Travel Advice for the Developing World: Apparel
August 29th, 2011 § 3 Comments
Having gotten a few requests for information on this subject of late, I thought I’d share my list of tips for traveling in the developing world. This draws upon my experience in Africa, so I can’t speak to its applicability for other regions, but I’m guessing that many of the same principles hold. You can see all of the posts in this series here. First up: what (not) to wear.
You almost certainly do not need to bring:
- A head-to-toe khaki ensemble made of rip-stop, permethrin-treated, UV-blocking fabric. Unless you will be spending weeks at a time in the jungle/the desert, this type of outfit simply isn’t necessary. There are cheaper, easier, and more fashionable ways of protecting yourself from insect bites and sunburn (which I’ll discuss later in this series).
- Your rattiest clothing. Dressing neatly is a point of pride in many places, and it’s rather rude to show up looking like you’ve forgotten to do your laundry in months.
- Shorts or skirts that hit above the knee, for men or women. Such outfits are often considered either extremely informal (and not work-appropriate), appropriate only for children, or simply incongruent with cultural standards. I was once told off in the DRC for wearing a miniskirt to work whilst I was in fact wearing a skirt that hit right at the top of my knees, which would have been work-appropriate in the US. That said, people do dress less conservatively when they’re going out in larger cities, so plan accordingly if you’ll be tearing it up every night.
- White clothing. It’s at high risk of getting stained in the wash.
- Anything that needs to be dry-cleaned. Cleaners are rare outside of more affluent capitals, and your wool sweater will not benefit from being handwashed and line-dried.
Do consider bringing:
- Loose, lightweight, business casual clothing in natural materials. (You truly do not want to be wearing polyester at the height of the dry season heat in some countries.) For women, I’m a fan of loose shirts and dresses belted at the waist for some definition. Toss them over lightweight leggings or cotton pants if they’re too short to be worn by themselves. When I’m not wearing this I usually wear a knee-length skirt and short-sleeve shirt, which I pair with a cardigan for meetings.
(Images from J. Crew)
- Athletic clothes made of synthetic fabrics. Long pants and longsleeved shirts are useful if you’ll be hiking in wooded areas. Hooded raincoats are essential rainy season material.
- Non-cotton underwear, which breathes more easily and dries more quickly than cotton. This is a virtue when you’ve just snatched your laundry in from the rain and need to get dressed for work in an hour.
- One set of warm clothing. Evenings can get cool at high altitudes and high latitudes, and you may well find yourself on a bus with an overenthusiastic air conditioner for hours on end.
- At least one formal set of day and evening clothing (which may well break the above rules). If your work brings you into contact with high-level government officials, you’ll need something more formal than business casual. People also dress quite well (and, as mentioned above, less conservatively) to go out in larger cities. Consider bringing a suit, a pair of nice shoes, and a fun outfit for dancing in – and simply try to avoid getting them dirty/wet. (And, if you’re male, note that some clubs won’t permit entrance to men wearing flipflops.)
When I traveled to Uganda in 1998 I was told to bring dresses with sleeves the fell below the knees. As I understood it this would best conform with local standards of modesty. Do you suppose that is still the case?
Hi Cindy! Knees or elbows? Somehow shoulders don’t seem as scandalous as knees do in many of the places I’ve been, but I can also see how that would be useful in more conservative areas. (Also, thanks for reading along) : )
[...] havoc on them, even if they’re waterproofed. (But do see the exception at the end of the apparel [...]