Places | The USA

Our Inner Compass Inspiration

We see travel as part of our social fabric. It’s something that applies to every aspect of our lives, from the clothes we wear to the food we eat and the music we listen to. That’s why we always love to hear how and where some of our favourite tastemakers from the worlds of travel and fashion plan, prepare and live-out their travel dreams. From world-renowned fashionista Lucy Williams to travel and fitness blogger Alice Tate, we’ve been quizzing some of our favourite inspirational female figures on their past, present and future travel plans…

Lucy Williams AKA Fashion Me Now

Lucy Williams @lucywilliams02

If you could only pack 5 items of clothing when you travel, what would they be?

Vintage denim shorts, scalloped and crocheted bikinis, leather sandals, a straw basket for the beach and breezy white blouses and embroidered shirts and go with everything.

Does your style change when you’re on holiday? Do you take on a new holiday persona?

I’m always fairly casual and that definitely gets accentuated when I’m holiday. I love shopping in local markets and buying more colour and print that I might normally go for at home. I don’t think I take on a persona as such, but I’ve definitely realised the simple things really come into their own while travelling. I like things that you can just pull on after a day on the beach and have pieces I’ve had for almost 10 years that still come with me in my suitcase.

You can only take one more trip, where would you go and why?

Back to Africa without doubt. My dream ‘one day’ trip would take in Namibia, Botswana, Tanzania and finish on the beaches of Mozambique.

Images courtesy of Lucy Williams/Storm Vision. You can follow Lucy’s story on fashionmenow.co.uk

A Girl Who Travels

A Girl Who Travels @a_girlwhotravels

How was your passion for travel ignited?

Travel always came to me naturally – my parents loved travelling and they’d take me on trips from a young age. Some of my earliest childhood memories revolve around trekking the Tatra mountains in Poland or spending my summers by the sea. However, what really inspired me to travel more was my 5 month solo trip to South and East Asia in 2010 – that’s when I really caught the travel bug. Once you experience the carefreeness and freedom that comes from long-term travel, you just don’t quite want to stop.

How do you choose your next destination?

If it’s just a quick getaway and I don’t have a specific destination in mind, then I’d choose it depending on the best flight deals and how warm it is, haha! I also find Instagram and other travel blogs to be a fantastic source of travel inspiration.

You can only take one more trip, where would you go and why?

That’s such a scary thought! I supposed it would be El Nido in Palawan as I’ve been wanting to visit it for ages, or a trip across South America (I’d love to visit Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Bolivia’s famous salt flats).

Images courtesy of A Girl Who Travels, you can follow her travel story at a-girlwhotravels.com 

Alice Tate AKA Flash Anthology

Alice Tate @alice_tate

How was your passion for travel ignited?

I was lucky enough to go on great holidays as a kid. My parents saw the importance in taking my siblings across the world – we holidayed in Europe, America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore… I never took it for granted but I think I’ve only realised as an adult the impact it had on me, and the way it made me forever thirsty to explore.

How do you choose your next destination?

Well, I always like to have at least 2 or 3 booked in advance. It makes me panic if I don’t. I try and think where will be nice and when. I also like to go to places that have a bit of everything – great food, beach, adventure… I was just in Barcelona and absolutely loved it. I’m in Berlin next week, then Peru which I’m so excited for.

You can only take one more trip, where would you go and why?

I’m going to Sri Lanka this year which I’m so, so excited about. The beautiful hotels and villas, the food, the beaches!! Just one more trip though… that’s really tough. I haven’t been to Vietnam, where my sister is at the moment, so I’d love to explore that in full. Or can I say round the world trip?!

Images courtesy of Alice Tate, you can follow Alice’s story on flashanthology.com

Anna Hart in Croatia

Anna Hart @annadothart

How was your passion for travel ignited?

I have my gloriously gung-ho parents to thank for my love of travel. They took me and my sister to India for six months when I was two and my sister was six weeks(!) old. And then we moved to Singapore when I was five, and lived there for seven years, travelling fairly extensively around Southeast Asia on family holidays. So I can’t remember a time when travel hasn’t thrilled me to the core. Also: much as I love my hometown of Belfast, the dreary weather is most definitely a strong incentive to pack your suitcase…

What first drew you to Sri Lanka and what keeps you returning/would make you return?

I’m a vintage travel poster obsessive, and for years I’ve had a dreamy old Air Ceylon poster on my wall that I picked up in a vintage bookstore in Paris. (Incidentally, Stick No Bills, in Galle Fort, is a gallery and boutique owned by two Brits, collating some of the rarest vintage travel posters in the world.) Plus two of my best friends, Sam and Jenny, are half-Sri Lankan, and I figured that any country who produced these two babes must have something going for it.

How do you choose your next destination?

I tend to think about what I’ve been lacking in my everyday life, and self-prescribe a trip based on that. It could be culture and inspiration, and then I’d pack myself off to Rome or Florence. It could be sunshine, and then Southeast Asia always beckons. Or perhaps it’s adventure, and then I’d think about hiking in Peru, Borneo or Slovenia. However you feel right now, there’s a trip that will fix EVERYTHING.

