It’s SUMMER!!! We’ve all been waiting for our annual vacation with bated breath. The bags are packed, the pets are boarded, the mail is being held. You know you’ve over-packed for the flight, having desperately combed through all of Amazon for toys to keep the kids busy. I totally get it, since we fly home to India annually, a 24 hour journey with at least one stop in Europe or the Middle East. I’m so proud to be part of the Made for Mermaids and Patterns for Pirates blog tour, ‘Sew What Do I Wear – Summer Vacation Edition’.
Today I’m sharing my tips on how to travel comfortably and stylishly, with the help of my favorite Patterns For Pirates patterns. I’m using affiliate links, I receive a small compensation for your purchase when you click on my link to purchase. I’m showing you four totally different outfits, that you can pack in just one carry-on bag! I’m even including a couple of nursing-friendly ideas.
OUTFIT ONE: Casual Tourist
Featuring the Mama Bear Joggers
Joggers are huge this season! You can’t go wrong with a comfy pair of joggers – they’re loose, they are full-length so you don’t *have* to shave, and they have pockets! You won’t get cold on the flight when you wear a pair made from French Terry or Double Brushed Poly. Use a lightweight cotton lycra if you are flying to a really hot and humid climate, though!
I made my double brushed poly joggers from this grunge denim-look fabric from The Fab Clique Shop on Facebook. I did patch pockets and used my coverstitch for the exposed stitching look. I styled it with a simple weekender bag and my prescription sunglasses – the perfect casual tourist look!
My tip for this kind of stitching is to baste the pockets on a sewing machine, then flip it over to coverstitch and use the basting as your guide. Make sure you use the 1st and 3rd needles on your machine, and keep the basting thread guide between the needles.
OUTFIT TWO: GLOBETROTTER
Featuring the Essential Tank
If you’re more of a business casual kind of person, you probably have a ton of dress pants. I would urge you to pair up a pair of ponte pants, ready to wear is great, with a comfy tank – the Essential Tank being my current favorite. I graded up for my high hip, which is unfortunately necessary for my mother’s apron, but I am happy it doesn’t look dowdy.
This silhouette is great for nursing moms too, where you can just pull up your top to nurse if you're wearing a camisole underneath. The curved hem is long enough in the back to not show too much skin when the front is pulled up, and there's enough flare to keep baby covered. Win!
This Tank was gorgeous in a single brushed poly from Sly Fox Fabrics – I love their options so much I used three prints from them for this blog tour! Since polyester and ponte don’t wrinkle, I think it’s a great combination for a working vacation – attend a meeting or two, take the weekend to decompress!
OUTFIT THREE: THE MOMINATOR
Featuring The Favorite Tee
The Favorite Tee is definitely my favorite! I squeezed this out of just ONE yard, and added a band to the hem which is kind of a departure from my usual flow bottoms. The pattern and the top go together really quickly, and the relaxed silhouette works great for hiding a little belly pooch. I used gorgeous double brushed poly from Sly Fox Fabrics again here, and seriously, it’s a wonderfully well-fitting $8 top that’s pretty much indestructible.
I absolutely adore a pair of white denim cropped pants. I love that I can just bleach the stains of mom life out – and hence I call this look the Mominator. Anything can fall on the top, lots of things usually do, but the busy print makes it through a 16 hour flight and an 8 hour layover just fine! Milk stains won’t really show on the front of the dbp, so nursing mamas would love that.
If you get cold easily (I don't), please remember to take a light jacket with you. It's an allowed item in addition to your carry on bag and purse, and planes get really, really cold once in the air. Also, make sure you carry a dry snack - all that cold makes me super hungry!
OUTFIT FOUR : POCKET FULL OF SUNSHINE
Featuring the Sunshine Dress!
I’ve clearly saved my favorite for the end. Sly Fox Fabrics’ Double brushed poly that never wrinkles, nursing friendly cross-over front, POCKETS, and a lovely full length silhouette that is super chic! To avoid carrying a jacket, I used the mash-up to add sleeves from the P4P blog here. Ohh how I love this dress. I love how cleverly I have named this the Pocket Full of Sunshine dress, ’cause its the Sunshine dress pattern, of course. I’m kinda cool like that 🙂
Dresses are awesome for long travel, because the buttons on jeans often leave annoying imprints on my tummy or the waistband bites my waist after ten hours of sitting in a tiny airplane seat. There's nothing to remove in fear of setting off the metal detectors at security, so you breeze through the X ray machine. I often hate the constriction of jeans that prevent a full range of motion so I can't really stretch out my legs or fold them under and sit, just for a change. Long plane rides are as tiresome for mom as for kids, we're just not as vocal about it.
I styled the dress with the same weekender bag that I used before, it’s a great size for travel. I wore the same flats for all photos, because I don’t wear shoes once I’m at my seat and I really don’t need to spend 24 hours in heels any higher than 1/2″. Always wear your most comfortable shoes for flights. Wear minimum jewelry, there’s a minimum amount of metal that sets off the detectors and you *really* don’t want to be patted down, trust me.
I also kept my makeup minimal, because I don’t enjoy touching up my face until it’s time to disembark. There’s no place in those lavatories anyway.
I hope this helps you on your next plane trip! I’d love for you to leave your tips of making a journey more comfortable when you choose the right clothes, in the comments. Thanks for stopping by on this blog tour with me, it’s been super fun! Please visit the rest of the blog tour here:
