What to Pack for the Summer Weekend – From Esquire Magazine
The sun is shining and vacation time is (hopefully) plentiful. Time to get out of dodge, wherever your dodge may be. Esquire has some suggestions for what to pack if you’re hitting the road for some R&R, but don’t want to look like a slob. Click on over for their slideshow, then come back for reaction, additions, and to leave your suggestions in the comments section.
1. The Weekend Beach Bag: YES – What else are you going to put your stuff in? And say you don’t want to spend over a hundred bucks, try this Fred Perry Tartan Barrel bag for $70.
2. The White V Neck: NO – Say… if you have chest hair.
3. The Water Proof Dopp Kit: NO/YES – It doesn’t have to be waterproof. Are you bathing in the lake or ocean?
4. The Linen Button Front Shirt: NO – Linen is nice and all, but it’s tough to find a linen shirt that’s trim.
5. The Lightweight Blazer: YES – Absolutely. But two buttons. Not Three.
6. The All Purpose Dark Jeans: YES – I’m surprised they mentioned jeans for the beach. They’ll be a little warm, but a welcome shift if the nights get cool.
7. The Swimsuit that can Pass for Shorts: NO – I hate walking around in a mesh liner all day.
8. The Windbreaker: NO – It’s a trend that’ll pass. If you’re cold, wear the blazer.
9. The Retro Shape Sunglasses: YES – Think 1950s. Not 1980s.
10. The Sand or Street Ready Slip on shoe: NO/YES – Not those water sock looking things they feature. Find your old worn out pair of Jack Purcells
Dappered.com Suggestions
11. The High Neck Cardigan Sweater – Because it looks great under a casual field jacket and with a pair chinos or jeans. And if you’re vacationing somewhere north of the Mason Dixon line, you’ll want it after sundown. (Try this one from The Gap. On sale for $49.99.)
12. The Rubber Strap Watch w/ Color – Wear it with the blazer, jeans, and canvas sneakers. (This Swiss Military Hanowa Chrono
13. The Beat up Trim Fit Oxford – Y’know that Express 1MX you retired because the collar started to shred? Now’s the time to get it back out. Most vacationers wear nothing but tees. The oxford, even untucked, will look terrific.
14. Sunscreen that won’t stain your clothes – If you haven’t read this post yet… you should.
15. Limes and a pocket knife
Something I’d recommend for any summer or winter trip that I never see listed is a small portable speaker for your Ipod. Music is super important to me, just like wearing the right outfit makes me me feel relaxed, comfortable, and confident while demonstrating my own personal style, my music does this too. Stereos or portable CD players are too big and are too much trouble packing for my taste, and the speakers on most laptops just don’t get loud enough to enjoy in a space the size of your average room. A portable speaker for your Ipod, like the one here
is the way to go.
I’ve been using this for over a year now and after the ipod its probably the best little gadget I’ve ever owned. Its got a simple, sturdy design. Its no bigger than a tennis ball, and almost just as light. It gets just as loud as most stereos without distorting the music on your player and all it needs is two triple A batteries and as long as you remember to turn it off when you’re done they will last a good while. Its the most I’ve ever got out of a $14 purchase.
Whether its a summer, winter, or fall weekend getaway, having your own music is just another way to feel comfortable in your space, and I wouldn’t want to listen to whatever garbage the local radio stations are playing any more than I’d want to borrow someone else’s clothes for a special event.
An album I’d recommend to bring on any weekend trip that I’ve never seen posted here on Dappered is Boxer, by The National
. This is a great album, through and through, a timeless, classic. It was described to me as sounding like “Johnny Cash meets The Killers.” You can’t tell me that’s not the coolest description of a band you ever heard.