What to Pack for a Trip to Los Angeles

This list is designed to help you face Los Angeles head-on and have a great time here. There are two main themes to this packing list: The first is preparation for the desert climate here in Los Angeles. The second, if you choose to accept the gauntlet, is about looking good while visiting the City of Angels. Who knows, at the end of the day you might end up hanging out with Justin Timberlake or Mila Kunis and that situation is nothing to take lightly! Dress properly and be prepared! Anyways let’s get to it, things to pack for a visit to Los Angeles:

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Flip-Flops

It is impressive what percentage of the time you can get away with wearing flip-flops in Los Angeles! Beach culture is a prized aspect of the Southland and these simple plastic sandals are just a part of life here. So flip-flop to your hearts content.  Havaianas long ago ago became the flip-flop brand of choice. This brand is relatively spendy here in the states (in Brazil they’re much more affordable); on the upside they do last forever.

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Sunglasses

To deal with all this Southern California sunshine you are going to need some eye protection! The preponderance of aviators in this domain is undeniable but also puzzling. . . . is Chuck Yeager the style-icon of the decade or something? I have also noticed that big and clunky plastic is always good now. Forget about tiny metal John Lennon spectacles and instead go for large and ostentatious Gucci or Chanel shades, or something of that ilk.

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Hat

The sunglasses are not gonna do it alone! Bring a hat. Los Angeles is located in the desert; all that vegetation you see in pictures and movies gets watered. The sun here is a force to be reckoned with.

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Bikini

What with the warm weather and the lovely Pacific Ocean beaches, remember to bring a swimsuit. The temperature of the ocean water is a little tricky. It is warmest (68 degrees) in August and September, after all those summer months raising the temperature. Never fear though, after swimming in the brisk water (it gets as cold as 57 degrees in January) you can always sunbathe to warm up. Just remember to bring sun-block or else buy some when you are here.

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Jeans and High Heels

This combination is something I feel compelled to draw to your attention. Jeans (especially ones that cost over $200) rule the day in Southern California (as well as many other locales I guess) and they are not going away anytime soon. While the style on men is looser, for women jeans tend to be lycra-laced and tighter. The number of circumstances in which jeans are appropriate garb in Los Angeles is startling. When it comes to nightlife, forget the flip-flops.  Instead pair those super expensive jeans with some nice high heel shoes and get ready to party all night (on your tippy-toes).

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Casual Expensive Clothing

The dress-code is Los Angeles is often very casual. I think this due to the historically laid-back Southern California attitude, paired with the very visible presence of industries like entertainment and advertising where casual garb is more acceptable. At the same time, there are many very affluent and brand-conscious people in the Southland, people who have expendable income that they want to spend on looking good. This creates the ironic existence of simultaneously very casual and very expensive clothing. An outfit can kinda look like it cost $25 while in reality it cost $1500. The expense of these clothes is apparent if you are savvy enough to see the better fit, better materials and construction, and the presence of the brand name. If you are not savvy enough to pick-up on these clues, your opinion doesn’t really matter anyways. (Retailers like Forever 21 turn this dynamic on its head again by creating $25 clothes that look like $1500 clothes that look like $25 clothes!)

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Light Coat

If there is one thing that I want to communicate in this blog entry it is the fact that Los Angeles is in the desert. In addition to the loads of sunshine, this means it’s hot in the day and cool at night. So once the sun sets you will want to have some sort of jacket to keep yourself warm.

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Maps/Guidebook/GPS

Probably the trickiest thing you are going to encounter here is getting from place to place. Just to remind you, the Los Angeles basin is immense and transportation can be problematic. The old way of navigating and making sense of location by using physical maps still has some benefits. I for one appreciate having a real piece of paper in my hands to look at and handle. If you do buy maps of Los Angeles make sure that they include actual details of the area you want to traverse (there are a lot of highway-only maps out there that are useful but do not help you to actual find your destination). Because of the size of the Los Angeles basin, a detailed map will surely be only for a specific area. Accordingly, residents rely on the great Thomas Guides, but for a visitor this is probably overkill. The widely available NotForTourist book is a good compromise, with a lot of maps that you will probably need as well as useful guidebook information.

Of course, many people now are going to be using either a cellphone app or a GPS device. This is a nice link listing 10 apps useful for travel; of course we forgive travelchannel.com for not mentioning the affordable nileguide app. Finally, Google maps is immensely useful (the traffic button can be super handy).

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Comfortable Walking Shoes

The temptation in Los Angeles is to get stuck in your rental car, driving hither-and-yon (and rubber-necking like Plastic Man). This confined existence is indeed the lot of many resident Angelenos, trapped daily by their long commutes and the thick traffic. I encourage you, dear visitor, to ditch the car every once in awhile.  Check-out downtown by foot (MOCA and the Angels Flight Railway and Grand Central Market are close together for example). Take the subway to Hollywood and Highland where you can see Grauman’s Chinese, the Walk of Fame, and all those superheros angling for a couple bucks in exchange for a photo-op. Go out to Venice and walk the beach walk. . . .There is no way around the fact that a trip to Los Angeles may in fact involve a lot of driving. When you are on foot though, I hazard you will enjoy yourself and get more of the flavor of the city.  So pack comfortable walking shoes for your trip!

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Camera

Yes I know this one is pretty obvious. Bring a camera, if only to prepare for your future career as a paparazzi.

[Photos courtesy of JorgeBrazil, Brian Henry ////|/, jenny downing, JASON ANFINSEN, FaceMePLS, colros, Jane Rahman, myahya,  PhBasumata]