Understanding Why I Dress Better While Travelling Has Improved My Style Back Home

On a recent weeklong trip to Copenhagen, I realised I really liked what I was wearing. Not just the individual clothes, but the complete outfits. I wasn’t overthinking the choices — I was having fun and feeling confident. The pieces tied together well, and the results looked effortless.

One morning, I paired a thrifted brown leather vest with Lululemon gym shorts. Another day, a sheer leopard print top, sweat shorts and red ballet flats. When I treated myself to a nice dinner, I wore black Matteau slacks, a white chiffon Anna Quan top and a thrifted Fendi purse. I pulled my hair into a low bun, added some jewellery, and slipped into black heels from Seed. I still think about how chic I felt in that simple, yet elegant outfit.

This experience of feeling confident in what I was wearing isn't exclusive to that trip. Nor, I’m sure, is it exclusive to me. Many people dress better when they’re on holiday. While new clothes for the trip and destination shopping definitely play a part, I think there are deeper reasons we dress better when we’re away.

It recently hit me that unpacking the why behind this could help me dress just as well when I’m not away, but home in Sydney. So here’s why I think that is.

Out of all the reasons I dress better when I’m away, this is the most important: I only have my suitcase of clothes to choose from. At home, I have an overflowing closet, with hangers jammed every which way. Often, I’ll pull out pieces I haven’t seen for years and had completely forgotten about.

Most mornings, getting dressed at home, I feel overwhelmed by choice. Getting ready in a hotel room or Airbnb, though, I usually only have what’s in my suitcase — a few tops, bottoms, shoes and accessories. I’m free of the seemingly endless options and forced to just work with what I have and be more creative.

Since realising this, I’ve tried to pare back my wardrobe at home and store off-season clothes away. I’ve been actively looking for ways to reduce that visual overwhelm, which, in turn, dials up my mixing and matching, resulting in outfits that appear care-free.

Looking at an entire outfit as I’m putting it together has been a game-changer. I might notice that sneakers shorten my legs in a certain outfit and that I should add an open-toe heel instead. Or I might play around with how my shirt's tucked or trousers cuffed.

I have full-length mirrors at home, but I don’t have as much space to stand in front of them and examine what I'm wearing as I usually do when I’m away (read: there are usually clothes littered in front of my mirrors at home). Since discovering the importance of a full-length mirror, I’ve been making an effort to use them and study my whole look.

Like many others, when I’m travelling, I take a lot more photos of myself — both for my own memories and to share online. Because I know I’ll be documenting my day, I put a lot more thought into what I’m wearing.

It’s had me thinking, at home in Sydney: What would I wear if I knew photos of it would potentially be shared online? I definitely wouldn’t be wearing my ratty loungewear — I’d be putting in a lot more effort. I’ve been trying to adopt that mindset every morning.

Finally, every photo of my outfit is an opportunity to study what I liked about it or what I could’ve done better. When I’m travelling and taking constant photos, I have many more chances for that than I usually do. My outfit might’ve needed an extra accessory, or it could've been too matchy-matchy and needed something unexpected to break it up.

These days, at home, I regularly take photos of my outfits using a tripod — sometimes to share online, sometimes just for myself. If you don’t want to use a tripod, you could just take mirror selfies before you leave the house. You’ll be able to look back at outfits with a fresh set of eyes and see whether it worked or what you could’ve done better.