Abroad Style Tips

Study abroad apps are due very soon for many rising juniors, and more current juniors still are in the midst of their spring abroad experiences. For their sake, our former co-Editor-in-Chief and abroad queen Sarah Fels (BC ’16) gives us the lowdown of what style essentials to bring along to ensure you make the most of your abroad experience.

 

1) Comfortable shoes that can hold up in all types of weather.

 

• You walk everywhere, and so you can’t have shoes that will give you blisters or get soggy when it rains.
• Trendy sneakers are also a good idea (slip-ons, high tops, Adidas) *Note: I said “trendy sneakers.” Don’t wear athletic sneakers around unless you are exercising and/or it’s a pair of Nikes you’ve seen on Gigi and Kendall walking around. 
• If you are studying in London or northern Europe cities, you need some sort of rain boot. Probably something black and simple.

 

2) Layers!

 

• You go to so many new places; you don’t really know what the weather will be like. At the end of the day, dressing warm enough is so important and will literally make your experience so much better. You don’t want to fly to Rome for the weekend but be shivering the entire time.
• Bring a few jackets of different weights, and then change up your layers depending on the weather. If it’s a little too warm for a big puffy coat but too cold for a leather jacket, try an oversized crew neck sweater under your jacket, and finish it off with a giant scarf to make the look cohesive. You really should also look at the tags on your sweaters: sweaters made from different types of wool will keep you the warmest, hands down. While clothing made from synthetic material will be easiest to care for abroad (machine washable), don’t skip out on good warm sweaters. Once it warms up, you can switch back to cotton. Don’t forget your giant scarf, and hat and gloves while you’re at it.

• Do not bring your entire wardrobe abroad–you don’t need that much. Bring a lot of basics in neutral colors that can be worn in lots of different combinations. Tanks, t-shirts, and long sleeves in black, white, grey, and navy are a must. You will wear some combination of these under most outfits. Oversized sweaters will also be your best friend. Leggings are okay, but jeans are more popular.

 

5) Bring good, warm PJ’s.

 

 

You don’t necessarily know what your new apartment or hotel rooms will be like and you don’t want to be cold while you sleep.

 

 

6) The bags

 

• You don’t need many bags abroad, but you do need one that is big enough for your laptop/school books (backpacks aren’t very popular in Europe), you need one that is big enough to carry everything you need for a day of touring the city, and you need a good evening bag to carry the essentials (wallet, gum, phone, chap stick). While in America you might not actually wear your bag cross-body, in Europe it’s important that your bag has a long enough strap for you to wear it cross-body because pick pockets are no joke. Half of your program will get their phone stolen during the first week you are away.