Hi, I will be travelling to Italy with my family in July. I am not a fan of synthetic clothes and I don't have any synthetic clothes. I wear cotton or linen blend during summer. And italian summer in July looks like very hot. I will be taking carry on and using packing cubes. Which means my clothe is going to be wrinkled. I heard no iron policy in Italian hotels. What is your best advice to dewrinkled the clothes? Any dual voltage travel steamer worked best for any of you?
You won't need a steamer in Italy in July. Just walk outdoors and wrinkles will disappear.
July will be....hot and depending on where you're going, humid. That level of heat you're likely not going to have an issue.
Rolling your clothes helps eliminate or, reduces the amount of wrinkling. One trick with rolling is to not roll each shirt individually but, with several others together so the creases that are created aren't as deep. If you have a few items that are susceptible to wrinkling, use a garment folder...as a guy my dress and collared shirts go in there.
When showering, hang the items you need nearby so the steam and moisture from the shower can get some of the lines out.
There's also wrinkle release products out there you can spray onto your garment.
I also wear cotton only and so does my wife. Fold your clothes along the seams and bundle roll them. At your hotel, hang them (don't leave them in the suitcase or in a drawer). When you shower hang them near you. The vapor moisture will eliminate the wrinkles. If you must have them perfect, maybe your hotel has a pressing iron and board in the room (that is the standard in many more upscale business hotels). In more budget hotels that cater to tourists, ask the front desk, many have them for you to borrow temporarily. Don't take extra stuff, like a steamer, with you. Aside the issues with different voltage, it's extra space and weight in your suitcase that you can save for something else that you will use more. Also, nobody will care about how you are dressed. Sometimes when I'm in Florence I see tourists (many Americans) who wear gym clothes that I'm sure they just pulled straight out of the hamper.
I bring a small spray bottle. I spritz my cotton shirts, which are the most prone to wrinkling, give them a good shake and hang to dry the night before I'm going to wear them. I've honestly never had much luck with the steam in the bathroom method although I want it to work. For my clothes, the spray bottle works better.
dr2sarah Nobody is going to remember what you wore on vacation, absolutely nobody. Leave the steamer home.
It's not about anybody but for myself. I am not used to wear wrinkled clothes. Even at my home, I wear ironed clothes. It's my personal choice. And it cringes me people wearing wrinkled clothes.
Just make sure that your steamer is labelled 240 volt. Otherwise you will be remembered for much more than wrinkled attire.
I also wear cotton clothes and use the sprayer bottle method.
I've used streamers in the past. They take up a lot of room and usually spilled a lot of water onto my clothes. But look on Amazon for one and make sure they are dual voltage.
While hotels in Italy may not have irons in the room, they usually have some "on demand." Why don't you check with your hotels and see if this is the case. You probably won't be able to keep the iron for your entire stay but you could iron everything at once. It would save you extra weight.
I like wrinkle-free cotton shirts of gauze, like these Carve Designs Dylan shirts:
https://www.rei.com/product/163863/carve-designs-dylan-gauze-shirt-womens
I have 3 of them; they are very lightweight (mine weigh 3 oz each), pack small, are very cool to wear, and do not wrinkle; at least nor any more than the natural texture they have. The lighter solid colors are a bit “see-through” (needing a cami underneath) but the prints are OK.
If you prefer a more tailored classic look, the Foxcroft 100% cotton no-iron shirts are great.
Often you can find them on sale on Amazon.
My husband speaks highly of the similar Brooks Brothers no-iron shirts for men.
I use the spray bottle, too. Hang clothes night before wearing - spritz with water and brush your hand down the wrinkles. The wrinkles will hang out as the garment dries over night
We spent a month in Italy some years ago and not one single hotel had an iron anywhere.
It didn't really bother me too much but it certainly bothered my husband, who likes perfectly ironed clothes.
We ended up purchasing a travel iron and an ironing mat and will be taking it with us again this year for our few days in Varenna.
We have tried the spray method, the hanging in the shower and even have a travel steamer, and nothing works like a steam iron in my view.
Some of the five star hotels we stayed in did have an ironing service, but it was a 24 hour service, which is of no use when you suddenly decide you want to change and the item is wrinkled, or you have just rinsed it out in the sink.
Our friend used this steam iron while we were in Italy...just a month ago. She really liked it and her clothes looked really good (while my clothes were usually wrinkled, haha).
I’ve done this on trips and you might try it before you leave to see if it works good enough for you.
Hang up your clothes, spritz with water from a spray bottle, not too much, just to dampen slightly. Then holding at the bottom of the garment ( to provide some tension) run a hairdryer on high up and down where the wrinkles are the worst. It works ok for me with not a lot of hassle.
We have been to Italy several times and have always been able to use an iron supplied by the hotel. Our travel clothes are cotton and definitely need some attention once we arrive.
Claire, I am intrigued, because we spent a month in Italy, as I posted above, and not one single hotel had an iron. They were completely banned. Some did have an ironing service, but it wasn't practical as there was a 12-24 hour turnaround.
All of these hotels were four to five star.
We are returning just for a few days in September, and have two hotels booked. I have emailed them both, and again, no irons.
It is the one thing we dislike about Italy.
I live in the same climate as Rome and wear linen dresses from July into September. My clothes are ironed the first hour or two and then they look like they just came off the clothesline. Everybody looks like this. You'll look like the rest of us, well-groomed, well-dressed, well-mannered, and a bit wrinkled.
Heat tip: you'll want to carry an old-fashion fan with you.
https://zenminded.fr/products/zen-minded-black-cherry-blossom-silk-bamboo-japanese-folding-fan?stkn=f64835d41af2&wi=off&srsltid=AfmBOooYq2l059gdwPeEtUgr8UOvYCPRttRNFRQvft0mXcU-ZWwXhyI6xh0
Wrinkle releaser (used sparingly) works very well on cotton, and comes in travel sizes. I always take some with me on work trip for pesky dress shirt creases. I certainly would not carry a steamer in carry-on, as it defeats the purpose of carry-on travel, which is to travel light.
Deb, in some instances (and not only in Italy), the use of the iron and ironing board is in a room used by housekeeping etc.
I’ve been traveling to Italy for more than 25 years. I detest man made fabrics and only wear cotton/linen blends and merino wool clothing and undergarments. My wife too. She wears only cotton/linen/wool/hemp. No need for a steamer or sprays. The heat will remove any wrinkles and you can use the iron in your hotel room. Never heard of this thing of not being able to use the iron in one’s hotel room.
Never heard of this thing of not being able to use the iron in one’s
hotel room.
It appears that some Italian hotels do forbid it and state so on their websites. A random couple of them:
https://www.hotelnazionale.it/en/faq/
https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/flrwi-the-westin-excelsior-florence/overview/
(this property currently undergoing some renovation)
https://www.hotelkingroma.com/regulations.php
https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/flrxr-the-st-regis-florence/overview/
Never heard of this thing of not being able to use the iron in one’s hotel room. It appears that some Italian hotels do forbid it and state so on their websites. A random couple of them.
Why allow irons when they will do it for you...for a price!!!