Clothing

It won't take up much room but do you really want to carry around an outfit you may only use once? You can have just as romantic a dinner in a nice pair of pants and a blouse as you can with a dress and pumps. I would say not to bother. Donna

Pumps are not a good idea for cobbled walkways and really a waste of space in my opinion. A good pair of flats won't take up much space if you choose.

I always take a dressy outfit for this purpose. A nice little black dress doesn't take up much room. You can change it up with a scarf, sweater, dressy jacket, etc. and wear it more than you migh tthink. (I take a little silk skirt for this purpose, and an aassortment of tops I can wear with other things as well). For shoes, I take a pair of stappy sandals which I can actually walk in, not pumps. Something like this: http://dansko.com/Womens/Footwear/Collections/Carmel/Dani/Black%20Patent/ Miine are Dansko like these but a different style, discontinued. They are so comfortable for walking and I wear them for lots of evening walsk as well as out to dinner.

I agree, it isn't the dress that is the problem (you can probably wear it more than once in the evening and feel justified about the space it takes). The problem is trying to wear heels in Venice; between cobblestones and the stairs up and down bridges &/or trying to get in and out of vaparettos you could hurt yourself. When my daughter and I went in 2010 she brought the cutest little strappy sandals that she paired with a flirty black skirt and she looked great. She brought 2-3 different tops that went with the skirt and wore her pashmina. I know I am prejudiced, but she always looked fabulous at dinner.

Great advice ladies. I think I'll ditch the heels and find other substitute. Erica

You are right, the shoes are the issue. Wedges would work better than pumps on the cobblestones. To save packing space, I wear mine on the plane and pack a pair of socks to wear on the plane so my toes don't get cold. Saves space and I still have a cute pair of dressier shoes to wear!

I always bring a few dresses,, not super fancy ones, but classis ones i can dress up or down. I prefer wearing a dress in the day when its hot,, prefer it to shorts I mean. They are cool and one stop dressing,, just pull it on and viola your done. I do bring one pair of nice shoes, but one year I found some sandals that could double for dress up shoes, they were Naot "Paris" platform sandals, dead comfy, can wear them for hours too. sometimes I still bring heels, they don't take too much space.

Take the dress, leave the pumps. A nice pair of ballet flats or strappy sandals (as suggested) will give you more alternatives for footwear, and it's good to change off - as long as you're not changing into heels!

Erica, I travel with ONLY two black skirts (one above knee and one ankle grazing) and one pair of convertible pants (to shorts). Could you pack a cute, simple knit black skirt with which you could wear a smashing top for your dress nights? Then the black skirt could also be worn with more casual tops for other looks. If you are a size two and take a wrinkle-free travel knit LBD (little black dress) or other color, don't sweat it....it will roll up into about 6 inches x 4 inches and take up almost no space whatsoever in your suitcase. Agree re: forget the pumps.....stappy sandals or adorable flats instead. You don't want to twist an ankle and put a damper on a fabulous trip :) Also, do a practice packing............set out everything you plan to take, see how it packs, and most likely you'll decide to leave some things at home. Love Boulder....very fond memories of UCBoulder, Estes Park, etc. :)

Erica, I was thinking the same thing about Venice! I came across some really cute womens foldable ballet flats on overstock.com. They come in 4 diff colors. I am thinking of going with the black (since it goes with everthing) and maybe nice slacks/blouse. You could also use them again for any other romantic nights out during your trip. The flats probably would take next to no room when you pack. Wanda

Wanda, Yea goo idea about the fold up flats. I actually just bought a pair yesterday. What do you think about wedges? I found a pair of those but those would take up more room. Erica

Erica - wedges work great for me when it Italy. Just wear them on the plane so they don't take up too much room in your luggage.

I'm not sure about wedges myself-this is going to be my first trip! My husband and I are using a carry-on each and that's it. But I might have to take a second look at mine and try packing with/without them. (I could always sneak them in his pack!)

Erica, For mid-September, a cotton skirt should be fine. Weather can be funny, though. One year in late August, we had a rather cloudy, windy day and chilly evening in Volterra, so I was glad to have some layers to put on. Rest of trip had warm, pleasant weather. If you need a basic good travel skirt (which can be an at-home favorite, too), consider the "wearever pencil skirt" from JJill (www.jjill.com). They run a bit large, so if you normally wear large, order a medium, etc. I roll mine up when traveling, and no wrinkle problem. But, if you will be visiting churches, Vatican, etc. you will want to either wear slacks or a below-the-knee skirts on those days.....and many have posted that leggings work for covering knees, too.

I always find the suggestion to wear bulky items on the plane interesting. The wedge shoes for example - the only way this will work and not take up room in your suitcase is if you also wear them every time you are in transit. If you are traveling by car exclusively, then no big deal. But if you are using public transportation, do you always want to wear the bulky item while moving from place to place? I would vote for the flats or strappy sandals that take up little room and weight in your luggage.

Pack the nice dress only if it is wrinkle resistent and buy the shoes there! Shoe shopping in Italy is awesome!

I totally didn't even think about buying shoes there, what a great idea
Erica

I just bought one of those Travex dresses from Eddie Bauer. They wick away moisture so I can wear it hiking, sightseeing, and even the cafe's. It's a over the shoulder red dress. I'm super excited to sport that. As for skirts I dont have any. Does everyone think that a cotton skirt is ok for September or will we run into colder weather? We'll be there mid September. Erica

Margaret, that skirt is on sale at JJill right now. I think I'll get get one. Thanks for the tip. Erica

Margaret, thanks for posting about the J Jill wear ever clothes. I love the shirtdress! Do they really run big? So if I wear a 4 that would be XS? I haven't bought anything from them before.

Sasha, I sent you a PM, but for the benefit of anyone else who may also be wondering: I've found their clothing runs a bit large (which is always nice to go a size down...LOL), but best to try things on if there is a JJill store close by. The wearever pencil skirt has an elastic waist, too, so you would not want that too big.....it has some nice "give" in it. When ordering on line, many times you can get the actual measurements of an item by calling the 800 # ....what the actual waist or chest measurements are of the actual item.....I do that all the time, since I am sort of hard to fit and hate having to mail items back.
For some companies, though, the normal 800# sales people will have to transfer you to a special customer care dept, but sometimes they have it right at their finger tips for each item....varies company by company.