I have written several times about how I wear bike shorts under skirts and dresses on travel days. It just makes so much sense! It alleviates worry about any unexpected TSA pat-downs, wind gusts, or, of course, chafing. For what seems like forever I have just worn normal bike shorts from Target. My problem with them, and with most typical exercise bike shorts, is that they’re just too long! With my knee-length dresses I am constantly concerned that they will show as I’m walking. Not fun at all.

On a recent Corporette post, a commenter mentioned that she uses Jockey Skimmies Slipshorts. Seriously, these seem like the answer to a prayer. They are inexpensive, come in a bunch of colors, and have different lengths. Plus the reviews are mostly very good, and report no roll-up (or down) or muffin-top. Woohoo! I am definitely going to be trying out the regular length, although there is also a shorter length. $20 at Amazon.

Readers, have you tried the Slipshorts? Do you feel comfortable wearing dresses on travel days?

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After my last couple of day trips, it is very clear to me that I need a rolling briefcase. I just carry too much stuff in my purse for it to be comfortable, especially for huge airports like DFW. Even though I’ve been talking about getting one for almost a year, it just hasn’t been high on my priority list (like, say, shoes). But I promise you, here and now, I will have a rolling briefcase, that I love, before the end of May. Part of this is spurred on by the fact that I have three conferences over the next three months—my poor shoulders can’t handle the weight of my purse. Of course, one of the reasons I haven’t gotten one yet (and I know this will shock those of you who have read my blog for a while) is that I’m just too darn picky! I want all the features I need, I want it to be cute, and I want it for a good price. Is that too much to ask??

Here are the features I want:

• Lots of space inside. Of course it will need to have room for my computer, files, and purse stuff. But it would also be great if it had room for me to stick a change of clothes in for overnight trips. I often feel silly bringing my normal suitcase on a trip when it’s only half full.
• Outside pockets. Internal space is important, but I need to have a pocket on the outside where I can stick things I need immediate access to—my keys, phone, boarding pass, and lipstick.
• Sturdy construction. While I love my existing purse and my suitcase, I am rough on them. They get stuffed to the brim, shoved in tight spaces, rained on, dragged, and dropped on occasion. I need something that will hold up to serious wear and tear. Also, because I will likely set stuff on top of it, I need something that is pretty square—not just a purse on wheels, like so many of the rolling briefcases marketed to women.

Here are two of the ones I’m considering:

This houndstooth rolling briefcase by JKM and Company  (pictured above) is really, really cute. It looks to have plenty of pockets for clothes, files, a computer, and purse stuff. It’s also nice and square, and has good reviews. Plus it’s under $100!

I also love this McKlein USA Willowbrook Detachable Wheeled Briefcase. It comes in six different colors, is leather, has two main pockets, and it’s detachable if you don’t need the wheels! It’s a little smaller than the houndstooth one, but I do love the turquoise… It’s available from eBags for $206 and Amazon for $158.

Readers, do you have a rolling briefcase? What brand? Do you love it?

This post contains affiliate links.

April 2012:

• Although I hope you never have to travel while injured, here are some tips for making it easier. And yes, these are from my own experience.
• I spent a lot of time prepping for my two week conference, with strategies for packing and being out of the office that long.
• For some, eating at a restaurant is a time to relax and enjoy a meal. For others, it’s stress and anxiety producing. Try these tips to enjoy it more and stress less!

April 2011:

• I finished up the series “Building a Business Travel Wardrobe.”
• We talked about several different options for long-haul flights: t-shirt dress and leggings, yoga pants, and other travel-specific pants.
• A friend experienced a terrible breach in etiquette during a flight: someone clipping their nails. <<shudder>>

April 2010:

• My most important travel items three years ago are still valid today!
• I listed out the top three ways for dealing with the age old question, “Where does my purse go?”
• We discussed our best tips for remembering where you parked your car at the airport.

Last week I mentioned that I discovered a new blog called Outfit Posts, where the blogger takes pictures of her outfits every morning. I love everything she puts together! She travels for work a lot, and has a really great post about how to pack for 30 days in one suitcase. While I have gotten the odd question about long business trips, most of the time I get asked what to pack for four days. For the experienced business traveler, clothes for four days are pretty simple to fit in a suitcase. For the newbie, though, it can be quite a challenge! My first business trip I took four separate outfits, with four pairs of shoes to match, and enough toiletries to fill up half of my suitcase. (The suitcase that I couldn’t lift, and wouldn’t have fit into an overhead bin even if I could. For four days! It’s embarrassing, to think of it now.) So, for the woman who is a new business traveler, I have put together a packing list for a four day trip. But it gets better! Not only have I put together a list, but I have taken pictures from a recent trip of everything before it goes into my suitcase, and once it’s all in.

