11 Performance Wear Outfits You’ll Actually Want to Wear While Traveling, 2017 Edition

Caroline Morse Teel is the Managing Editor for SmarterTravel Media. Follow her on Instagram @TravelWithCaroline.

Caroline joined Boston-based SmarterTravel in 2011 after living in Ireland, London, and Manhattan. She's traveled to all seven continents, jumped out of planes, and bungeed off bridges in the pursuit of a good story. She loves exploring off-the-beaten path destinations, anything outdoorsy, and all things adventure.

Her stories have also appeared online at USA Today, Business Insider, Huffington Post, Yahoo, Boston.com, TripAdvisor, Buzzfeed, Jetsetter, Oyster, Airfarewatchdog, and others.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: "Earplugs. A good pair has saved my sleep and sanity many times!"

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: Hiking Mount Kilimanjaro.

Travel Motto: "Don't be boring."

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: "Aisle (when the first class private suite isn't available)."

E-mail her at cteel@smartertravel.com.

See recent posts by Caroline Morse Teel

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Doesn’t wrinkle no matter how it’s packed, can go without washing, resists stains, looks good, and is comfortable—is that too much to ask from a piece of clothing? Not from these 11 performance wear clothing items.

Performance Wear Outfits You’ll Actually Want to Wear While Traveling

Inspired by performance wear clothing (think workout gear and other technical fabrics), these outfits will feel good and look even better, even on the longest travel day.

Ministry of Supply

MIT engineers, athletes, and designers founded the technical clothing company Ministry of Supply and together, they have solved the ultimate fashion question of what to wear on a freezing cold plane. The answer: a 3D Print-Knit Blazer (available for men and women). This customizable printing process means that the blazer has no seams to rub you the wrong way, making it ultra-comfortable. The yarn is moisture-wicking, wrinkle-resistant, and warm—so you’ll look polished but still feel like you’re wearing a hoodie. Women should layer it with Ministry of Supply’s Easier Than Silk Shirt, which feels like silk but is adapted for travel, meaning it’s machine-washable and wrinkle-resistant.

Men can pair the blazer with the Going Places Pant, which upgrades the traditional dress pant with a stretch warp-knit fabric that won’t wrinkle and the Aero Button Down, which has a hidden ventilation in the underarm plus built-in collar stays.

Toad & Co

Toad & Co’s Imogene dress is comfortable and stylish, thanks to its blended organic cotton and Tencel fabric, which is soft and stretchy. Best of all, this dress has pockets, making it great for travel.

If you prefer to travel in pants, check out Toad & Co’s Sidekick Jegging, which look like jeans but are made from a French Terry Super Stretch fabric that combines organic cotton, polyester, and spandex to make them feel like leggings (but they offer true pants-type coverage). There’s even a hidden zip pocket on the back to hide your valuables.

For colder trips, try Toad & Co’s Heartfelt Sweater Skirt, made from 100 percent merino wool to keep you warm (but not itchy or weighed down).

Bluffworks

If doing laundry in the hotel room sink isn’t quite your style, you need Bluffworks’ new Meridian Dress Shirt. This anti-microbial shirt can be worn for multiple days (even during physical activity) without retaining odors. Unlike most performance shirts, this one is actually indistinguishable from a regular dress shirt, with a normal feeling and looking fabric that doesn’t wrinkle, moves with you, and dries quickly. It’s a great length as well, so you can wear it tucked in or out, depending on how casual you want to be.

Olukai Pehuea

Performance wear outfits don’t have to include sneakers—Olukai’s Pehuea will offer you the same comfort in a more stylish package with a lightweight mesh-lined, supportive footbed that’s removable and washable. The Pehueas can be easily slipped on and off, and thanks to the drop-in heel that collapses down, packed easily (and worn as either a shoe or a slide).

Feetures Socks

If your feet aren’t comfortable while traveling, you’re not going to be comfortable, so finish off your performance wear outfits with a quality pair of socks, like Feetures. These ultra-engineered socks provide much-needed cushioning to feet, and help keep them cool and sweat-free.

Orvis

For a cozy layer that works for hiking … or just sitting in a café, you can’t go wrong with Orvis’ Signature Softest Striped Quarter-Zip Sweatshirt. This classic style uses a 100 percent cotton French rib fabric for the ultimate in softness and warmth.

Men will like the fancier but equally comfortable pure cotton Wrinkle-free Oxford shirt, which is dressy but easy to wear and pack, since it’s designed to be no-iron.

TIME Slippers

TIME Slippers are slippers that are undercover as sneakers, so you can confidently wear them out of the house. The inside is crafted from a cozy wool lining (just like your favorite slippers), and have an insole made from yoga mats for squishy comfort. The outside looks like a normal street-style sneaker, but has stretch laces and a collapsible back so that you can slip them on and off to fly through airport security with ease.

ABEO Hilda Boots

Winter boots are always a challenging part of performance wear outfits—oftentimes, you’ll just have to change out of your heavy snow boots when you get inside in order to look presentable. Not so with the ABEO Hilda boots, which are water-resistant on the outside and super cozy on the inside (the faux fur lining feels like slippers). These boots come with custom-fit orthotics that give you sneaker-like support and cushioning, so you can wear these all day.

QOR

QOR is a performance wear company makes clothing that can seamlessly transition from fitness activities to regular wear. Its Merino Dress is made from a signature merino knit fabric that protects you from the sun, won’t wrinkle or retain odors, absorbs moisture, and is breathable.

The company’s Oxford Shirt uses a cotton/polyester/spandex fabric blend for similar results—this shirt really won’t wrinkle, plus has subtle reflective elements in case you’re out biking or walking at night.

Rockport Total Motion Adelyn Ballet Flat

When you think performance wear outfits, do you think Adidas? Rockport does; it has taken the brand’s truTech sports technology and put it into a stylish ballet flat. The Adelyn is lightweight, and flexible, but also cushioned and shock-absorbing: these are the shoes you want to wear while wandering cobblestoned streets.

Nau

Tights are my favorite piece of cold-weather travel clothing because they’re warm and stylish but way easier and more comfortable to wear than pants. Nau’s Randygoat Stretch Tight are lined with fleece, so they will keep you super warm and cozy—plus, they have a touch of spandex built-in so they won’t restrain you.

And Nau’s Shadow Box Shirt uses recycled wool and organic cotton to create a casual but still polished button-up shirt that will keep you warm without adding too much bulk.

More from SmarterTravel:

Caroline Morse loves performance wear clothing for travel. Follow Caroline on Instagram @TravelWithCaroline for style and travel photos.

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Editor’s note: This story was originally published in 2017. It has been updated to reflect the most current information.

We hand-pick everything we recommend and select items through testing and reviews. Some products are sent to us free of charge with no incentive to offer a favorable review. We offer our unbiased opinions and do not accept compensation to review products. All items are in stock and prices are accurate at the time of publication. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission.