Fall Faves from our Traveling Stylist
By Cathie Arquilla
GoNOMAD Senior Writer
Rollink Flex 360° Carry-On Spinner Suitcase
This is the smartest roller bag ever! It is both hard and soft-sided and is super lightweight and cool-looking.
Perfect for storage on a shelf or under the bed, Rollink collapses to 5” thick.
The overall weight of the bag (when empty) is 6.2 pounds. The silent, smooth wheels with maximum spinnability and the sturdy handle–is the ticket for any trip. With eight colors, there are plenty of stylistic choices, including chartreuse, which they call Yellow Iris. Now, that would be easy to find at baggage claim!
Rollink also delivers when it comes to carbon footprint. Because it is so lightweight and collapsible, it is four times more efficient to ship.
Rollink Tour Mini-Bag
“Wander roads of faraway lands. Don’t wait for the perfect moment. Take a moment and make it perfect. The world is waiting for you.” This–from the hangtag on the Rollink Mini Bag! Marketing speak, for sure, but as a travel writer, I love it!
This little bag/wallet is sporty and practical. It is perfect for a hands-free touring day. It will fit your phone, an A7 Memobottle, credit cards, cash, and passport. It will not fit your big fat wallet. The hard-sided honeycomb shell makes it different than a purse or a fanny pack. They’ve overdone it with the identity. I wish it didn’t have “Rollink” so prominently displayed on the strap and shell.
Coalatree Trailhead Pants
I like to hike, but I wouldn’t call myself a hiker. So, I was reluctant to try the Coalatree Trailhead Pants. I’m happy I did! They are a perfect combo of comfort, style, and function. I chose the Trailhead Pants in Rust. They breath, stretch, waterproof, and apparently, “stink-proof!”
Being a city girl, I particularly like that the pants have both a drawstring and belt loops. If you want a more urban look, just add a belt.
Coalatree is all about adventure styling and “eco-minded goods.” Their website has plenty of rhetoric about how their production practices help save the planet. As a graduate of the University of Utah (Go Utes!) I like that they are “Designed with love in Utah.”
Mermaid Straw, Rose Gold Travel Set
A black cotton roll with a self-tying bow is undone to reveal a Rose Gold set of utensils, straw, and chopsticks worthy of a picnic at Versailles. Away, chintzy single-use, marine-life killer plastics! I now have travel cutlery fit for a queen. For a lighter-weight alternative to the whole set, use the chopsticks.
House of Perna Straw Bag
I recently traveled to the Côte d’Azur with my House of Perna Straw Tote. As a carry-on, the drawstring pull top allows for over-the-top stuff to fit in the bag. It doubled as a terrific Mediterranean hotel beach club bag, too.
The totes are handmade in Morocco and designed by Amanda Perna in Florida. Her design inspiration for House of Perna is the Palm Beach lifestyle. Oh, but these bags ALSO work so well on the French Riviera. Mai qui!
Romeo NYC
Romeo NYC loves their merino wool, and why not? It’s breathable, insulating, and doesn’t pill as much as cashmere. Additionally, it’s machine washable, as is cashmere, although often the tag says otherwise.
Prima cotton is another lauded fabric for Romeo NYC. It’s described on their website as “resistant to fraying, tearing, pilling, wrinkles and fading.” That is mostly true; it does wrinkle.
What I like about Romeo NYC is how comfy/classic the designs are at a very fair price point, considering the natural fibers.
The items came packaged in reusable zip bags, perfect for travel and storage. The copy on the bag says, “ROMEO is pretty cool at first glance. Once you wear it, it gets amazing. Life’s short! Open the zipper!” So I did!
MyBevi – Outlander Travel Mug 32 oz.
Italians think Americans are ridiculous for the way we drink coffee on the go. But who cares!? MyBevi’s 32 ozers keep drinks hot or cold, and they look pretty cute, too. The fun part is there are nine colors to choose from, which can also be monogrammed. I particularly like that it fits in a cup holder. Soccer and hockey moms, this one is for you!
Subtle Stak- stackable makeup
My custom stak has a lip balm, concealer, highlighter, bronzer, lip & cheek cream, powder blush, and eyeshadow duo. All these stack and twist together into a cylinder that fits in your hand. The design idea is super clever. The makeup, which I’ve been using for over a month, gets five stars from me. It’s excellent.
You can customize your stak with a little help from an online quiz. Or purchase premade staks. My recommendation to the company is to make the purple plastic “stakables” more durable.
8000Kicks: “Hemp is So Cool”
Do your feet need some hemp love? 8000Kicks thinks so. Buy some, and you’ll get a whole education on why “Hemp is so cool.”
The card, with a pop-up cannabis leaf that came with my purchase from CEO Bernardo Carreira, explained that hemp is pesticide-free, purifies the soil, needs five times less water than cotton, and is stronger than steel.
But enough about hemp, let’s talk about the sneakers. They are lightweight and said to be waterproof. (I haven’t tested that yet.) The woven canvas looks stylish. I chose the Explorer V2 unisex kicks in beige and green. They will look good with some of my dresses because they’re not overly sporty.
The Small Hemp Backpack is also easy to use, lightweight, waterproof, and sports plenty of pockets on the outside and inside, including a pen pocket–love that! The two handles on the top can make the backpack appear more like a purse. Nice!
That rounds up the fall round-up. Readers, if you run across any great travel-beauty-fashion must-haves for winter, please let me know by making a comment.
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