix-n-match.

2. School clothes. What to wear to class. This largely depends on where you go. In Milan, girls dress to the nines for class. In Ireland, boys often wear tracksuits (sweats) while the girls dress nicer (but still casual) and always have their hair and makeup done. Sometimes you'll have to walk quite a bit to get to campus, so appropriate shoes are a must.

3. Going out. Although I packed a lot of going out clothes, I really did not need them very much as semi-casual dress was good enough.

Lessons learned:
Cobblestones + heels = probable disaster.
Short dresses + freezing temps = unshakable chills
Formal dress in a pub = why??? (Although it's fun sometimes to pretend you have a really important place to be later).

More on Travel Packing
Since you will probably be traveling a lot it is important to have clothes that you like (but aren't dearly attached to) that are easy to pack and easy to wash.
I like the J. Crew Tissue Tees (below). They come in tanks, short sleeve, long sleeve, V-neck, crew neck, scoop neck, screenprint, stripes...and the list goes on. The are practically weightless to pack, easy to layer, fun to wear with anything.


They are great with jeans, leggings or even as pajama tops. Leggings are another great layering piece, especially for cooler climates. I packed 4 pairs of leggings and left with 8 pairs--I really did use them a lot during winter in Ireland (and even in spring!)

As for washing--you probably won't have easy access to washers & dryers as you are used to. And by that I mean--they may be on the other side of campus, they may be old and not in proper working condition (like the dryers that leave clothes damp vs. dry), they may be really expensive...etc. In some situations, especially when traveling, you will need to improvise. I bought these:

Travel Laundry Soap Sheets
These were really useful for washing tanks, socks, underwear--things that I ran out of fast. They can be hand-washed in the sink or bathtub and hung to dry (or in my case, placed under the radiator). They also sell travel body wash, shampoo and conditioner sheets (travel compliant!) but even though I had the whole set I used the laundry soap the most.

Stay tuned for more study abroad tips!