Hiring Clothes For Conferences & Hotel Events At home or Overseas

 I always pack one fancy evening dress, even if I have no plans to eat out anywhere fancy. You never know what might happen. 

Indian Wedding Clothes Needed

On a plane to India, we were delayed several hours and got to chat to other travellers. One of the Indians was on his way to a family wedding and invited me. I suddenly needed something really grand to wear. And not something revealing. 

Ski Clothes Needed

On another occasion I travelled from the UK to Singapore and had tropical clothes for Singapore, then we extended our flights and took a trip on to New Zealand where it was ski season in the UK summer. I needed ski clothes in a hurry, not another set at large prices. I ended up in a charity shop. Clothes problem solved. 

The only difficulty was packing the bulky jacket. No hire shops were available for clothes at the ski area of Queenstown at that time. But you could look at collecting hire clothes from the capital or airport city on arrival in a foreign country, or having them sent to you family, friends, or colleagues, if you attend a conference with a last night grand ball.

Fancy Dress Needed For Hotel Murder Weekend

You could be out in the street, joining a parade, or indoors at a private wedding reception. or conference.

On another occasion I was at a hotel in the UK for a murder mystery weekend. The opening night was a mock wedding. Americans arrived well organized, with fancy dress in their luggage. Unfortunately, their airline had misrouted their luggage which was due to arrive the next day, after the dinner.

Party Hire Shop For Conferences

Another solution is from Swanwick Witers Summer School in Derbyshire. They have a fancy dress night on a theme sometimes, the FORTIES (1940S) or Sixties. The committee of the Summer School arrange for a local party shop to deliver a rack of fancy dress clothes. In some cases you have to order and pay in advance. The copany collects everybody's party clothes the next day. This is good for those traavelling by train and not wanting to carry extra clothes in additon to the books they have bought, or brought but not sold. 

https://www.hurrcollective.com/

https://thevolte.com/dresses

Snow in London - wear ski clothes

One year in London I had planned to take a walking tour. I thought, I can't go out - it's too cold. Then I thought, but I went out to ski areas in the USA with snow up to my knees. How did I manage it? I wore ski wear.

That's the answer. Always travel with ski wear in cold climates. If you decide against packing bulky clothes, at least take thermal underwear, warm gloves, scarves, and a hat, and thick socks you can wear inside cheap Wellington boots.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

18 Ways to keep warm in cold countries and cold weather - 18 Tips and tricks

A writer asked how to keep warm when sitting writing.

1 Firstly you could write standing up and jiggle about.

WARM UP
2 Start your day with a hot bath. 
3 Have a hot drink, held in your hands, with a cover so it doesn't spill. 

4 Set a buzzer and every half hour get up, dance to music. 

5 Wash hands in hot water and soak them in basin of hot water. 

6 At your desk: Hot water bottle on your lap or as a wrist rest. 

7 Wear a neck warmer. 

8 Wear a hooded dressing gown or house coat. 

9 Sit under car rug. 

10 Wear knee length boots or big boots with two pairs of socks. 

11 Sit in the smallest room. 

12 Put door stops or cushions over draughts around doors, keyholes and windows. - but air rooms to prevent moisture growing mould. 

13 Have an afternoon nap or early night. Work in bed with a hot water bottle or electric blanket. 

OUTDOORS
14 Go for a walk outdoors wearing a ski jacket and gloves and a hooded scarf. 

15 Buy chemical hand warmers from a ski resort. You shake the chemicals to mix them. The ones we bought lasted about 30 minutes. But in insulated gloves they will stay warm about two hours. You then have to buy more  

16 If you take an organised walk, such as a Dickens tour, Beatles Tour, Jack the Ripper tour, you will need warm shoes and clothes. Once winter I was invited on a London walk. As I dressed to go I almost turned back when I opened my front door to be greeted by a chill wind. 

I wondered how I had survived skiing holidays the previous two years in the USA, with knee high snow, and icicles hanging from the windows. Quite simple, we had worn ski clothes. Pity I didn't have them. Actually I did. I hunt through the cupboards revealed ski jackets or various thickness and colours from plain to shrieking - 'help - find me in an avalanche - look here!' 

More rummaging produced socks so thick they could only be worn with boots. The warm gloves matching the hat would suit a boxer and look absurd with anything except a complete ski outfit.

Nobody I knew was on the walk. I wore the ski outfit.

When I reached the meeting place, I was the only person dressed in absurd shouting colours. The tour guide was not interested in criticising my clothes. He was only interested in remembering his stories.

As we progressed the other walkers got chillier and chillier, sniffing, hugging themselves to keep warm. At the end an American couple said enviously, "We wish we had thought of wearing our ski clothes. You do look nice and warm."

INDOORS
17 Sew your old scarves with small seams at midpoint to make hoods to wear indoors and out. 

18 Wear gloves with fingertips cut off or buy them in Poundland so you can type wearing gloves. Some mittens have fold back finger covers but when folded down they cover all fingers.

Angela is a travel writer, author and speaker.

Wear ski clothes in snow!

First the bad news.
I just read about somebody who died in their car parked outside their own home, where they often went to speak on their mobile phone.
Whether they died of hypothermia, or from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by putting on the heater, my solution is valid. Wear warm clothes whenever you step outside the front door.
An Irish student (Feb 2014) died in London, wearing only a tee-shirt and jeans to a pub, went out for some food, also died.
Now the good news.
You can spend all day on a ski slope in ski clothes. When it's snowy outside, even though I'm nowhere near a ski resort, I wear clothes designed to be worn in snow.
I discovered this trick one year when I was considering taking a walking tour of the East End of London. London has various walking tours, Jack the Ripper, Jewish East end, Shakespeare, Beatles and many more by several companies. I was wondering what to wear, when I remembered that a previous year I'd been at a ski resort in the USA with snow outside up to your knees, temperatures to match, yet managed to survive, physically and mentally. How had I done it? By swearing ski clothes. If only I had them. Glancing at my nearby hall pegs I saw my ski jacket was there. Complete with built in hood, zip up pockets outside for hands or cash or travel cards, inside pockets to keep your cash or credit card or ID safe, big pockets for cameras and water bottles. Everything for the person who wants to walk around in cold weather without lugging a handbag or suitcase on wheels.
So I went off on my walking tour. I thought people would laugh at my garish luminous green and pink ski jacket in grey London. On the contrary, I was greeted by admiring glances. By the end of the tour everybody else was shivering and Americans, wearing thin gloves and macs and coats, complimented me on my foresight and envied my warm ski clothes.