“Summer is very precious,” says Dylan Lauren, a careful counter when it comes to how many weekends per year the sun is expected to shine. But while the rest of the population is jetting off to exotic locales, the Dylan’s Candy Bar founder is doing all she can to stay put. Of course, when “put” means at one of her family’s coffee-table-book-worthy homes in Montauk or Telluride, it can feel like a vacation in itself.
Nevertheless, as the fearless leader of a candy empire who is about to launch a collaboration with LeSportsac, Lauren is required to spend at least a few Saturdays flying around the world in search of new store locations or undiscovered treats. Most recently, she and her team ate their way through the Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago. “There’s a football field’s worth of candy vendors; it’s a free-for-all,” she says. To counteract the sugar rush (or perhaps take advantage of it), Lauren hit a local Flywheel. It’s her go-to fitness routine when she’s traveling domestically, though if she can’t find a spin class nearby, she’s just as happy to go for a run, work out with resistance bands (light and easy to pack) or hit the hotel pool. “I’ve been in Shanghai aqua-jogging with thousands of people,” she says. She’s also been known to practice her water aerobics in the ocean.
The requisite Emergen-C packets, phone chargers, hair bands, and fashion sneakers also make their way into Lauren’s luggage, as do a few more unexpected items. For instance, if she’s headed somewhere where she doesn’t speak the language, “I bring a can opener,” she says, for canned tuna and vegetables she’ll pick up at a market. She’s also rarely without bubblegum—helps to stave off boredom, she says. As for what all these treasures get thrown into, Lauren swears by her nondescript black roller bag, identifiable by its swirled lollipop tag. But now that her LeSportsac collection of nylon tote, shopping, and duffel bags in crazy candy prints is coming out, she has more luggage options. Which is a good thing, because her travel itinerary keeps filling up, including a visit to a Willy Wonka–inspired garden in London later this summer. Staying put can wait.