Trainleisure: Tan France Teams Up With Trainline To Curate The Ultimate Style Guide To Europe
- By: Ashley Joy Parker
All aboard the syle express ….
The Golden Age of train travel has returned and is capturing a new audience, with Americans booking trips to Europe at record rates.
Last year, more than a million Americans used Trainline—the leading independent rail and coach travel platform selling rail and coach tickets to millions of travelers worldwide—to get their hands on the best ticket prices and plan out their dream European vacations by rail. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this trend coincides with an increased desire for European travel, with more Americans flocking across the pond than ever before.
To help travelers pack with ease and curate the perfect European-inspired wardrobe, Trainline teamed up with TV personality and professional stylist Tan France to create the brand’s first-ever rail travel style guide.
Trainleisure: A Style Guide to Europe provides travelers with ten specially curated and fully styled looks for travels to some of the most popular European destinations for Americans including the UK, France and Italy.
“With most of my relatives still living in the UK, I go back frequently to visit, and we always love to travel through Europe by rail,” says Tan. “You can see multiple regions on a single trip without feeling rushed — after all, the journey is part of the experience.”
He continued, “In collaborating on Trainleisure: A Style Guide to Europe with Trainline, I wanted to offer tips on how to combine style with comfort for travelers hoping to look just as chic in transit as they do out on an Italian wine tour or French Riviera sunset cruise. Hopefully the guide takes the pressure off what to pack, so folks can (quite literally) leave their baggage at home.”
While planning the vacation is half the fun, the process of packing is proving to be a task many Americans find stressful. According to a recent survey conducted by Trainline, more than half of Americans agree that the thought of packing for a European vacation causes anxiety.
Americans are also preparing for trips an average of one month before their departure date, prioritizing both comfort and style when packing. For those that find packing daunting, Tan has compiled his top tips to overcome this pre-trip anxiety.
Leave the baggage at home: Half the clothes people pack are never worn and nobody wants to be weighed down by their baggage. When in doubt, a straw basket purchased along the coast (especially the French Riviera) doubles both as storage and a Euro-chic accessory.
Monochromatic magic: When packing, stick to neutral colors that mix and match easily. Monochromatic outfits are the easiest way to look sophisticated on your travels and embody a quintessentially European look, plus you double the outfit possibilities.
The art of camouflage: Avoid being lost in ‘trainslation’ by forgoing items that scream tourist, key among them a camera bag, bucket hats and location-branded sweatshirts. Oh, and ski[ the beret if you are in Paris.
Flats are your friends, not foes: Nothing gives away a tourist like wearing a pair of sky-high heels or plastic flip-flops while walking around cobblestone streets. If you truly want to look like you belong in Europe, purchase a pair of handmade leather sandals from a local vendor—they’re stylish and make a great souvenir.
Just keep rolling: The great debate between rolling and folding is red hot, but either way it’s important to use packing space wisely. Roll belts and place them inside of shoes, or if you have boots, stuff them with your socks to not only save on space, but keep the leather from creasing.
In addition to Tan’s Euro-chic wardrobe checklist and packing tips, the guide also includes Trainline’s top train routes as well as tips on how to country hop with confidence and uncover the magic of midnight trains through sleeper cars. With countries like France imposing bans on internal flights and many Americans uncomfortable to drive in Europe (55% rank driving on the opposite side of the road as a top worry), knowing how to navigate rail travel has become more vital than ever.
“No one knows style better than Tan France, and no one knows European rail travel better than Trainline,” said Pete Wade, Chief Commercial Officer of Trainline. “We’re eager to be partnering with Tan and sharing our top recommendations on what to pack, how to pair different staple items, and where to visit this year. Helping folks find the most affordable and convenient train itinerary is in Trainline’s DNA and helping travellers gain an authentic European experience through style has been a fun twist.”
Trainline offers routes from over 270 rail and coach operators in 45 countries, including the UK, Italy, France, and Spain, and Americans can buy their tickets in dollars for convenience. With Trainline, it’s easier than ever for travelers to buy the best train ticket for their journey and budget, while having access to smart, real-time travel info on the go throughout Europe.
To view the full style guide and for additional inspiration and travel advice from Tan, click HERE.
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