I’m not much of a fashion person, and for me, carryon suitcase trumps fashion, but I thought I’d share some observations from my recent trip. Sometimes people on the forum are looking for guidance.
What I brought:
1 dress
3 lightweight linen pants
1 heavier pant
LS ex-officiio white blouse
LS knit button up top
LS sheer white blouse
Light weight cardigan
Raincoat
Assorted short sleeve tops, 2 camis for layering
Brooks running shoes
Supergas white canvas shoes
Flat, space saving Merrill leather sandals
Black visor
Straw hat
Caveats:
1-I have bad feet that benefit from alternating shoes.
2-I have vitiligo and need a lot of sun protection. Others might drop a pair of the pants and bring shorts, a skirt or two
Observations:
1-On locals and in store windows, lots of color, don’t bring black or neutrals in an attempt to blend in. Of course, bring if that’s what you like.
2-lots of mid calf print dresses and skirts
3-vast majority of footwear is running shoes,canvas shoes like converse or Supergas, and flat sport sandals like Teva, Chaco, Merrill. Occasionally, dressier flat sandals or ballerina flats. Doesn’t matter what the gals were wearing, footwear was practical
Conclusions:
*Happy with my slim choices. Would have liked my mid calf print cotton skirt.
*Portuguese women and travelers are smart
*It is sunny! Think sun protection
* my exofficio blouse travels more than I do. It’s white and matches sheets. Last year, my hostess mailed it from Agrigento to Cefalu. This year, it was mailed from Coimbra to Lisbon. I better come up with a strategy