Clothing

Rick Steves tours are quite casual. Most people, like me, just wear whatever they've been wearing the rest of the day. A few people might change to a "nicer" shirt or something, but not at all necessary.

Yes, group dinners on RS tours are very casual. No need to pack a special dress unless you want to/prefer to dress up. Most (mostly all?) people wear the same thing all day and do not change for dinner.

Enjoy the tour!

99.9% of places are casual. If you are dining at Michelin Star standard you may want to dress up a bit.

Thank you all. Helpful.

I'd be more concerned about dressing for the weather than for dinner. ;-)

I am preparing for a trip to Poland and Amsterdam and I'm wondering if wearing full length, bootcut yoga pants with a nice shirt, sweater or blouse would be OK. At my age, I don't really care what people think of me but, at the same time, I don't want to offend anyone either. Here's a link to the pants I'm talking about on Amazon if you're curious. I have them in black and grey and plan to pack blouses/tops that go with both. My belly button will not be exposed LOL and all my shirts will cover the top of the pants so that no one can see that they have a yoga waistband. They'll just look like knit pants. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BK8PXHC6/ref=twister_B0CNXTPD6X?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Would love to hear people's thoughts. Thanks!

I have been wearing navy, grey or black yoga pants for the last 30 years to my trips to Switzerland, Germany and France.
So much more comfortable than jeans, and various tops can add a little pop of color, scarves a bit of drowsiness!

"At my age, I don't really care what people think of me but, at the same time, I don't want to offend anyone either." - It's either one or the other.

Gundersen: OMG haw haw haw that made me howl!!!! :-)

nanlichty: Yoga pants are ubiquitous here. And it sounds like you, at least, will be styling them to look appropriate yet casual. My vote is GO FOR IT!

Signed, a person sitting in a pub in Sussex wearing… yoga pants!

Thanks to everyone for your feedback. Including you, wisenheimer Gundersen. :-)

I'll just toss this in... I was in London in May and had taken a few above-knee skirts to wear with leggings so I'd feel a bit more "dressed up" while being comfortable. Well I was surprised to see virtually every woman of all ages was wearing a long skirt or dress with white tennis shoes as part of their every-day dress. Above the knee was rare. So for whatever that's worth... it Looked pretty comfy and when I return in September I'm going to throw in a long skirt to wear with my white walking shoes for variety.
In May I also was in Liverpool, Chester and Shropshire and the long skirt-white tennis shoe look wasn't nearly on display.
Like others, I've found being comfortable is far more important and I've not eaten anywhere that made me wish I'd dressed up more... but I'm a pub fan...give me history with my beer and a well-done meat pie!

Hi. To the OP: I agree with LIZinPA about maybe a nice shirt or sweater. I have done that and taken a nice silky scarf (or purchased one along the way) just so I have a change or two, but this is purely by choice.

Re yoga pants: I find one of the best preparations for any trip is to take a look at what people are doing and wearing in your destination: watch some youtube videos either by other tourists or by anyone in the city/town/country. Then, watch what the people walking by are wearing. And I don't mean watch a video of the BAFTAS or similar, just everyday human activity. Generally, I find, folks are not dressing too differently from me, with some exceptions for age. I rarely buy anything new for a trip; what I have seems to travel well. Another idea is to watch some Sarah Murdoch videos on clothes, packing, etc. She seems very practical - kinda has to be as a tour guide.

Just to confirm what RandR noted—I’ve been in England for the last five weeks and have seen a noticeable difference in what women are wearing since my last visit in 2023 last fall. Many women with long skirts or dresses, usually a floral pattern. Comfortable flat shoes (usually sports/tennis shoes). Lots of shops showing colorful long dresses/skirts in the windows. (Still lots of leggings…and shorts worn by us hikers).

Yes the floral midi dress with white trainers/sneakers has become so common place among middle aged women that it’s now moved firmly into cliche territory. The long floral dresses are everywhere in the shops because it’s wedding/event season and this is typical attire.

Younger women are wearing a lot of bias cut midi length skirts with adidas Sambas and socks.

But you’re right that above knee skirts and dresses are not common place at the moment. Shorts are pretty widespread now that we’re having good weather, especially slightly longer Bermuda styles. There are loads of nice linen ones available that are less beachy.

I agree with the last two posts. You can wear what you wear at home, but to be honest, European fashions are ahead of the USA and so yoga pants are sort out of style, others will disagree, but if you see them, they will likely be on Americans. I saw leggings and tights and crocs and all of that in the airport but it seems so out of place, like "so 10 years ago" or something, and they can be heavy. There are great travel clothes now that will make you feel comfortable and fit in no matter where you are. I returned from France two weeks ago and a midi length plaid colorful cotton skirt was my absolute favorite to wear. And with flat tennis shoes!

