Travel clothing

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Scuba

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DH and I are going to Greece for 6 weeks from late August to early October. We are trying to pack light but don’t want to shop and buy clothing there. I tried ordering clothing from Travelsmith but it was expensive, most of it didn’t fit well and had to be returned, and it wrinkled. DH bought some items from a Columbia outlet store that seemed pretty nice.

We’re anticipating having to wash items out in hotel sinks and hang them to dry, and don’t want to wear clothes that are super wrinkled. Any advice on favorite websites/shops for travel clothing?
 
Scuba said:
DH and I are going to Greece for 6 weeks from late August to early October. We are trying to pack light but don’t want to shop and buy clothing there. I tried ordering clothing from Travelsmith but it was expensive, most of it didn’t fit well and had to be returned, and it wrinkled. DH bought some items from a Columbia outlet store that seemed pretty nice.

We’re anticipating having to wash items out in hotel sinks and hang them to dry, and don’t want to wear clothes that are super wrinkled. Any advice on favorite websites/shops for travel clothing?
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There are laundry services in Greece if you don't want to pay hotel prices (major cities, Greek Islands). I used them during my post university days in the early 80's when I took my first trips to Europe without my parents. I haven't been to Greece for about 4 years now but I would wear regular casual clothing and if you plan on formal events, bring something nice to wear. I wouldn't waste money on so called travel clothing.
 
I generally try to have the bulk of my travel clothing of drifit material with a couple of button up cotton short sleeve shirts and cotton tshirts. The drifit obviously washes easily, dries quickly, and doesn't really wrinkle. Not as comfortable as cotton of course.



I have a two drifit type shirts from Columbia. They work well. Haven't found a lot of stuff I like style-wise though (colour, cut, etc).

I like the shirts from Under Armor and have gotten a few from the Outlets. UA is a bit pricey too but their sales make things more reasonable.

We buy socks with a merino wool/nylon blend from MEC which is the Canadian equivalent of REI. They dry fairly quickly. We've bought a few drifit type shirts from there too but their clothing is a bit pricey.
 
I buy casual and formal clothing from Calvin Klein. They cater better for normal and slim fit sizes. Plus they have some very nice clothes. Before it used to be RL/Polo but they are too baggy these days. Levi's are okay also.
 
For me.
1. One pair pants that are also shorts from Costco.
2. Five old golf shirts that will not be returning to the USA.
3. One decent golf shirt.
4. Two pairs of socks.
6. Seven pairs of undies. Six will stay behind.
7. One pair of Mephisto shoes on my feet.
8. One hat.

That was for 3 weeks in Portugal. Same is planned for España this year.

We stay in AirBnBs with washers.
 
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I usually look for active/athletic clothing (and not clothing labeled as "travel clothing") as the pieces are typically thinner, and quick to dry so I can wash them in the sink and they dry in a couple of hours. Some of the vendors I've used are Duluth Trading (for quick dry pants and skorts) and LL Bean (I like their Trail Tees and Fitness Dresses). I've had luck with the Ex Officio brand as well. Columbia doesn't typically work for me as I'm short and they don't do petite sizes.
 
Special travel clothing gets expensive. I just wear the same clothes in Europe I wear at home. But I do get jeans and khaki pants heavily starched. I too wear good quality golf shirts, but I don't toss them. We still can make it in a 21 inch carry on bag for 3 weeks without going to a laundry.
 
davebarnes said:
For me.
1. One pair pants that are also shorts from Costco.
2. Five old golf shirts that will not be returning to the USA.
3. One decent golf shirt.
4. Two pairs of socks.
6. Seven pairs of undies. Six will stay behind.
7. One pair of Mephisto shoes on my feet.
8. One hat.

That was for 3 weeks in Portugal. Same is planned for España this year.

We stay in AirBnBs with washers.
Click to expand...

Why do you leave/throw away clothes?
 
I second the "athletic wear" recommendation. I like UnderArmour, too.

I recently "discovered" Amour Vert, which makes all their clothes in the USA, in California. Just got a top from them in a lightweight synthetic knit that could be hand-washed and air-dried. I liked it so much I ordered a dress in the same fabric. They're not cheap (the top was $72 before a 15% discount code that they send you immediately when you sign up) but it's worth it to me to support American manufacturing. For women, I also like the Chico's Travelers line, some of which is made in the US, and is reasonable if you choose from the sale rack. It's also comfortable, stretchy synthetics.

Jerry1 said:
Why do you leave/throw away clothes?
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I heard that on my trip to India- it's to make room in your bags for stuff you buy there. I thought about it and in my case, just about everything in my closet is something I wear on a regular basis. I throw it out when it's unwearable due to tears, stains, etc., so there's really nothing sitting around that I'd want to leave behind. I think others are willing to let things go because they're out of style or no longer fit well.
 
