Attention shoppers - clothes suitable for travel need not break the bank

Funny you should mention this today. We're about to head to Costco ourselves....and I'm a little (make that a lot) scared because this will be my FIRST TIME THERE! I've been a member of SAMs Club for a while but hubby decided that Costco is where it's at when it comes to purchasing meat for his grilling purposes. Looks like we'll be headed to the clothing section as well....and I'm sure he'll be tickled about that. He loves his travel pants from Duluth Trading so I'd love to be able to find something comparable at a cheaper cost!

Check out their wool hiking socks, too. Excellent quality. I think I paid $7. for a pack of 3 pairs of socks.

Just left Costco with 2 pairs of travel pants for hubby, a quick dry shirt, and a pack of wool hiking socks for him. I didnt see any socks for women....and the med men's is way too big for me. We didn't have time to comb the whole store so maybe I wasn't looking in the right places.

Thanks for the heads up! His Duluth travel pants are 4-5 times the cost of these!

I can't always find women's wool socks in Costco here on the west coast. I think they are seasonal merchandise so keep checking back Kathy and grab a package when you see them. I picked up some packages of them before Christmas for other people last year and then went back after Christmas to get some for me and haven't found them since in my southern or northern California Costco. I look every month or so when I shop there.

Women's wool socks currently at our branch. Near the frozen north I guess.

I may need a friend in the north...I thought moving to Northern California in March would put me closer to the land of wool socks but nothing has appeared at my local Costco yet.

Nice find on the men's pants. Are they Kirkland brand or ?

My Costco had the wool socks for women last year starting in about September, and I am looking forward to them coming back. I bought some last year and they are my favorite socks. I want more! I'm hoping they also bring back the cheap down vests because I want one for London next spring.

Mona, I think that Lauri bought some last year in the Bay Area. Maybe she'll see this thread and chime in.
This past winter at Costco for $20 I bought a wonderful lightweight down jacket which packs into almost nothing. It was perfect for my Spring trip.
I'm not a Costco member anymore but I tag along with friends every few months and take a look at the women's clothes just in case.
;-)

Mona, I'm happy to buy socks and mail them to you if they don't show up locally. I have not been in 2 weeks (no lunch with Darcy because darn it she went on vaca!!) but may go this week. My experience is that the women's show up in mine about Sept. I also found they really don't last more than a season and a half. I wear them EVERY. SINGLE. DAY in winter so they get a lot of use.

Bruce, did yours have bear spray this year? Not needed for European travel but necessary for hiking in Bruce's neck of the woods and in the places I frequent as well. Mine did NOT carry it to my disappointment, it was an excellent price.

Bear spray on wool socks, you're pulling my leg aren't you Pam??? I hardly ever wear socks and I've never owned a pair of wool ones but now that I live in a 4 season climate I can see some potential use! If women's wool socks don't show up at my Costco by the end of September, I'll take you up on your offer :-)

Well, laughing, bear spray isn't exactly like insect spray....and it would burn the h*ll out of your feet, and hands, and eyes and nose if you tried to cover your socks with it!!

Let me know...I'm heading to France the end of Sept but they have them for months so we can work it out.

Clothing really depends on climate and activities. I just check out what is in my closet first and add a couple of items as necessary. I could just wear my work clothes, but psychologically - I don't want my work clothes while vacationing. I can usually get basic tops for $15-25 and pants for $25-$50. I will invest in comfortable footwear and socks - so worth the costs. Anyone going to United Kingdom area should invest in a good quality raincoat with hood - another good investment.

Yes, Costco wool socks show up in Bay Area stores about September. I wear mine every day if I'm not in sandals. (And wear TWO pair at a time as needed for Christmas markets trips.)
Keep an eye open also for Costco rain jackets in the $20 range -- we pack them on every trip.

It's been my experience that Costco items vary from location to location. As Laura states, wool socks don't show up in the Bay Area until Fall or early winter. They seem to disappear after Christmas.

I avoid Costco for most of my clothes because they never fit my body correctly. The discount isn't worth it if I don't wear the item because I hate how it looks on me.

I like dress barn for easy wear tops and light dresses. Gap has nice linen tops. Loft has lovely linen tees that have elbow length sleeves.

