Look and Listen

Biography

Barbara likes to travel in style and comfort and shows you and your colleagues how. She doesn’t want you to sabotage your trip or your career with lost luggage or the wrong wardrobe. Even as a child, she was obsessed with design. At 9, she designed and sewed clothes for her doll. At 11, she started sewing clothes for herself, and the next summer, she and a friend made paper dolls with colored pencils and cardboard. They made dolls with different hair and eye colors, dressing them in attractive colors. Later, Barbara practiced on real people, visualizing what colors and styles they should wear. The more receptive folks started paying her for advice (sometimes with garden produce) and she still offers consultations. At 16, her summer job was in a clothing boutique, where her duties included alterations. While studying Math and Physics in college, she supported herself in retail jobs and then as a Math Consultant. She coveted expensive clothing she saw in San Francisco stores but couldn’t afford it on part-timer income, so she copied it, often hand-sewing on the commute bus. After graduation, she worked as a programmer and could indulge her fashion passion, but the years of forced frugality had taken their toll. She didn’t mind buying shoes but couldn’t justify spending money on designer clothing, which she could make. She bought a sewing machine. Now, like so many seamstresses, she has a fabric stash that would take years to work through. At 23, Barbara took her first trip to Europe. She and her husband took only two bags for six weeks. These were almost empty on the way over and came back full, including six meters of tapestry for a bedspread. She then copied a velvet evening dress seen in a French magazine. That trip was so successful that they took longer ones. In total, they spent nearly a year overseas plus additional trips in North America. They still traveled with just one carry-on bag each and they dressed nicely. People asked: “How long are you here, two weeks?” “Two months.” “Where’s the rest of your luggage?” “This is all of it.” “How do you do it?” Barbara finally realized: “There’s a book here.” That book is It’s In The Bag: The Complete Guide to Lightweight Travel. It shows how to travel stylishly with just a carry-on. People loved it but some wanted more. They wanted to know how to pick their own best colors and what to wear for different business situations and global destinations. After much research and work, Barbara will soon publish the second book in the series: It’s In The Bag: Your Custom Business & Travel Wardrobe. She wants you to travel without worry. Contact information is at www.chateaupublishing.com

Inspiration