Looking good while living out of a suitcase can be a real challenge. And it’s much tougher when you’re trying to travel light. We decided to ask some experts for their advice.
Calgary couple Alykhan Velji and Jason Krell, known as The Style Guys, were nice enough to share some of their strategies with us. They also talked about their hometown of Calgary and the places they most love to visit.
There are lots of gay men around the world who see themselves as “style guys.” How did you come to claim the title?
Jason Krell: It’s probably been 12, 13 years that we’ve been The Style Guys. It started when we were invited to do a morning radio show. My background is in PR and Aly’s is in design, and we were at one of Calgary’s design shows—I was doing PR for it and he was one of the guests. One of the hosts really liked us, and she invited us to come on and talk style. It became a weekly thing. She named us The Style Guys and it just stuck. I ended up trademarking it. It turned into a couple of TV shows and all kinds of weird and wonderful adventures for us.
How has the brand evolved over the years to include travel as well as style?
Alykhan Velji: We started off talking about pop culture and fashion, then slowly started moving into lifestyle with more of a design focus. Then we added travel and real estate to the brand. Jason and I have loved to travel since we got together. Not only to get away but also for inspiration.
Krell: About 10 years ago, we got approached to do a campaign for Cayman Islands tourism—they did a contest where people could experience Grand Cayman with The Style Guys. That started us collaborating on travel stories and some travel PR.
Velji: We love to take a style angle while also focusing on the LGBTQ2S+ side of things.
What do you love about living in Calgary?
Velji: Our families are close by. We just did a massive year-long renovation on the house we’re in right now. My design business is here. So this is our home base.
Krell: I really love to ski and snowboard, so having the Rocky Mountains nearby is great. In the summers, there are tons of festivals.
Velji: We live right beside the Glenmore Reservoir, which is so gorgeous. There’s a whole pathway system where you can go for a walk, jog or even a bike ride. We love doing that in the summer, on a Saturday afternoon, then hitting up a patio. Ol’ Beautiful (1103 12 St. SE, Calgary) is really a thing in the Inglewood area. It’s one of those places where you could go for an hour and end up spending many hours there just people-watching—it’s great for that.The music is good and it has a dynamic crowd.
Krell: They also do really nice cocktails, so you don’t have to just stick to beer. And they’ve got a taco truck.
Velji: We also like Annex Ales (4323 1 St. SE, Calgary), because they have Lil’ Empire Burger (4321 1 St. SE, Calgary) right next door, so you can go there and enjoy a nice burger. They have more than beer, too, which is nice for me because I’m not a big beer drinker.
What’s one of your favourite places to get away from it all?
Krell: We have been to Mexico a couple of times this year, and right now our obsession is actually with Oaxaca and a beach town called Zipolite. We’ve been looking potentially for a vacation property there, which is tricky because it’s not like there are condo developments all over the place there. It’s not very developed.
Velji: Which is what we like about it. It’s magical. There’s something about it that really gets to your soul. It’s carefree. The sunsets, the beaches, the people, the food.
Krell: I really like the bohemian, hippie vibe. We can do yoga, we can go to the beach, we can chill.
I have to tell you that Zipolite is one of my favourite beach towns, but I’m worried that as more people discover it, and it gets more popular among gay men who don’t respect its hippie ethos, it’s going to get more developed, less chill and lose some of its charm. It’s still a long way from Puerto Vallarta, but I worry it’s headed in that direction.
Velji: Absolutely. There’s always that moment where you’re like, “Oh my God, should we tell everyone about this or should we just keep the secret to ourselves?” But it’s inevitable that a place that beautiful and magical will get a little busier. I’m hoping it manages to maintain that small Mexican village vibe.
Krell: It attracts a different kind of traveller. We stayed at Heven Residence (Arcoiris No. Ext. 1, Col. Arroyo, Zipolite). The owner is just so welcoming, and he’s created such a positive space where I think people feel like they can just relax, be themselves. The layout of the hotel is intentionally designed so that you can network and hang out and make friends. Sometimes people become more than friends—you know.
What’s another place you regularly visit?
Krell: We go to London about once a year. We have some great friends there. I used to live there, and it’s always changing. When I lived there, I would never go near Kings Cross—it was so dodgy. Now it’s a really exciting place to visit with some amazing restaurants. We went to German Gymnasium (1 King’s Blvd., London), which used to be a place where Olympic gymnasts trained. Now it’s a restaurant with German food—schnitzel, brezel. Absolutely gorgeous and a massive undertaking.
I have to ask The Style Guys: How do you stay stylish on the road? What are some of your strategies for living out of a suitcase?
Velji: We’ve recently started packing light, which is not easy for us. Especially me. We’ve found those packing cubes are really great, especially if you’re travelling with just a carryon. If you’re travelling in the summertime, lightweight cotton collared shirts are good to travel with—if they’re a little bit wrinkled, it’s okay because they hang a little loose. You don’t want anything too form-fitting.
Krell: I would say, not too many patterns. I don’t want to be that guy who only wears black, but if you pack black, grey, simple neutrals, then you can add some colourful scarves, hats and other accessories. Just keep the tops and bottoms pretty neutral. Never pack uncomfortable shoes. Ever. Because they don’t get worn.
What prompted you to start packing more lightly?
Krell: We hate waiting for our bags like everybody else. You see the delays that can happen, especially if you lose a bag. It’s just not worth it.
Velji: The thing with toiletries and everyday items is that, unless you’re going somewhere really remote, you’re never going to a place where there won’t be a pharmacy where you can get a bottle of hairspray or get some face wash.
Krell: If you have to check a bag on the way home, it’s not as bad as checking a bag on the way there.
Velji: I definitely love to shop. I always know I’m going to regret it if I don’t buy something I love. I have shipped things back. I have wrapped things in bubble wrap and then checked them. I’ll pack something like a duffle bag in my suitcase, to use for bringing things home. One time I brought home a large piece of art from Puerto Vallarta. I wrapped it in bubble wrap, and when I got to the airport, I was just, “Yep, this is my checked luggage,” and they took it.
It survived?
Velji: Yes. I made them put fragile stickers all over it.
What’s a travel tip you love to share?
Krell: People will tell us, “I’m going to Europe this summer and I want to hit up Rome, Barcelona, Paris and London.” I always say that those places are great, but the charm in a lot of countries is in smaller communities. So I tell them to get out of the cities. If you have a week, try and spend four days in the city and three days in the country or smaller places.
Velji: We love to do this thing called “five restaurants in five hours.” It’s hard to have dinner at every single place you want to eat at because it gets expensive. But we’ll research places where we want to eat, pick five, and pop in for a glass of wine and an appy before we move on to the next. We’ll do that over five hours. It’s a great way to explore a certain area, see all those beautiful interiors, get a sense of those places.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
