Talking Travel: Travel in style with a Hollywood A-list fashionista (part 1)

Jeane Beiter is a style consultant to celebrities who want to remake their wardrobe or pick out the perfect dress for a red-carpet event. She’s also author of “The Be. System, Completing the Circle Between You and Your Style,” and former host of “Modern Girl’s Guide to Life” on E! Style Network.

She’s here to give us some tips on traveling in style.

Give us your travel creds. What have been some of your favorite trips?

Oh, I love to travel! Some of my favorite trips include a several week adventure in London and the English countryside, including the bucolic Cotswolds and historical Bath! I could easily live in England! It is not only one of the main fashion and style influences in the world, and therefore incredibly inspirational for me, it is also full of amazing history, engaging people, wonderful museums and vast amounts of land to explore and enjoy.

I also have been fortunate enough to travel to Hawaii on many occasions, most frequently to the remote island of Lana’i, where there are two fantastic sister resorts, The Manele Bay resort and the Lodge at Koele in the upland area of the island. Lanai has been a source of great solitude and interestingly enough, also creative inspiration for me, and I always look forward to going back to the peaceful energy there, eating lots of fresh tropical fruit everyday and playing board games at night on the open terrace of the hotel, listening the waves crash onto the shore below.
I have traveled extensively through the Mexican Riviera, and Caribbean as well, and Nevis is one of my favorite islands there. I particularly enjoy the goats and the monkeys which consider themselves to be quite equal to the residents and guest there!

I just came back a few months ago from several weeks in Alaska and Canada. I really enjoyed Vancouver and British Columbia immensely. The people were warm and friendly, it is truly cosmopolitan, and the food was top notch cuisine and very diverse. The scenery was spectacular! I now live in the Arizona desert, so it was so refreshing! It reminded me a lot of San Francisco, my hometown, which is another one of my very favorite locations in the world, one which I am fortunate enough to be able to visit often. I am currently planning several weeks in Northern Italy for this Fall, and I am extremely excited about that…the food, the culture, and of course the fashion!

What’s a typical day for you? What exactly does a “fashion/style consultant” do, if that’s even an accurate label?

I am an expert in the area of “Personal Image Analysis, Development and Management”, in short, an image expert. Clients hire me to basically take “the guess work out of looking great” and help them translate who they are inside, effectively to the outside! I work with women and men of all different walks of life and age groups, and it is fascinating and fulfilling work. I have been in the style and fashion industries for over three decades, which is, admittedly, 75% of my life! Needless to say, I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up and began working in the business as a model when I was a teenager. It just grew legs from there on.

My work is also very physical so I am frequently in client’s homes doing wardrobe editing, planning and packing them for trips. I am also in various boutiques and department stores pulling clothing and accessories for clients, working with clients who I am shopping in dressing rooms, or putting outfits together for photo shoots and television segments I am working on. I do editorial styling for publications and companies as well, so I handle literally thousands of garments and accessories each year. By the time I hit the bed at night, I do not have one bit of trouble falling asleep!

What are three must-have accessories / items you take when you travel?

My laptop, my black pashmina wrap, and my pinkish beige lip gloss.

What are this summer’s hot fashion trends, and how can we incorporate that into a travel wardrobe?

  • Shiny patent leather accessories like belts, headbands, and large hobo handbags and sandals. Best in black or white.
  • Brightly ”crayola” colored pieces in dresses, skirts, tops shorts and pants, as well as accessories of all types.
  • Safari inspired clothing in various shades of greens, beiges and whites. Jackets, shorts and pants are the most popular, but I have seen some dresses that are darling and versatile as well.
  • Metallic footwear and large geometric jewelry to compliment any skin tone in rose gold, bronze, and silver.
  • Jersey knit separates in grey, black and white. Easy to pack and easy to love! Universally figure flattering!

The best way to incorporate these into a travel wardrobe is to pick two or three neutral colors for your wardrobe pieces and use the accessories, such as your handbag, shoes or jewelry to punch up the color quotient! Some examples:

  • One khaki safari inspired jacket and pants, one black lightweight knit dress, and a pair of white shorts.
  • One black patent leather simple handbag, high heeled sandals and a belt, (that can work day and night) all which coordinate with the dress/ shorts and pants .
  • One light weight tote in beige with metallic accents.
  • One brightly colored swimsuit which can also be worn as a layering top.
  • One brightly accented large scarf which can be worn as a wrap, shawl or cleverly tied bandeau top.
  • Two pairs of flat shoes. One in metallic and one in a bright color.
  • Several jersey knit tee shirts/ sweaters in bright colors and two matching neutrals to the pants/ shorts/ jacket.