We’ve all heard of airport style when it comes to breezing through a busy with a comfortable but flawless ‘fit, but have you heard of train style? No worries, Queer Eye star and fashion guru Tan France is here to help you nail your look.
In fact, he recently teamed up with Trainline, the international digital booking platform for train and bus travel, to create the brand’s first-ever rail travel style guide: Trainleisure: A Style Guide to Europe.
“There’s something about traveling [by train] in Europe and England that makes it feel very much like a part of your journey,” he told Travel + Leisure. “I see it as an extension of my vacation, which means I dress accordingly.”
His best style tips for a train trip? Layers. Even if it is super hot outside, the train should be at a perfect temperature, ideal for layers.
“You might have to take the top layer off, maybe even the second layer, but you want it to still look put together and coordinated and not just, ‘I’m wearing my random t-shirt or the thing that I sleep in,’” he said.
The fashion expert, who used to regularly commute from from Manchester to London when he lived there after college, also suggests a great piece of outwear as your go-to. Everything else can stay relatively simple if you have a statement outwear piece, even if it is neutral.
France also urges travelers to leave the sweatpants at home.
“I would go for comfortable clothing with more structure. We call it ‘hard clothing,’ he explained. “Trousers instead of sweatpants and a sweater as poised to a sweatshirt to elevate what you are used to wearing.”
And if you are a notorious over-packer, France encourages travelers to plan their outfits ahead of time and take pictures for reference.
“Therefore you’re sticking to what you already planned and then you are taking only what you need. My husband will pack this and pack that because you are thinking you are going to be something you’re not on vacation,” he told T+L. “But you’re still you so if you wouldn’t wear it in your regular life, you are probably not going to wear it on vacation.”
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.