Here is the generic list:
• Two bottoms, one comfortable for travel (i.e. slacks and a skirt)
• Coordinating suit jackets if needed
• Four tops that coordinate with both of your bottoms
• At least one light jacket or sweater (unless you need a heavier jacket)
• No more than three pairs of shoes, including a pair of flip flops or running shoes
• Enough undergarments, including socks/hose
• Jewelry/belts/scarves
• PJs
• Workout clothes
• Toiletries and makeup
• Curling iron (or other styling aids)

Here is my specific list:
• Navy slacks (Gap)
• Black slacks (Banana Republic)
• Green cardigan (this one but green) with white camisole (both from Target)
• Pink cardigan (Talbots) with navy camisole (Target)
• Purple sweater (similar to this one from Banana Republic)
• Turquoise cardigan (Old Navy) with multicolored blouse (Ann Taylor)
• Nude flats (DSW)
• Yellow flats (Old Navy)
• Yoga pants (Target) and long sleeved tee (Old Navy) for sleeping
• Jewelry and belts
• Toiletries, liquids bag, makeup, curling iron
• Flip flops (Old Navy)
• Tablecloth (because I did trade shows during my trip)

Here is a picture of all of my different outfits:

Everything laid out on the bed:

And here is everything all packed up neatly in my suitcase!

It’s not 30 outfits, but you could easily fit a dress and a skirt in there and make quite a few. So newbie travelers, don’t despair! It’s definitely possible to dress stylishly for business travel, and still have it fit into a carryon.

Business travel can be hard on anyone, but it is especially stressful and difficult for new parents. You’ve spent several weeks or even months taking care of every need of your new infant. Now someone expects you to just leave your baby alone? Will your spouse be able to handle it? How will it affect your childcare situation? Will everything get done? And of course, how sad will you be without your baby? The fact that you’re likely sleep deprived (and very possibly hormonal) doesn’t make putting together a plan any easier.

I’m not going to lie—I dreaded my first trip. Dreaded it. For the 24 hours before I left, every time I looked at the Mini Warrior I cried. But I put together a strategy for preparing for and dealing with the trip, and I got through it. Here is what I did:

Pumping. One of my biggest pre-trip stressors was figuring out how to pump on the road. It’s totally doable, but takes a lot of planning. Here is the post with my detailed pumping strategy (it’s long, sorry) and here is the one with my post-trip report.

Home life. It made me feel less guilty better to know that everything at home was going smoothly. If you are like that, before your trip make sure everyone at home has everything they need. Lists, schedules, and food can all be prepped (to an extent) and given to your spouse and/or the baby’s caretakers. In my case, they were one and the same so I made sure I had plenty of breastmilk in the freezer.

Keep in touch. Keeping up with your home life can make you feel less isolated and alone. Speak with your baby’s caretaker to see if they can send you updates throughout the day. The Home Warrior sent me about a photo per hour each day I was gone so I knew what was going on. He also sent me a ton of videos. It helped me feel connected and like I was still a part of my son’s life.

Enjoy the benefits. While business travel isn’t always a picnic, there are a few things you should try to enjoy. Sleeping through the night, eating in a restaurant (eating with both hands for that matter!), and maybe even some downtime to read a book—things you may have taken for granted before baby that now seem like true luxury!

Let go of the guilt. You will probably feel guilty about a number of things, but in the wise words of Mommy Points, remember what you are doing—you are earning a paycheck to provide for your family. And apparently guilt is just part of the deal with parenting, so try to let it go, do your best work, and enjoy what you can.

Readers, what are your tips for business travel as a new parent?

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For a lot of women, fixing their hair is the single most time-consuming grooming task of their day. Between washing, blow drying, and styling, it’s easy to spend a good 30 minutes just on hair. For some people, that’s every single day. My curly hair dries out if washed every day, so that cuts down on the time for me. But still—women’s hair often gets a lot of attention! Here are my tips for taking care of your hair while you travel.

Double duty products. There are plenty of products that will do more than one thing—a hair spray that adds shine, for example. Multitasking products save time and space, so use them wherever you can.

Bring your own. I highly, highly recommend bringing your own shampoo and conditioner (and other toiletries). This way you know how your hair will react! Simply pour your usual products into 3 oz. refillable bottles like these GoToob bottles from REI.

Contact lens cases. For products that only require a small quantity, use a clean, spare contact lens case. Best space saver ever.

