Vacay Packing Part I. European Vacations, Big Cities and Places You Can’t Wear Shorts.

With the dollar’s strength vs the euro, and the airline and hotel deals that abounded for summer, it seems many scoop readers are planning big-time trips to Europe, and several have written asking for packing advice. Since virtual shopping and armchair travel are two of my favorite pastimes, I’m happy to oblige. I’ve traveled abroad many times, almost always for 2-3 weeks per go and with one (large)suitcase. I have some rules suggestions about summer “city” travel to guide my packing and yours.

EUROPEAN CITY PACKING DO’s:

Pick your basic color scheme and stick with it. Black and white, shades of Tan or Grey, Navy’s, Browns, even Khaki works for your base. Yes, you may have to buy a few items just for this trip. You won’t be sorry. Hit up Gap, Asos, or my personal go-to ZARA if you don’t want to invest any serious coin. Things can get pretty tired and soiled after two weeks of travel wear, sometimes it’s just best to retire them after the trip.

If you can spend about $225 per piece for some classic, very stylish basics, the TIBI sale page is the must shop for workhorse items with lots of flair. I adore Tibi sales.

My rule is everything has to work for least two outfits to be included. Preferably, every item could be worn with at least 3 other items for a two week trip. Although I always cheat and squeeze in 3-4 totally impractical items at the last minute. I am always happy I did.

Solids are better than prints for your base, prints work for accent items. Outfits in pastels and brights can easily make you look like a granny on a bus tour. It’s all about sophistication, so if you aren’t a fashion maven, probably best to leave these at home.

White is my favorite neutral for summer travel. It looks sophisticated, goes with everything, and tourists are rarely wearing it, cuz, dirt. This is why God invented the bleach pen and travel packs of detergent.  Not to mention hotel laundry service. Shades of cream and ivory run a close second.

Summer travel is the BEST. You can fit so many outfits when you don’t have coats and sweaters. Here’s what I usually pack for a 2-3 week trip to several cities. I use a large rolling bag, but if you are training or metro-ing around Europe, you might have to cut my list in half and use a small rolling bag. You must be able to carry your bag up a flight of stairs yourself, and it needs to fit in smaller Euro cars and taxis. Their trains disembark crazy fast, just fyi.

• 1 pr each Black Jeans, White Jeans, Blue Jeans.
• Black pants in a forgiving fabric. Usually wear these on plane.
• Black bermuda shorts for hot, walking days. Must wear with heeled shoe.
• Black cardigan, shawl or pareo to layer for indoor warmth and evenings
• Another color cardigan, poncho, scarf to layer as well. Often all you need is a scarf around your neck to keep you warm in a sleeveless top.
• Close fitting jacket or waistcoat in neutral. For layering but also to wear buttoned with no shirt as a dressy top for dinner.
• One Long or 3/4 sleeve t-shirt in stripe, white, or black.
• Cotton jersey / stretch skirts of any length, preferably not mini. Check out ASOS.com.
• Cotton jersey, silky dresses of any length and color. Roll them up tight and squeeze in as many as you can.
• Lots of tops in travel friendly fabrics. Like 10 for two weeks, rolled up and stuffed in corners.
• 3-4 pairs of low heels that are cute and comfortable. Platforms, flatforms, city sandals are perfect. I don’t have that rule about no sandals for travel. It’s summer after all, and closed toe shoes look orthopedic to me with summer clothing.
• 2+ pair of flat sandals that don’t take up any room at all. Don’t be silly, just stick them in there.
• Quick dry running / exercise outfit.  And the bra has to work as a regular bra too.
• Mild, delicate wash laundry detergent packets.
• Running shoes. Often we wear on the plane cuz they take up so much room in the suitcase.
• Lots of fun jewelry, no fine jewelry. (Well, except my wedding rings and studs). It’s less a stealing issue and more a forgetting issue for me.
• Big Bag with long, crossbody strap. Tiny umbrella that lives in big bag.
• Lingerie of course. Swimsuit if appropriate.
• Toiletries and make up in travel sizes, in my carryon. In case we get stranded.
• Extra folding duffle bag. For purchases on the trip that won’t fit in already too full suitcase.

The key to packing all this stuff is ROLLING your clothes and laying them in according to your itinerary. So if you are in Paris last, go on and pack that dressy top for your Michelin 2 Star dinner at the bottom. Same with the beach wear and other location specific items. LIFO system critical.

Here are a few picks from the stores:

EUROPEAN CITY PACKING DON’Ts:

You are not the Griswolds. Short shorts for you and shorts of any kind for him are going to make you a fish out of water in any major European city, except the coastal locales. Same goes for fanny packs, school backpacks, camping hats, guys in sandals with socks (why ON EARTH). If this is your go to travel look, best just skip this post.

I know long pants for him won’t happen every day, just like I know he is planning to wear his trainers to traipse around even the most elegant cities. Can we at least agree that there will be no shorts out in the evenings in Paris, London, Florence, Munich, Vienna, Prague, Milan and Rome? Please?

Dressy shorts and rompers (the latter if you are under 40) will work for you during the day in the small towns and the coastal cities like Nice and Barcelona. The Europeans look NICE though, so if you don’t want to stand out like a total tourist, dress them up “city style” with a low heel, a shawl or cardigan, even a little jacket.

Strapless tops are not appropriate to visit churches; you must be covered up. I don’t care what you wear at home, you are not in Kansas anymore. You can wear your pareo or cardigan and stick it in your giant bag afterward, along with your tiny umbrella that goes everywhere with you.

Jumpsuits. I adore them, and they look so pulled together at all times. But, the going to the ladies in Europe is challenging enough. The jumpsuit may just push you one complication too far. Their toilet paper alone. gaaaaah.

Linen blends usually work fine with some mild wrinkling, linen and crisp cotton won’t survive more than one day out, and don’t wash well in the hotel sink. If you bring them, plan to use the laundry at a hotel you are staying in for more than two days.

Tees with writing on them, especially any USA and sports team t-shirts, are to be avoided. Unless you can rock a great graphic tee, skip these. Neutral polos will be perfect for him, along with a several “wash n wear” button downs. He should definitely bring one really nice white or blue linen shirt to wear out special dinners. He will look so handsome and elegant, you all won’t regret it, and these can def be worn with wrinkles. Just remember to roll vs fold.

Don’t bring your hairdryer, curling iron, flat iron, or anything else that plugs in. Not only do you have to have a voltage converter you also have to have an adaptor for almost every country. Pretty much everywhere you stay has a hairdryer, and otherwise, you should just buy a european version of whatever you don’t have. What is that, like $30? You can save it for your next trip, which since you spent that $30 you will now have to take. You will be ok with your apple products though, you just need to buy the travel adaptor kit.

Don’t worry about bringing too much.

You will never be sorry you had too many choices, only that you did not have enough.

Here are some finds from online: