We’ve all heard of airport style when it comes to breezing through a busy day with a comfortable but impeccable ‘fit’, but have you ever heard of train style? Not to worry, 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 train travel style guide: Trainleisure: A Style Guide to Europe.
“There’s something about travelling [by train] in Europe and England that makes it feel very much a part of your journey,” he tells Travel + Leisure. “I see it as an extension of my holiday, which means I dress accordingly.”
His best style tips for train travel? Layers. Even if it’s super hot outside, the train should be at the perfect temperature for layering.
“You might have to take off the top layer, maybe even the second layer, but you still want it to look put together and coordinated and not just ‘I’m wearing my random T-shirt or the thing I sleep in’,” he said.
The fashion expert, who regularly commuted from Manchester to London when he lived there after university, also suggests a great piece of outerwear as your go-to. Everything else can stay relatively simple if you have a statement piece of outwear, even if it is neutral.
France also urges travellers to leave the sweatpants at home.
“I would go for comfortable clothes with more structure. We call it ‘hard clothing’,” he explains. “Trousers instead of sweatpants, and a sweater as opposed to a sweatshirt to elevate what you are used to wearing.”
And if you are a notorious over-packer, France encourages travellers to plan their outfits in advance and take photos for reference.
“So you stick to what you’ve already planned and then you only take what you need. My husband will pack this and that because you think you’re going to be something you’re not on holiday,” he told T+L. “But you’re still you, so if you wouldn’t wear it in your normal life, you probably won’t wear it on holiday.”
Trainline offers routes from more than 270 train and coach operators in 45 countries, including the UK, Italy, France and Spain, and Americans can buy their tickets in dollars for convenience.