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Today’s travel fashion girl is a veteran road warrior. Jenny McIver spends most of her time crisscrossing the globe racking up nearly 200,000 miles annually and countless hotel nights.
Money Magazine dubbed her the “Miles Maven” for her ability to turn those business travel rewards into an annual month-long luxury trek around the world and her book, The Grown-Up’s Guide to Globetrotting, helps other aspiring nomads do the same. In 9 previous Round-the-World trips, she has visited and written about more than 150 countries on all 7 continents.
Around the World in 30 days with Jenny Mclver
Q: How would you describe your travel style?
Road warrior minimalist. The lighter I travel, the happier I am.
Q: Do you prefer to travel carry-on or with a regular size suitcase or bag?
Carry-on only is a must for me. I don’t even own a suitcase that isn’t carry-on size. The lone exception was my trip to Antarctica last year (first stop on my 2013 trip around the world) which required too much extreme weather gear for a carry-on. I did however, limit myself to 2 carry-on sized bags and just checked one of them. I shipped the Antarctica bag home from Argentina (worth the expense) and went back to a single carry-on for the rest of the trip.
Learn why travel with carry-on bags only here!
I absolutely swear by my Tumi Vapor International-size (19”) carry-on. It has 4-wheels, is super lightweight and is practically indestructible.
Q: Are you an over-packer or do you under pack?
Trips to the frozen continent notwithstanding, if it doesn’t fit in my carry-on bag, it doesn’t go. So I definitely tend toward underpacking. When I get bored with what’s in my bag I’ll buy something new. I always try to remind myself that there are very few things that can’t be purchased on the road if needed. Last year I wrote a book about planning a trip around the world and spent an entire chapter covering my carry-on packing strategy in detail.
Learn the Secret to Packing Light here!
Q: How do you stay stylish while traveling without access to an entire closet?
I love to travel with lightweight dresses. They’re an entire outfit in one piece (saves on luggage space) and I just feel more fashionable walking around a new city if I’m dressed up a bit. I also reserve most of my limited luggage space for a wide variety of tops while limiting bottoms to just a few basics. It gives the appearance of never wearing the same thing twice on a month-long trip, especially since most photos are from the waist up anyway! I also try to save my favorite outfits for the days I know I’ll be taking a lot of photos – like a visit to the pyramids or the Taj Mahal.
Q: What are your three must have travel essentials?
My laptop, my Samsung Galaxy phone and my Nikon D3100. Anything else can easily be purchased anywhere.
Q: What destination was the most fun to dress for?
I love a relaxed South Pacific island where a swimsuit and cover-up is your entire wardrobe for days at a time. I once left behind a pair of tennis shoes in Moorea because when I packed to leave I hadn’t worn shoes for 3 days and I totally forgot I put them in the closet when I arrived.
Q: What destination surprised you the most with the ways locals dressed or their type of clothing?
On my first visit to the Middle East, I assumed that fashion didn’t hold much interest for Arabic women since they were typically covered head to toe in an Abaya or Hijab. What surprised me was how these women made their fashion statements in other ways – with dazzling jewelry or a colorful bag, perfectly manicured nails or designer shoes. It made me appreciate our similarities instead of the obvious differences.
Learn how to dress for conservative countries here!
Q: What’s your preferred travel outfit on a plane?
For long flights – khakis (or other long pants), lightweight long-sleeve shirt and ballet flats. I tend to get cold on flights so I always wear long sleeves. And something in a wrinkle-free fabric if I’m going to be sleeping in it.
Q: What are you favorite travel accessories?
I love to buy local pieces of jewelry as souvenirs when I travel (a pair of earrings from Morocco, a ring from Nepal, etc). It’s a great way to bring home a memento from each country without bogging down your luggage. I never travel with any expensive jewelry other than my favorite watch. I like to bring just a few pieces with me and then shop for more along the way.
Q: What are your favorite travel beauty essentials?
I love Crème de la Mer moisturizer. It’s expensive but a little bit goes a long way and it’s the only thing that really keeps my skin feeling soft on long international flights. When I buy the full size jar at the counter I always ask for samples to use for travel. Their samples are a tiny version of the bigger jar and are perfect for travel. I refill 2 or 3 of them for longer trips.
Q: Do you have any specific hair or makeup products that work great for travel?
I switched to Bare Minerals make-up in response to the 2006 liquids ban so that my make-up bag no longer counts against my liquids allotment. It was a great decision (I love make-up) and now my entire make-up bag is liquid-free which allows me more room for good skincare products in my Ziploc bag.
Q: How many pairs of shoes do you travel with and what styles?
For my round-the-world trips, four: Nike Free running shoes, ballet flats (typically the fold-up packable kind – to be worn on flights and anywhere open-toe shoes are not appropriate), casual flip-flops (I love Yellow Box brand) and one pair of dressy sandals (my current favorite are black Tori Burch thongs). If I have room for one more pair, I’ll throw in another pair of dressy flats. Sadly, I never pack high heels for my round-the-world trips (though I practically live in them in my home city and on shorter trips). They just eat up too much luggage real estate.
On shorter business trips, my staple footwear is the Chanel ballet flat. I have them in a variety of colors. The design is classic and they look just as good with a suit as they do with jeans and a t-shirt
Q: Do you have any recommendation for cute and comfortable footwear?
I love my Nike Free run shoes. They weigh only a few ounces and the upper can be squished down flat for packing. They are the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever owned and I can walk for days in them and still go out for a run while I’m on the road. My current pair is black which I find a little more chic if you need to wear them with non-athletic wear like jeans.
For more ideas, please read Comfortable and Fashionable Travel Shoes.
Q: What was your biggest travel fashion or packing mistake?
I do my month-long round-the world trips in January each year. On my first one in 2006, I chose the destinations based solely on where I wanted to go versus considering the local January weather. I ended up with a mix of cold destinations and hot destinations (for example: Cape Town – 95 degrees, versus Seoul – 15 degrees) which made packing light a real challenge and necessitated dragging a heavy coat through a variety of tropical airports. Since that trip I’ve learned to keep my itinerary focused on destinations south of the equator where I can enjoy summer weather in January. I save trips to other destinations for my travel in the summer months. Sticking to warm destinations really helps with packing as I’m able to fit many more summer clothes into a carry-on than sweaters.
Q: Finally, any travel packing tips for new travelers?
If you’re still checking bags when you travel, stop. You honestly don’t need half of the “stuff” you think you do. Switching to carry-on travel will change your life. Seriously. Travel is not about what you bring with you, it’s about what you take away from the experience.
If you’d like to be interviewed on Travel Fashion Girl, please submit your details here.
For more traveler interviews, please read:
- Interview with World Traveler Louise Matthew
- Interview with Beach Chic Laura Bronner
- Interview With Avant-Garde Footwear Designer Chelsea Jones
- Interview With Minimalist Chic Chalsie
