Fashion Insider: Vacation Essentials

When season is nearing but summer isn’t quite over yet, there’s something on our minds: time to squeeze in one last vacation.

After seven months of weekends — and often weekdays and nights — packed with luncheons and dinners for our beloved non-profits, an unwinding period is necessary. This time is best spent overseas for many of our hardworking philanthropists. 

Although traveling is a great way to escape the heat for a while and relax, packing can often be more stressful than it should be. 

We talked to three jet-setting socialites to see what vacation essentials are a must-have for them when flying internationally.

Terri and Michael Klauber recently packed their bags for a trip to the Douro Valley in Pinho, Portugal. Terri says she always travels with a scarf, denim jacket and her camera.

“I usually purchase an inexpensive hat during my travels and then regift it as I leave,” Terri says. “It isn’t easy traveling with a hat box.”

She brings a scarf for many reasons, including keeping warm in chillier weather and because it’s an easy way to dress up basic clothing. She also says denim jackets are in style right now, making it the perfect accessory for a summer trip.

The Klaubers also love photography, so a camera — or two —  are essential for any trip.

“My camera is peeking out behind me (in the photo,)” Terri says. “It’s a true essential to capture all the beauty that we witnessed.”

On a recent “babymoon,” Erin and Doug Christy headed to the city of love — Paris.

While on their trip, Erin packed for a maternity photo shoot with multiple outfits, which is not the easiest feat to accomplish while living out of a suitcase. However, she follows one simple rule to make it work: packing in a color scheme.

For Paris, Erin picked a color scheme of blush, blue and bright pink, perfect for a photo shoot to celebrate their baby girl due in September. Everything she packed matched one purse, two pairs of shoes and a linen blazer for the evenings.

“This trick keeps you looking fashionable while still being practical,” Erin says. “If you need inspiration to get out of the black and white funk, pick out a dress with a print that you love and then use those colors to build the rest of the vacation wardrobe.”