Whether you’re going on a cruise, visiting your grandparents or backpacking across the Middle East, you never want to be caught without the proper attire for a formal event. While most of your meals and activities will be casual affairs that allow you to wear your favorite t-shirt for the fifteenth day in a row and maintain your streak of not washing your hair since you left home, occasionally you will be invited to be a grownup. When that time comes, you’ll be glad that you packed one nice outfit.
Whether it’s a simple dress shirt and slacks, a classic little black dress or a tuxedo t-shirt, being able to dress the part while at a nice restaurant or wedding reception to which you were unexpectedly invited while hanging out in India (trust me, it happens) will keep you from embarrassing yourself. At least until you use the wrong fork during the salad course.
It may seem like a nuisance to cram a formal outfit into your pack, but why limit yourself to only casual events when you are on the road? For the world to truly be your oyster, you need to be able to dress for any occasion. And that may mean throwing on a tie at some point. Suck it up, because if you want everything from soup to nuts, sometimes you need to put on everything from hat to tux.