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We have been doing carry on for five years, since retiring. By that I mean 20" carry on rollers that comply with international standards (slightly smaller than NA). Our target weight is typically 8KG, since many regional carriers have a 7 or 8 KG carry on limit.

We started with a seven month trip when we retired and sold our home. Since then it has usually been 2 trips of 2-3 months a year.

We have never bought the expensive travel clothes. Anything we do buy is usually travel friendly. Light weight, often wrinkle resistant which typically means cotton blends. We either wash things out ourselves, use a laudromat, or a washing service depending on where we are.

When we return and unpack we always take note of what we wore more frequently, what we seldom wore, etc. We adjust accordingly the next time out.

So far so good. We do look at offerings in the travel shops but so far we have always been able to get what we need from less expensive and more common stores.

Carry on is the only way to go when you are travelling in countries like Greece, Thailand, etc. It is so much easier if you are doing ferry travel, car rentals, etc. For us it is also a physical imperative. We only pack what we can each physically handle.
 
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I hate washing in the sink, so I build in time in the itinerary for visiting local laundromats, which can also be an adventure. We found a fun place in Copenhagen last year where you could wash your clothes in the laundromat in the back while you were eating brunch in the restaurant in the front. The whole place was decorated with photos of laundromats from different countries and it was full of travelers from all over the world.

Like others, my travel clothes are mostly athletic stuff geared for hiking. I especially like pants and shorts with pockets that zip or button. Right now, I'm partial to L.L. Bean and their Vista Camp Pants are the most perfect pants for overnight flights that I've ever found. They look nice and have buttoned pockets, but they're soft and comfy with a sweat-pants-style waist band. I also have some Columbia items that I like, but I always have to shorten their pants and can't buy anything with long sleeves from them.
 
We wear mostly nylon clothing which is very comfortable in warm weather, even long pants and long sleeves. It’s very lightweight, packs very small, and dries quickly. It’s expensive but lasts a very long time. We also wear it at home - no bulky jeans here.

The best we have is by ExOfficio. But you’d really have to visit an REI or something to see what fits.

We still found laundromats when traveling in Europe. Sink washing and then drying is a pain and only for emergencies. Web searches on the local word can help find them. In Spain I looked for lavandería autoservicio. In France it was laverie automatique or something like that - sometimes with “service libre” added. Anyway, we always found way more self-serve laundromats than published in Rick Steves books.
 
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The only "travel" clothing I buy are the undies and T's that dry fast after washing in the sink, everything else is regular clothing made from synthetics that look like cotton, but are not like modal that stays clean and wrinkle free. I travel with the little stain remover packets just in case a spill happens. I also carry a travel size of Febreze to freshen things between wearings. In cooler climates light wools work great as well. Do not buy the convertible short/pants, that is a dead giveaway that you are a tourist.
 
Jerry1 said:
Why do you leave/throw away clothes?
Click to expand...

1. Because I can.
2. Because they are worn out. Holes, fraying, stained, etc.
3. Because I enjoy returning with an almost empty back pack.

I travel with little clothing because I carry it all on my back. I also carry: iPad, Macbook Pro, paper journal, 2 bottles (100ml each) of hot sauce, 2 cloth (100% cotton) napkins.

I also don't care if all my clothes look wrinkled.
 
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I take knits that don’t wrinkle. I don’t buy special clothes for trips.
 
Yes. We have met lots of interesting people, received and provided many travel tips, and exchanged books in laudromats. Or in the outdoor cafe facing ,or beside the laudromat! More than once we have watched each other's laundry and the others have gone off somewhere to do something or look at something. Mostly Australians.
 
nwsteve said:
+1
We have found a pretty good selection esp early in the season. Be sure to check out their outlet stores. Look for their TraveX brand.

We have also found some good travel clothes in our local Costco and very reasonable on price--men's travel pants around $20 versus 3 times that amount at REI
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We've found Eddie Bauer to be superior to Columbia also.
 
Nemo2 said:
We've found Eddie Bauer to be superior to Columbia also.
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I found my Eddie Bauer synthetics can pill if you wear a backpack. No problems with shorts, but I have a very pilled travel pullover from my dayback.:(
 
I have found wrinkle free
or wrinkle resistant button short sleeve shirts
or quick dry button short sleeve shirts (with button pockets) at Kohls.

Cost about $25 each .

I've washed them in the sink in Spain and they are dry the next morning..
 
Thanks so much for all of the responses! We hope to avoid laundromats because although our trip is long, our time in any one place is only a few days.
 
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