Also flat tennies solves the old dillema of how many pairs of shoes. I like closed toed shoes like Remonte or Reiker (pack smaller and good support) or Birkenstocks suede sneakers (good on cobbles, waterproof them). Look at Eddie Bauer (their departure line of tanks & shirts, and pants), Kuhl (the Cabo Pant is cool and hand washes well, also tshirts and casual jackets), Orvis (soft cool linen), Columbia (freezer dress, rain jacket), Quince (linen tank and cashmere sweaters - lightweight warmth), REI (zip long sleeve and basics) and more expensive Fjallraven or Patagonia for clothing. Together they will have clothing for all seasons.

My plaid skirt (mentioned above) was from Seasalt Cornwall (UK). I also brought along another one of their cotton 3/4 print blouses to France. Look at their website for style ideas. Also, bring a scarf and buy a scarf on your travels. A scarf can be a nice way to add a change for dinnertime, as you asked about.

Pick 3-4 colors only (that make you happy) and everything should combo well. I went with navy, medium blue, burnt orange and beige. Dressed up no longer means black. You shouldn't notice your clothes when you travel (why I don't like wool dresses), Wear your travel clothes before you travel. Use your travel purse before you travel. Go from day to night and see how you feel in your clothes. If you're feeling good, that is just perfect for travel.

My recent suitcase weighed 18 lbs for 2 weeks! You can do this with much less than you think.

Ha, that's always been my problem, 10 years behind the fashions! :)
Maybe that's why my daughter looked a bit aghast when I asked her if I should get some new jeggings!

If you're going to be in London, then the fashion sense goes up a level. No different if you're in NYC, Paris, Tokyo, LA, etc.. or, any other big-world city where fashion and style are more prominent than other cities/areas. That said, if you're on vacation and your wardrobe revolves around trends and style, then by all means wear that special outfit and enjoy your trip.

In general, smart casual works for the vast majority of locations and occasions; dark colors if you're looking to make the most of your carry wardrobe, a bright wrap/pashmina/scarf can make your outfit livelier. The vast majority of travelers will end up wearing the same thing 3-4x during their trip and dress is a nice addition to warm/hot areas, location where getting in the water is possible and you're comfortable in such. I had a gf who wore a skirt half the trip, it saved her space and she could match it with a big variety of tops.

I'm so, so glad that my wife and I don't care whether we "look American." Makes packing so much easier. Makes life so much easier, actually.

As a British woman of late middle age, let me assure you that a lot of British women absolutely live in leggings and/or yoga pants for leisure wear (although personally I’m a faded jeans and Crocs at almost all times kind of woman).

You will see smarter people around, but bear in mind they’re in work clothes and not on vacation!

The classic “jeans and a nice top” or “leggings and a nice top” will do you fine for almost every evening except the very smartest places. Here in England we are really not smart dressers as a whole.

I am not a fashionista and am in my 70s. For the 14 Day England tour I took 2 years ago I took 2 knee length skirts, one in brown & one a darker pink (sounds weird, but wasn't.) I then took blouses that went with both so I had quite a few options. Those 2 skirts were my wardrobe for almost a week of the tour. I know leggings are a bit dated, but I also pack at least one pair of these because they are so comfy. However, I always take longer tunic type tops to go with them. I take a color of leggings that will go with the skirts if we encounter a chilly day. And for evening, I never wear anything other than what I will wear the next day or what I have been wearing that day. I may add a scarf to dress it up a bit &/or wear my sandals instead of my tennies. I have been on 9 or 10 of Rick's tours and my fellow travelers have always dressed very casual.

As a British woman of late middle age, let me assure you that a lot of British women absolutely live in leggings and/or yoga pants

Having recently departed your lovely island, let me just say that a great many who live in yoga pants absolutely should instead live in something else. (And wardrobe misjudgments are neither gender- nor nation-specific.)

Been privileged to have been visiting and staying London for years.

If you want to pack a dress to wear do so but truly no need.

My travel most always in the Fall although in 2022 enjoyed attending Wimbledon in May.

I have a pair of black Gloria Vanderbilt straight legged lightweight jeans that I take and wear each trip.

For the May trip I wore REI hiking capris and cargo shorts. The latter I wore daily as a LA film and TV Location Manager. Walkie talkie fit perfectly in side pocket and the daily call sheet folded perfectly into the other pocket. Practical dresser.

Have I worn leggings. Absolutely.

Trust me I’ve never been nor will I ever be a fashionista. Simply not in my DNA. Last time in a dress was for a funereal when Reagan was in office.

I dress for my comfort. To heck with the opinions of anyone else.

PS: been on 2 RS trips: Istanbul and Florence.

I'd assume it's the same in The US, but very wide straight leg pants are in style this year. The young ones are wearing washed out denim, but there's plenty of other options with this silhouette. I'll link to Uniqlo below.

https://www.uniqlo.com/uk/en/women/bottoms/trousers-leggings-sweatpants

Best paired with an "old school" sneaker, like Adidas Samba Helen mentioned. Samba have a terrible flaw in that they will kill most people's achilles heel for a long break in period. Mine were finally broken in and then I saw Rishi Sunak (ex Prime Minister) in the news wearing them and I went right off them :) I wear black Nike Cortez daily at the moment as a nod to LA. I've had a couple of random strangers compliment me on them.