What Travel Has Taught Me About Style

Travel has been on my mind a lot lately.

Probably because in just a few weeks I’ll be packing my suitcase again, this time for Morocco and Paris.

And yes, I’m already thinking about what I’m going to pack. 😊

I’ve been lucky enough to do quite a bit of traveling over the years.

I’ve been to France several times. I’ve walked nearly 500 miles across Spain on the Camino de Santiago. I’ve packed for beaches, cities, long flights and trips where I knew I would be carrying everything I needed on my back.

And somewhere along the way, travel completely changed the way I think about clothes.

Mostly because a suitcase has absolutely no sympathy for an overpacker.

I used to pack for every possible situation.

What if we go somewhere really nice?

What if it gets cold?

What if it gets hot?

What if I suddenly become the kind of person who needs three dresses in one day?

You know how this ends.

You come home with half the suitcase untouched.

Walking the Camino cured me of that pretty quickly.

When you're carrying your belongings for miles every day, you become very clear about what you actually need. There is no room for maybe I'll wear this.

And although I certainly don't dress for everyday life the way I dressed to walk across Spain, I brought something home from that experience.

I became much more particular about what deserves space.

Space in my suitcase.

Space in my closet.

And honestly, space in my life.

I also started noticing women differently when I traveled.

Especially in France.

French women have always fascinated me because so many of them seem completely comfortable with their own style.

Not necessarily trendy.

Not covered in labels.

Not trying too hard.

They might be wearing jeans, a simple sweater, a beautiful scarf and great shoes.

But there is usually something about the way they've put it together that makes you look twice.

I don't think it's really about the clothes.

I think it's the confidence of knowing what they like.

That has stayed with me.

As I've gotten older, I'm much less interested in wearing something simply because someone has decided it's what we're all supposed to be wearing this year.

Some trends I love.

Some I look at and think, I'll leave that one to somebody else.

And that's perfectly fine.

I think personal style gets much more interesting when we stop trying to keep up with everything.

You don't have to wear every trend to love clothes.

You just have to know yourself.

Maybe that's one reason I enjoy choosing pieces for Edge & Ivory so much.

When I'm buying, I'm not only thinking about what is popular.

I'm thinking about the woman who will wear it.

Would she feel good in it?

Is there something interesting about it?

Would I stop and look at it if I saw someone wearing it walking down a street in Paris?

And sometimes I simply think, Oh, I love that.

That's allowed too.

Fashion should still be fun.

I don't know that I would have thought about clothes this way twenty or thirty years ago.

Back then, I probably worried a little more about whether I was wearing the “right” thing.

Now?

I'd rather wear my thing.

Maybe that is one of the nicest parts about getting older.

You eventually realize nobody else gets to decide what your style is.

Not a magazine.

Not a trend.

Not your age.

And definitely not the size of your suitcase.

Although the suitcase may have a few suggestions.

So now I'm getting ready to pack that suitcase again.

Morocco will be completely new to me, and Paris is a place I'm always happy to return to.

And I'm already wondering what I'll see, what I'll wear and, knowing me, what little bit of inspiration I'll bring home with me.

Maybe even something that eventually finds its way into Edge & Ivory.

But first...

I have to figure out what I'm packing.

And try very hard not to pack for every possible situation. 😊

— Joanna

Edge & Ivory Boutique