What to Wear? :)

Wool is an unparalleled, superb fabric! But it is expensive (Tshirts: $50-$75, Long sleeves: $65-$150 depending on weight). However, it does not smell, does not wrinkle and goes the distance (just don't put it in the dryer or that's a ton of money lost in shrinkage). Brands I love: Icebreaker, Ibex, Smartwool, Patagonia (but not as much for wool). Check out sierratradingpost.com for some discounts (sizes can be limited). Smartwool socks are the best for travel and repeat wear. Check out Ex Officio, Patagonia, REI for underwear that dries quickly when washed in the sink--so you only have to bring 4 pairs! Shop around for discounts. And a splurge on a tshirt and a long sleeve can be well worth it. Not only will you wear it throughout your trip, you'll wear the stuff forever! Especially if you are sport oriented, wool is such a great fabric for all physical activity!

You don't have to buy "travel" clothes per se. Will you be sink washing? If so, buy clothing that you can hang to dry overnight. I use inflatable hangers (buy online or from a travel store) and I take a few hangers with clips to hang pants. I use the free hangers from a department store and leave them behind when I come home. My husband has underwear (Patagonia?) that will dry overnight. My normal underwear works just fine. I have never traveled with wool, so I can't help you there.

Laura,
What time of year are you traveling to bella Italia? I also like fleece a lot for it's insulating and quick-drying features, but perhaps not in the summer. My husband likes Ex Officio and Columbia Sportswear pants and shirts. I had good luck with a microfibre blouse. Washed in the sink, dried fast. I second the endorsement of Smart Wool socks.

Hi Laura,
I recently read a post on here with a great suggestion: two pairs of black yoga pants, 4 - 5 quick dry Nike t-shirts in different colors, two nice scarves to dress up the outfit. Athletica also has a wonderful "skort" called the whatever skort that can be easily rolled up and packed. This is the route I am going for our trip in September! Good luck! Amy

I do not think traditional wool would be the best option, probably a microfiber or travel type item would be better. In a broader sense, I look at style and versatility. I figure if I could only wear one outfit that is lightweight, comfortable, good on a warm day or not so warm, appropriate for churches, a very nice dinner out, wears well, maybe can take wearing a couple days in a row without needing cleaning or pressing, then that is it. Multiply that by adding a few variations on a complimentary top or bottom, maybe an accessory or two, and you have it. Even though It my seem odd for a guy to say, the hardest item is shoes; if I can get everything to work with a single pair of comfortable shoes, then bonus points, if I have to pack a pair of shoes (usually when I travel on business) then it seems like my luggage fills instantly.

Wool is warm, but often you need to dryclean garments made of wool (check care tags) -not an option traveling. If your wool clothing can be hand washed, it will take days to dry, especially in cooler weather. I'd also suggest fleece, it's warm, and dries really quickly. By using the large plaster zip lock sleeves, (I think Eagle Creek sells) you can squeeze every last bit of air out of fleece so they take up no room at all. And they don't wrinkle.

I've only traveled in the summer for the past 10 years because of school so I can only advise you in terms of warm-weather clothes. For my last trip I bought at Target Champion workout shirts, a mix of cotton and polyester, in dark colors (black, purple). I also bought shorts at Target (Mossimo, about $17 each, 100% cotton and thin but durable). I washed my clothes in washing machines (laundromats, friends' apartments) and hung them up to dry and they were dry by morning. Dark colors are good because they don't show stains or wrinkles very much. Depending on where and in which season you're traveling, I wouldn't rely only on wool.

I have a smartwool t-shirt I washed it yesterday afternoon hung it inside to dry and it is dry today. Smartwool and Icebreaker make different weight wool and this is one of the thinnest. Magellans.com sells some nice travel pants that are lightweight and quick dry. Columbia and Ex Officio too. I am leaving for Italy in several weeks but I already have my bag packed. These light weight pants let me take 4 pants in the space that 2 lightweight cotton pants would normally take. Sierratradingpost.com is a good place to look for discount travel clothing.

I took a last minute trip to Spain some years ago. I took 4 pair of black pants, 2 could be washed in the sink and dried overnight. Then brought some bright synthetic tops /blouses and multicolored scarves and I was set! Easiest dressing and packing ever! No triyng to figure out what to wear. Whatever top I grabbed from the suitcase worked!

Thanks for all the response! For those who don't know, merino wool is a light and quick dry material- don't think heavy and warm :) We are going in early September- to Venice, CT, Florence, and Rome. We are planning on only bringing a carry on and looking for clothing to wash in a sink. I am headed to the States next week (I live in New Brunswick Canada)- and am traveling to Michigan- and hitting up an REI- so I was just lookinjg for a few suggestions! I figure if I'm going to shop, I might as well look for things for our trip :) I will definitely look into everything you mentionned. My husband does not like the dry-fit athletic material due to their fit, and much prefers the merino wool- plus its fancy enough, we can also wear it to work.

It will likely still be fairly warm in Italy in early September, especially as you travel farther south. A good rule of thumb would be to layer rather than bulk up. some online resources for you would include. www.sierratradingpost.com www.tilley.com www.magellans.com/

the last time we were in Tuscany in early September we bought an electric fan to haul around because it was so hot. Just saying that you may not need any wool clothing even if it is merino wool. (I wear tropical weight wool in the summer even here in the south, but it all has to be dry cleaned.)

I have and love scrunch cloth from Ex Officio and Orvis. Have pants, capris, longish skirt, and jacket all in black with which i can wear teeshirts, sweaters, sleeveless tanks. My summers are worse than yours but it's nice enough to wear to an office with a scarf.
Smartwool is great stuff but that's the only wool I'd think of handwashing. How about a couple of no iron shirts from Magellans' ( also sold at Chico's and Coldwater Creek) in colors for you?

We traveled for 34 days from mid-September to October 19. We were in England/France/Italy. I took one short-sleeved Icebreaker merino wool travel t-shirt, 2 long-sleeved Smartwool v-neck merino wool sweaters, and a long-sleeve full-zip Smartwool black sweater. I also took blow-up hangers that I used when I washed my sweaters in hotel sinks and they always dried overnight. We had lots of cool weather so I wore the full-zip Smartwool sweater nearly every day except for the time we were in Cinque Terre where it was fairly warm. The v-neck long-sleeve sweaters were comfortable, warm and easy to layer and they look great. Not wool, but I absolutely loved my Royal Robbins travel pants. They had zipper pockets (big enough for my passport) and the lightweight fabric dried really quickly. They also had a little stretch so they were very comfortable for long days.
Carole