Interesting comment Pam...when I was at Costco today, they were selling two-packs of bear spray. Do not use bear spray on socks....it's not like mosquito repellent. The active ingredient is totally nasty...that's why it works. While having seen many bears overs the years, no spray was ever needed, but I do carry it on hikes, just in case. A bear spray expert (who would have thought such exists?) advised us the proper way to spray is using a "Z" pattern starting mid-body...not the head. Funny story...about a month ago, we had a foreign exchange student staying with use. While soaking in our hot tub at dusk, a medium sized black bear walked through the yard, about 10 yards from him. He casually recorded it on his smartphone. Finally, "When I was a kid, I used to think about bears all day. Now that I am an adult, I realize that was just a typo." Vince B.

I figured yours would have bear spray. There had been some discussion on the TA Glacier forum. I think they said it was the UDAP brand which I will use along with the CounterAssault.

I always have it on when I get out of the car in Yellowstone. To make myself be comfortable with that, I wear it hiking or walking here in N. Idaho. I have had it drawn for some dogs that rushed me on my local trail but managed to shout them off. I wish I had sprayed them because they were nasty and did bite someone a week or so after I had my encounter. I put it on just like my RS money belt when I travel, lol!! Routine!

Very cool about your backyard bear and your exchange student! What a treat for him in your lovely part of the country. Funny quote from him too!

Our Costco has Women's travel pants. They are $13 bucks a pair and come in black, green, navy and gray. The store also has women's smart wool socks. I scored smart wool top last year. Also, the 32 degree t's and pants are nice for layers.

What are Travel Pants? Like what your going to wear on the plane? Leggings??

From the Costco website, looks like travel pants are nylon/spandex, zipper on pocket(s), quick-dry. No first-hand knowledge.
FYI, Costco is our "upscale" shopping place -- we went to our local American Cancer Society thrift store today and I got a packable TravelSmith dress for $8 (retail new $70)

Thanks Laura!
I went to a yard sale a few months before we left on our last trip and they were selling all kinds of travel stuff and I was able to pick up 10 packets of travel tide (liquid) for $1.00!

Huh! In Canada, we can't buy clothing online from Costco. At Costco.ca the only clothing is underwear and bathrobes. I checked the American site (Costco.com), and they have all kinds of clothing options. We are at the mercy of what is available in-store. :-(

BTW, I think those men's travel pants look great. The women's, not so much.

Cheers,
Vivian

Since I hate cold weather, my (long) trips necessarily include some hot-weather destinations. For those, I like very lightweight cotton pants, preferably full-length so I don't have to think about putting suntan lotion on my legs. I've had no luck finding what I want in the US. (I should mention that I am cheap.)

But the street markets in Europe--especially in Italy and Spain but also in France--always seem to have vendors selling cheap (and cheaply made) pants of the type I seek. They're approximately pajama weight and usually in a sort of "ethnic" print. I stick to the darker colors since the fabric is typically very thin, and I also verify fabric content since the cheaper offerings are often something like polyester. Price: 5€ (rarely) to 12€, most often between 6€ and 10€. There's not generally a place to try on clothes at the street markets, so I confess that I own some too-small and too-large pants, but I'm now covered for any size I may reasonably expect to be. I think you probably need to be pretty short to pull this off. I'm 5'3" at the most, anf the pants are usually not too long for me. The cropped-length pants would fit a wider range of heights. The other challenge is that what's offered is in very wide size bands like S-M, L-XL, etc. Folks who care a lot about the fit of fheir clothes need not apply.

Mona-I found the socks at my Costco today. 4 pr for $12.99, Kirkland brand, 80% Merino, same as years' past. I could not bring myself to buy them as it was 104 outside!! They'll be there for a while!

Yes! Socks on costco.com at 6 pair for $18.99, so they should be in the stores now or soon. Time for a Costco run !

Women's wool socks in the Indianapolis (Greenwood) store yesterday.

Yes, wool socks have also arrived in the Richmond CA Costco -- this year's color choices are black with purple, brown with pink, and gray with aqua. Fila women's day-hiker shoes in gray/pink ($14.99) And hard-sided spinner luggage which is billed as 20" ($29.99)
Women's travel pants -- one zipper pocket, low on leg, too small for passport but big enough for credit card.

Hmmm I checked our Costco on Friday and they didn't have them yet. If they aren't stocked yet by the time we get back from our east coast trip at the end of the month I think a trip in to the Richmond CA store near my son's house will be in order. Thanks for the heads up!

I live in CT and I just bought the 4 pack of wool socks for women last week. I'm going to have to check on line for travel pants!

We returned from our east coast trip last night and I wanted to report that our local Costco does have the smartwool socks now for women. I bought two packs (they had 3 different color combos) for myself and I'm looking forward to trying them out here when cooler temperatures return. Thanks Pam for offering to get some for me but the local Costco came through.