I am headed for England, Wales, and Ireland in early July with a group of high school students. I am wondering what kind of clothes that I should bring, based upon the weather. Does anyone know? We will mainly be in London, Oxford, Dublin, and the coast of Ireland. I would also be interested in any websites that sell comfortable, yet affordable, travel clothes. You know, teh ones that pack without wrinkling, etc. Thanks for your help!

I would recommend you go with synthetics because they can be hand washed in your hotel sink and will dry overnight. Polyester blends or shirts/pants made of Coolmax or Supplex material should work fine. There are many websites you can check. I bought several long and short sleeve Coolmax and Supplex shirts and pants through travelsmith.com, rei.com, and campmor.com. Check their sales. I also bought several cotton & spandex tee shirts at Walmart. Even if you do get a few wrinkles, you can usually smooth them out with a spritz of water or one of the wrinkle free products on the market. Good luck!

I love my Lands End, Sport Knit Pants, like sweats, only better. Of coarse dark colors to conceal soil.

Temperatures could be anywhere between low 60s and low 80s Fahrenheit, varying day by day. It might rain or it might not (more likely the further west you go). Bring clothes you can layer and mix and match - tshirts you can wear under shirts/sweaters or on their own, for example. A foldaway rainproof would be useful, but you will find plenty of shops and stalls here selling that sort of thing.

For general travelling, I found pants with a low-rise waistline (just below bellybutton level) were far more comfortable than pants with a high waistband. If close-fitting, the pants fabric should also have about 10% stretchy lycra or spandex fiber (it's not visible) to allow for some "give" and prevent wrinkling too. One can sit on a plane, train, bus, for hours without feeling constricted. <BR>I didn't find anything marketed as "travel clothes" to be very affordable, so I got all my travel wardrobe in regular stores or secondhand stores.

Patrick gave you great advice about thinking "layering" from the get-go to adapt easily to the normal temperature variation.<BR><BR>Even more important, BettyK was right about the fabric content--synthetics are your friend. You don't have to go to the travel catalogues to get the basics. Go to K-Mart and Walmart and line up an affordable wardrobe of light, stretchy mix n' match outfits (mine, of course, are all based on black). They tend not to take up space in the suitcase, allow room for consumed scones, and wash/dry easily. You can drop them in a pile on the floor and they don't wrinkle. A pair of good earrings and one or two scarfs make you look quite presentable.<BR><BR>Of course, I've often thought that I should stay away from open flames when wearing this wardrobe.<BR><BR>Cotton, while comfortable, is not your friend. It takes up room, wrinkles easily and dries slowly. Since you're doing Britain instead of Rome, you're not going to be having a week of 90 degree weather. Still, Coolmax shirts, which tend to be a bit more expensive than my above suggestion, are great on warm/hot days. They even make Coolmax underwear. TravelSmith, Rei, etc. are great resources for this stuff. See if there is an athletic-wear store near you, too--Coolmax items are a staple there.<BR><BR><BR>

www.chicos.com<BR><BR>They have a complete travel wardrobe that is classy and packs very well. I only took a carry-on to Italy for 10 days because were taking trains everywhere. The pieces roll up into tiny packages and do not wrinkle. <BR><BR>I bought a few pieces two years ago for a trip to Italy and have been wearing them every since for work. They are machine washable and very comfortable. I highly recommend this line for its durability and flexibility. And no I don't work for Chicos! ;-)

We went to Ireland last July. It was mostly cool and damp, though there were a few sunny days, but it never got really warm. (They don't knit all those Irish sweaters for nothing...) It was not unlike summer in San Francisco weather-wise. Layers are essential. I think a lightweight waterproof jacket is a must-have (L.L. Bean jackets with "H2Off" are great) and a fleece vest is a very handy layer. I have a website that shows photos of Ireland (mostly West Cork) in July: www.corketc.homestead.com

Tilley Endurables - the best travel clothes. Not cheap, but a great value when you consider the life of the clothes. Tilley.com is their website. Last time I went, it took FOREVER to load, so I would just use it to request a catalog. Even if you don't buy anything, i think you will enjoy their award winning catalog