How to Stay Stylish While Living Out of a Bag, Part II

If you read my style manifesto last week, you already know that my philosophy of style on the road starts with a couple tank tops and a simple black pencil skirt and ends with a whole lot of layering and a few pops of color. Today, I’d like to visually walk you through said style. Style that’s about both function and feeling totally beautiful. Because both of those things are really important when you live out of a bag.

Without further ado, then, a few examples of how I mix, match, and layer to keep my limited travel wardrobe feeling fresh, sexy, and stylish.

Let’s start with some basic black pieces and a teensy pop of color…

What I’m wearing: a non-wrinkling black pencil skirt, a black tank top, a pink tank top (to add a pop of color where it peeks out at the top and bottom of the black), boots, and a wrap-around black sweater, tied behind my back.

Now, take that same outfit and replace the black sweater with a gray zip-up…

What I’m wearing: that same black pencil skirt, black tank top, and pink tank top and a gray zip-up top with a pop of pink inside the collar (purchased at a Belgian H&M).

Okay…now take that pink tank and grey zip-up off and toss on a silky yellow and black zip-up:

What I’m wearing: that same black pencil skirt and black tank top and a sassy yellow zip-up from Anatomie.

Next, ditch the pencil skirt for a pair of sleek black non-wrinkle pants.

What I’m wearing: the same tank top and zip-up, now with sleek black pants from Anatomie and a pair of ruby red tieks.

Of course, this also all goes well with my skinny jeans and my flowy black skirt. And any of those four lovely bottoms looks fantastic with my Denver Zoo hoodie or my ruby red tieks…

What I’m wearing: a fun hoodie from the Denver Zoo, my black tank top, and (though you can’t tell) probably my black pencil skirt.

What I’m wearing: ruby red tieks and black pants from Anatomie.

And for a final pop of color and interest, here’s my coat. As you can see, it goes with everything and nothing all at the same time. It’s in a category all its own.

Finally, things that are not pictured, but are lovely and get frequently rotated through these outfits: a flowy black skirt from Anatomie, a purple tank top, a pair of dark jeans, and a long-sleeved black top.

The really good news here is that my very small wardrobe has a lot of versatility. I feel comfortable wearing these things for a day of sight-seeing or for a business meeting. I’ve even done some easy hikes in my black pencil skirt (though, of course, my jeans or tennis skirt are a better choice for that activity).

Oh, and all all modeling was done with my dangly silver earrings from San Diego and a delicate silver and blue necklace that Roommate #1 brought back from her trip to Australia.

Looking for more? Read part three.

All of these fantastic photos were taken by a wonderful San Diego photographer named Daniel Wang. Working with him was an absolute blast (he has a way of making you feel at ease, even if you aren’t used to being in front of the camera) and I love, love, love the way these photos turned out. If you live in San Diego and are looking for a photographer, you should get in touch with him.

Annnddd a big thanks to Tieks and Anatomie, who sent me some free or discounted items to try out. I’m really loving them and am now an official Anatomie affiliate (so if you like their stuff and like this blog, you can buy something and I get a cut. Win. Win. Win. For everyone).

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