HipKNOTies - brilliant for holidays!

I recently went on a two week trip to Borneo and was determined to pack as light as I possibly can (as I hate dragging heavy luggage around). However, the holiday included climbing a mountain (and coping with potentially freezing conditions at the top), staying in a local village (where you had to be conservative in covering knees and shoulders), then the jungle (where you had to fight off mosquitos), and finally, looking presentable in a posh hotel at the end of it all!

So, how to pack light, have clothes for all these occasions and more and still look and feel stylish and comfortable…? Well, one trick is to own a “HipKNOTies”!! http://hipknoties.com/

A “HipKNOTies” is effectively a tube of jersey stretch material that can be used to be lots of different styles of skirts, dresses and tops. It can also be used like a pashmina (which was a previous holiday staple of mine) to be a scarf, cover up, shawl, blanket for the plane or even as a pillow.

Here is me wearing my HipKNOTies as a skirt when staying in the village. If you are wondering what I am doing, I was using that long stick to split the rice in the bowl at the bottom to remove it from its husk!:

This one I’m very proud of – we made it to the top of Mount Kinabalu; I was using my HipKNOTies as a scarf to keep my neck warm:

And, finally, relaxing at the end of the holiday having afternoon tea in Le Meridien in Kota Kinabalu, using my HipKNOTies as a one shoulder top:

Hypknoties come in 3 different lengths (short, medium and long – mine is medium), loads of different colours (mine is teal) and one size fits all. They come with a supply of special clear rubber bands that can be used to adjust the hipknoties to your size and to create all the different looks. The hipknoties can also be combined with jewellery (such as rings, bangles and necklaces) or even just a contrasting coloured chord to create even more interesting clothing. The possibilities are endless but the website gives loads of inspiration and video tutorials of many different styles. There is even an app for your phone!

Unfortunately, the company is based in the US so postage does add a fairly significant cost, but I still think they are really good value for the amount of use you get from them. Also, you may think they are just a tube of material and some rubber bands but I tried (and failed) to find a suitable material to replicate the necessary stretchiness and weight of the material and find strong enough rubber bands!

Please let me know if you have a HipKNOTies or if you have any other tips for packing light on holiday?

The Practical Minx

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