Pillow Talk

It’s a given that frequent travel can be stressful”but like most people who spend a lot of time on planes and trains, I’ve slowly developed a collection of coping strategies that help me stay grounded regardless of where in the world I find myself. My latest trick is to tuck a pure silk charmeuse pillowcase into my carry-on to slip over my hotel pillow. Mine is a beautiful shade of sky blue, and comes from the Branche company http://branchebeautysleep.com/, which launched years ago with one of the first successful lines of eco-friendly clothing.

Inspired by childhood memories of a beautiful pillowcase from her mother’s bridal trousseau, designer Donna Hinds”a frequent traveler herself”created a line of silk pillowcases in gorgeous colors, which come with matching silk headbands. Hinds’ design background and expertise with fabrics and textiles had shown her that silk’s properties include a chemical content of 18 amino acids identical to human skin and hair. Sleeping on its smooth surface helps keep skin and hair from creasing and wrinkling. So even if I toss and turn all night in an unfamiliar hotel, I still climb out of bed looking as though I haven’t a care in the world. And, it’s a familiar and comforting bit of home that keeps me feeling connected”without taking up huge amounts of space in my luggage”like, for instance, trying to pack my favorite reading chair.