Moneybelts and Dresses

pamstrehl,

unless that dress has a plunging neckline, you can look and see if you like the necklace type pouch.

if you have a significant other, you can also let them carry it.

or go old school. use your purse.

happy trails.

If you want access to your moneybelt and the dress doesn't allow it you ware accessing your moneybelt in the wrong way.

A moneybelt is designed to be secret - only you and your travel companion (and maybe not them) will know you are wearing it. You access it in a private area, like a toilet cubicle. Not out in public. If everybody knows what you have got you could have problems. It should be no harder in a dress to access it than with trousers, probably easier.

In your moneybelt will be everything you would put in a safe if you could carry one about, and you access it just as privately.

In your purse or other personal place will be your money for the day - what you could afford to lose - and maybe one card.

In your moneybelt will be your passport, the other cards, your tickets home, and the balance of your money.

You should never have to access anything in the moneybelt in public. If you know you will need to have your passport to check in use the rest room just prior to checking in.

My wife and I wear them when on a vacation because losing things would be far too much hassle, to say nothing of cost. She has never had a problem with the moneybelt wearing either skirts, dresses or trousers.

I discovered the same problem with money belts and dresses while traveling two years ago in Europe. So, last summer I ended up doing the following: 1. finding bathrooms to access my money belt 2. having my husband carry the credit cards/cash in his money belt 3. wearing skirts or capris

A moneybelt is designed to be secret - only you and your travel companion (and maybe not them) will know you are wearing it. You access it in a private area, like a toilet cubicle. Not out in public. If everybody knows what you have got you could have problems.

I know a lot of people follow this premise and I don't mean to criticize those that feel most comfortable doing it this way. But it is always presented as a given that one should never access a moneybelt in public, or else... But that just isn't the case. The point of a secure storage system (like a waist moneybelt) is to keep your valuables safe from pickpockets. It doesn't matter if they know where it is if they can't get to it. Violent muggings are not the concern in Western Europe.

As to Pam's question, a neck pouch is an option. Some people hang it in front, some over a shoulder so it nestles under an arm. Some ladies pin it to their bra. Depending on how you do that, you may or may not be able to access it conveniently.

You can use a purse but only if it's a secure, travel type purse. It doesn't have to have a steel mesh lining and all, but it needs to be difficult for someone to access inside. Lots of flaps, zippers and inner pockets. A standard zipper top or flap with buckle purse is too easy to access.

Or you can stick with the waist moneybelt and only keep "deep storage" as many call it inside. Then have a day's worth of cash and maybe a credit card handy in a purse or bag.

When I was in Paris, I mainly liked wearing dresses. I did need to plan ahead and wear pants the days that I wanted to withdraw money from the ATM. Otherwise, it was no different. As others mentioned, you don't access your moneybelt for every transaction.

I wear dresses most of the time and use a small cross body maruca purse. Or, if I really feel the need I would use a neck wallet, but I do not own a money belt and would not wear one...way too uncomfortable for me.

We are headed out later today for a flight to Munich. In the past we have (uncomfortably) worn our money belts on the airplane, this time my belt and my husbands neck pouch are packed, empty in suitcases. A new neck pouch I bought because its pretty embroidery jumped out at me in a Mexican shop is stuffed in my purse. At this point it has $200 US, $200 euro and $100 each forints and koruna because I am too much of a worrier to set foot on foreign soil without at least a bit of local currency in my pocket. We will use the secret pouches to lug passports and extraneous cash and credit cards around, but I (perhaps naively) feel like to get at my purse someone would have to knock me down and physically wrestle it from me. Maybe that's from being in the wide open spaces of Los Angeles -- I have a very wide zone of personal space and anyone coming into it makes be me more alert. Granted on public transportation we can be packed in cheek by jowl, but I wear my purse diagonally across my chest so I feel pretty safe. My husband on the other hand wanders through life fairly oblivious (he comes home from work with "wounds" and when asked how that happened he has no clue) but did have occasion to subconsciously feel his wallet shift in the Louvre and reached back to find another hand back there! Reminds me to remind him to move his wallet to his front pocket. After taking a dress and/or skirt several times to Europe and then only wearing my dressy pants, I've given up on them -- makes footwear easier too!

I wonder what the locals do if they are not wearing money belts.

Seriously, I get the need to protect one's passport and other things that would be a hassle to replace overseas. And BTW, I use mine religiously when traveling in Europe. But situational awareness and not putting yourself in a position where you are going to be a victim is just as important as carrying your valuables under your clothing.

I agree with Nigel. Use a moneybelt for deep storage and a working wallet for the day's activities. If you run out of money in the working wallet then duck into a toilet and refresh the money. Accessing the money belt while wearing pants is the same as if I were wearing a dress.

I wear my moneybelt because it is a much, much, much bigger hassle to replace lost credit cards when I'm away from home. If I lose things at home I can replace things in a day or so. If I lose it on travel it may take days (plural) to replace the cards. By then my itinerary may have me in a different location. In short, the consequences of losing my wallet are much higher when I'm traveling than when I'm at home. The risk is higher because the consequences are higher. Since the risk is higher I need to perform a higher level of risk mitigation. Money belt.

:: looks down at not terribly existent cleavage and figures that I could fit maybe four breath mints in my barely a B cup bra region.

Faith, the front pocket is not safe, either. There have been many postings on this site from males who have had front pockets picked and they cannot believe it. But it is easy so don't put anything in the front pocket that you cannot afford to lose.

Frank is absolutely right. Nothing is "safe" in any pants pocket, front or back. Or sitting in a regular purse or backpack, no matter how it is held. Remember that pickpockets are pros at what they do and usually work in teams with distractions.