Anna is ‘Travel Editor of Stylist magazine’ and you can read more about her love of travel on annahart.net. Images courtesy Anna Hart.

Hannah Silverton

Hannah Silverton @hanjsilv

How do you choose your next destination?

It’s usually a mixture of planning, spontaneity and opportunity. Each New Year a group of women and I create a mandala – kind of like a vision board – where we cut and stick pictures from magazines and paint/draw/write/ whatever feels right. In the end a collage forms with all sort of cool imagery and messages. My 2015 one strongly featured Maui and three months later I went off to a Hip Hop Yoga retreat there. 2016’s includes Austin (ticked off last month) Rajasthan and Rio, so we’ll see…

You can only take one more trip, where would you go and why?

I still haven’t experienced the colour, character and chaos of India and it’s definitely calling. I’d love to combine it with a trip to Bhutan on one end and Sri Lanka on the other.

What three words would you say best describe your style of travelling?

AS. MUCH. AS. POSSIBLE. (Am I allowed four if two are the same?!)

Images courtesy of Hannah Silverton. You can follow Hannah’s work on her Instagram page!

Dolly Alderton

Dolly Alderton @dollyalderton

How do you choose your next destination?

Books I’m reading. Albums I’m listening to. Pinterest is a killer – it makes me obsessed with a different country, city or island every day. I’ve got a board called “Dolly’s Days Off” which I pin holiday destinations to. Dolly doesn’t actually get many days off, but I like alliteration and a girl can dream. I also try and mix up where I’ve been, so I don’t always return to the same landscape and do the same things. Last summer me and my best friends all went to Barcelona, which was fun but a city break in the really high heat was intense. We walked up probably the biggest hill in Europe to get to Park Guell – constantly having to stop to talc our thighs – and we were so dehydrated and moody we could barely speak to each other for an hour. This year we’re planning to do a flop-out-on-a-Greek-Island holiday.

Who is your ideal travel companion?

Myself. I’ve spear-fished in Bali on my own, seen a bear in the Catskills while hiking on my own and gone to Portugal solo where I tried and failed to learn to surf. Some of the happiest, calmest, most free moments I have experienced have happened while travelling on my own. It’s like it clears away all the heavy silt resting on your mind and lets you get to the thoughts you’ve been burying for years. It can be tough, but I think solo travel is the best way you can come back to yourself if you’re feeling a bit lost. I’d advise any woman to do it once.

Does your style change when you’re on holiday? Do you take on a new holiday persona?

Yes, it does. The first thing I do on holiday is stop wearing makeup and use sea water as my only hair product. I’m also a desperately impressionable person so I throw myself into all the trends of the location over the course of a holiday. I’ll always come back with a suitcase of clothes I’ll never wear again. Put me in Jamaica for a week and I’d come back with dreadlocks. I’m forever grateful I didn’t do a gap year, can’t bear to think what sort of offensive state I would have come back in.

Images courtesty of Dolly Alderton/David Yeo. You can read Dolly’s work on dollyalderton.com

Alice Edwards in Venice

Alice Edwards @alice.j.edwards

Does your style change when you’re on holiday? Do you take on a new holiday persona?

I’m definitely calmer than when I’m in London and I think my style reflects that. I love ancient greek sandals and simple cotton dresses. My entire holiday wardrobe seems to be a variation on a theme. The only thing that changes is that in the evening I add earrings and a clutch bag, usually in raffia or beaded.

How was your passion for travel ignited?

Growing up we spent summers with my grandparents in the South of France. I loved exploring local towns like Biot, Valbonne and Saint Paul du Vence with my family, the markets are a goldmine and there’s the most incredible art scene there, not to mention the delicious food. I suppose since then I very much associate the summer with exploring in that way, especially around Europe.

You can only take one more trip, where would you go and why?

That’s so difficult! I think it would be to Venice, it’s the most incredible place, we finished our honeymoon at The Cipriani which was heavenly. There’s always something new to see and visit and it’s so beautiful, it’s almost hard to believe it’s real.

Image courtesy of Alice Edwards.

Aarti Jonas

Aarti Jonas @mrsjonasrecommends

How do you choose your next destination?

First I would pick the time of year and the length of time I was planning on travelling and if it was for an occasion (i.e. did I have to incorporate visiting anyone or attending an event). Next, I consider my current lifestyle status and budget. If I’ve been working nonstop then I’m likely to go for a more relaxing and remote holiday. If I’m feeling like I’ve got myself into a bit of a routine and crave some excitement, then I usually go for a new destination that allows for a bit of adventure and spontaneity along with copious amounts of relaxation.

Does your style change when you’re on a holiday? Do you take on a new holiday persona?

Yes, I’m definitely more relaxed in my style during the day and not worried about my appearance, more about taking in my surroundings.

How was your passion for travel ignited?

From a young age when I realised that there was more out there to explore than the country and culture that we live in. Everything fascinates me from beautiful scenery, different cultures and ways of living and food! We cannot forget food!

Aarti

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