Clothing advice

[ams123]

I am looking for clothing to take on a one week trip next month (I am a woman by the way). My requirements are (in no particular order):

1. Doesn't wrinkle
2. Reasonably priced
3. Fabric that is comfortable in a hot climate
4. Fashionable (nothing safari looking, I'll be at a resort)
5. Coordinated pieces
6. Lightweight

I found this site that has gauze clothing, but one of the reviewers said that after washing and hanging to dry it gets extremely wrinkled. Stylish, Comfortable Womens Clothing - Soft Surroundings

Does such clothing exist or am I asking the impossible? Help!

Linda

[Shiva]

Hi Linda,
Travel Smith makes some nicely coordinated travel clothing for hot weather wear. It also depends on what you mean by "hot"? Is it like India, Africa hot, or something else?! Fabric ---for least wrinkle resistance it is knitted clothes; and I find them personally too hot in India, for example. I prefer woven cottons, silks. So if you said a bit more when and where, I could answer better.

[Just]

Try this shirt from ExOfficio:

ExOfficio.com - Women's Kizmet

I have their short-sleeved Kizmet Camper shirt and the fabric is wonderful, fashionable, and doesn't wrinkle. The Kizmet Traveler shirt is essentially the same shirt but without the dumb chest pockets.

[ams123]

Shiva - it's not Africa or India hot. Just Dominican Republic hot. But definitely woven fabric, no knits. I have some great knit travel clothing from J. Jill, but not suitable for a resort in the DR.

Just - thanks, I'll take a look.

Linda

[Badger]

Patagonia makes a couple of synthetic/natural woven fabrics that are good for hot climates: puckerwear (which is like seersucker) and AC (goes into shirts). They're not in season right now, but might be available as part of their sale merchandise. Patagonia is not particularly cheap, but it's backed by a lifetime warranty. For example: I bought a jacket my sophomore year of college. Some twelve years later the inside started peeling, so I sent it to them for repair. Apparently they couldn't fix it so they sent me a gift card, not for what I paid for my jacket then, but what a comparable jacket would cost now. I was super pleased.

[Badger]

To piggyback on my own comment: yes, you will want to check web specials: Patagonia Web Specials - Featuring Discounts and our Patagonia Sales
For a wicking knit that won't lose its shape, check out the Vitaliti knits. Mrs B wore some to Italy in the middle of summer and they stay crisp looking even in high heat/humidity.

Of the regular-price items, there are some tropical woven pieces that look promising. Customer service is very helpful, either by phone or chat so you can ask questions.

[Lani]

I second Linda, and wholeheartedly recommend Travelsmith. They have an extensive catalog of women's clothing designed specifically for travel.

The only snag is "reasonably priced." I'm not sure what you're accustomed to paying; Travelsmith isn't as cheap as Target!

That said, if you can take fewer pieces of clothing that are more versatile, you can just lightly rinse your garments and hang them up to dry overnight, and that would work nicely.

[ams123]

Patagonia does have some cute things that they say are a lightweight material. I'm sure they have more of a selection in the spring/summer. No puckerwear on their site right now.

Travelsmith is definitely not my style, although they did have a cute pair of capris, however they are made out of twill, and twill is not lightweight. Travelsmith is very reasonably priced though. My idea of not reasonably priced is the Tory Burch stuff you can get at Nordstrom!

I thought the clothing on the ExOfficio site is extremely unfashionable, although I like their underwear a lot.

I think I am going to have to give up the "doesn't wrinkle" requirement. I'm sure the hotel has an iron. I'm going to order a few gauze cotton pieces from two different sites that I found. This is extremely lightweight fabric, and will dry quickly. I'm not sure about the wrinkle factor however, so I'll give it a test run before I leave.

Thank you for the suggestions everyone!

Linda

[backpack]

Gauze cotton doesn't wrinkle but it sure is scratchy.

White, light blue, light purple, light green, light turquoise and light pink outfits and your Swift or Little Swift and presto you look resort chic!

You can also play zebra and use navy/white or black/white striped outfits to cool down.

Most people can wear horizontal or vertical stripes. But Asterix and yours truly can't.