Traveling for business and fun - includes travel tips - Beauty and Style for the New Black Woman

Ebony, Nov, 1997

INCREASINGLY, women are traveling more for business and for pleasure. That is evident in airports and at hotels around the country and abroad, and this fact also is backed up by a number of studies. Of all business travelers, 40 percent are women, and it is predicted that by the turn of the century women will represent 50 percent of all business travelers. That's quite an astonishing statistic, especially when you consider that as recently as 1970 only 1 percent of business travelers were women.

While women are traveling more for their jobs, they also are striking out on their own when it comes to vacations and holidays and other getaways.

Whether you travel with your man, your family, with a girlfriend or if you decide to go solo, which is usually the case for business travelers, there are certain do's and don'ts that can make your trip more pleasurable and, most important, more safe.

Following are some tips for the woman who wants to travel with beauty and style:

Packing It Tight and Light

* When packing, learn to pare down needed items and keep it light. Don't pack more than you need and don't carry more pieces of luggage than you can handle yourself. Less luggage means shorter waits for baggage claim.

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* Don't pack more than you need and don't carry more luggage then you can handle yourself.

* Keep clothes color-coordinated to minimize shoes and other accessories needed.

* Pack toiletries in a self-contained, plastic-lined cosmetics bag.

* Wear comfortable clothing and shoes.

* Carry nutritious snacks.

* Always carry a jacket or sweater.

* Drink plenty of water.

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* Don't pack more than you need and don't carry more luggage then you can handle yourself.

* Keep clothes color-coordinated to minimize shoes and other accessories needed.

* Pack toiletries in a self-contained, plastic-lined cosmetics bag.

* Wear comfortable clothing and shoes.

* Carry nutritious snacks.

* Always carry a jacket or sweater.

* Drink plenty of water. Sunda Uzzell, an internal audit manager for Sara Lee Corporation in Chicago, avoids the baggage hassle by carrying her bags on the plane. "I don't like to check it, so I carry everything on board the plane," she says.

* Use luggage with wheels or a luggage cart so you can handle your own bags and not rely on porters. It will make your trip through airports, bus terminals or train stations much easier. In lieu of a briefcase, Uzzell suggests that you carry your work materials in a backpack, which is "easier to carry and easier on your back."

* Shari Petty, a human resource manager at McDonald's Corporation in Oak Brook, Ill., has learned that packing clothing in plastic dry cleaners' bags before placing them in the luggage lessens wrinkling. "It makes all the difference in the world," she says. "And if there are a few wrinkles, I just hang my clothes in the bathroom when I shower, the steam knocks out the wrinkles."

* When you travel, keep clothes color-coordinated to minimize the shoes and other accessories needed. A media executive in New York says she plans her travel wardrobe around one color scheme. "For instance, on a recent two-day trip I wore a Black pant-quit on the plane, packed a skirt and another pair of pants that coordinated with the suit jacket," she explains. "Then I packed an assortment of tops--white blouse, gold metallic T-shirt for evening, a red silk turtleneck. I only needed one additional pair of shoes to wear with the skirt, and then I topped all that with coordinating jewelry and a couple of scarves to change the look if needed."

She adds that sometimes she coordinates her travel wardrobe around shades of brown or navy blue, but such detailed planning makes it possible for her to need only one bag for a three-day trip.

* Keep your toiletries packed in a self-contained, plastic-lined cosmetics bag-ready to go at a moment's notice. Petty says she keeps a cosmetics bag packed with travel sizes of all her necessities. "If you don't take time to find travel sizes, your bag can get so weighted down," says Petty, who travels regularly to McDonald's 40 regional offices throughout the country. "I even find travel sizes of my favorite perfumes. That way, I don't have to worry about remembering to put personal items in my travel bag; it's always ready."

* Don't forget to pack essentials--eyeglasses, airline tickets, itinerary, medications, etc.--in a carry-on bag, which also should include a change of clothing and underwear.

Travel In Comfort

* Give yourself plenty of time to get to the airport. The best way to ensure a pleasant trip is to eliminate the stress resulting from running to catch a plane.

* Sunda Uzzell of Sara Lee says when traveling for business, wear comfortable clothing and avoid high heels. On long flights, your body may swell slightly due to fluid accumulation. Tight rings, shoes and waist bands can cause discomfort. Loose-fitting clothing and elastic waists are advised.