Travel size tools. If you use a hair dryer, curling iron, or flat iron on a daily basis try to find miniature versions to travel with (like this Conair MiniPro curling iron). Otherwise half of your suitcase would be taken up by hair stuff! Be careful that a smaller version doesn’t require way more time spent on your hair—if that’s the case, it may not be worth it.

A style for days. If you’re one of the people who can get away with not washing your hair every day, try to get your hair in a style that will look good for a few days. My mom often gets a blowout right before a trip—that way all she has to do is brush it, and it will last her entire trip.

Wear it up. Sometimes the easiest thing to do is wear your hair up. On travel days I choose a hairstyle that’s not in the middle of the back of my head, like a low ponytail or bun. Otherwise I’m not able to rest my head comfortably against the headrest on the plane.

Readers, what are your tips for taking care of your hair during travel?

This post contains affiliate links.

(February is a weird word to write in the plural!)

February 2012:

• I compiled my favorite tips for the plane etiquette round up
• TOMS came out with ballet flats
• The New York Times and I disagreed about the top 5 ways to avoid baggage fees
• A friend got some help about traveling with injectable medicine

February 2011:

• I got some great packing tips for your more delicate items.
• Since missing loved ones is a hard part of business travel, I talked about dealing with homesickness
• The series Building a Business Travel Wardrobe started, with a focus on suits and business casual.

February 2010:

• I learned what to pack for a winter business trip
• After much trial and error, I shared my tips for dealing with swollen ankles
•  Snowmaggedon 2010 happened.

A few weeks ago Online MBA sent me a video they put together called “Why Women Make Better Business Leaders.” It raises some very interesting points—only 12 of the Fortune 500 companies are run by women, yet firms with women on their boards have 42% higher sales returns and 66% higher return on investment capital than firms that do not.

Readers, what are your thoughts?

Anyone who has flown knows that the air in airplanes is dry. It’s tolerable for an hour or two, but much beyond that and you start to feel it. Especially people like me with dry skin! For years I have traveled with lotion and lip balm to combat the parched feeling I get on long flights. I’ve tried various hydrating mists over the years, and most have worked perfectly fine. But they’ve always been designed to use as part of a skincare routine on a bare face.  I’ve never found one that is designed to be sprayed over makeup.

Until now! A few weeks ago I was perusing the aisles at Sephora (my favorite place ever) when I saw something new: Evian Mineral Water Spray To Go. It’s basically water in a can that you can mist on your face. It won’t mess with your makeup, and according to the reviews is “hydrating, refreshing, and invigorating” and “great for the plane, beach, or to wash hands with in a pinch.” As a bonus, it has no fragrance so shouldn’t aggravate your (or anyone else’s) allergies or migraine issues. Awesome! I can’t wait to try it out on my next flight. It’s available as a set of two from Sephora, or a one, two, or three pack from Amazon.

This post contains affiliate links.

A little over a year ago I posted about my new obsession with navy. I had immediate plans to purchase a pair of navy slacks. But I got pregnant very soon after, and it seemed silly to buy pants I wouldn’t be able to wear. Fast forward a year, and I am back to my pre-pregnancy size (yay!) so FINALLY got my navy pants.

After a careful search, I got the Perfect Trouser Pinstripe Pants in Navy from Gap ($59.95 regular price). Y’all, these are the best pants ever. They are beautiful! The pinstripe is subtle, the cut is perfect, and the quality is very high. The reviews said they run a bit small, so I sized up and they fit perfectly. They are definitely flared, so if slim is more your style then they won’t work for you. They have a bit of stretch, so they are very comfortable and moved well. I was also impressed by how good they looked straight out of my suitcase. Plus, they don’t have to be dry-cleaned. My only problem with them is that they are quite long. If you wear heels that’s great! I don’t wear heels, so I will probably have them hemmed. They are regularly priced at $59.95 but I purchased them during a 30% off sale so they were around $40. A super deal, IMO.

Here’s how I wear navy during travel:

• No suits. I love navy suits—they are the ultimate power statement. But when it comes to airlines, they are also the best way to be mistaken for a flight attendant. Same goes for navy pants with a navy sweater. The monochromatic look is cute at the office, but you might get asked for a beverage on a plane.
• Color on top. Navy looks great with a variety of colors—green, yellow, and purple are my favorites. But it also looks great with orange and pink, if they are the right shades. I go back and forth on red—I love the way it looks, but I wonder if it’s too flag-like.

Recently I have been wearing the slacks with a cream colored camisole and my Merona green and cream polka dot cardigan. Love it!