I am leaving for Budapest,Prague and Munich for 10 days. I have packed 4 pairs of jeans,a black pantsuit, various sweaters and tops, a zip out lined raincoat,jean jacket,sneakers, ecco shoes and a pair of dressy black heels. Do I have enough? THANKS!!

You have 2 pair of jeans too many.

I agree with Ira. Eliminate some jeans. Knowing how I over pack, I would put in another pair of pants in their place that are lighter weight! Jeans are just heavy and take a long time to dry if you choose to wash while gone.

Do you really need the heels? That is one thing I never pack while on vacation.

I've always disliked the combination of jeans trousers and a jean jacket, and since jeans seems to be all you're taking, can't you take another jacket? And yes, 4 pairs of jeans is way too much!

Hi Skydog,

Pack some khakis. Lightweight, comfy, can be casual, but also can be dressy if you need to go that route.

I love the versatility of khakis when I travel.

Prague, I'm jealous! Enjoy, T

I'm an huge fan of jeans for their versatility - if you're clever in choosing the right style/cut, then you can use one pair for several different sets of circumstances...one might even be able to wear black ones at a funeral!

For men, Dior Homme's jeans have such a wonderful signature skinny cut, and elongated leg (40" inside seam) so that they are worn slightly gathered around the ankles. They're hand finished, and can be worn with a sweatshirt - perfect for that "lazy" casual day, or combined with a t-shirt/shirt, and black jacket for the evening to create a smart-casual look with some rock chic.

Too many total pair of pants, and too many jeans in particular, especially if they're all blue. I'd take one pair blue jeans, one pair black jeans (the most critical item in my wardrobe!!) and one pair either khaki or black slacks that are comfortable for all day but could be worn in the evening. You don't want to wear that black pantsuit every single night, do you?

If you are really someone who wears jeans (blue) all the time, and all your tops coordinate with them, then take 2 pair of blue jeans. But I'd still eliminate one pair of pants entirely.

4 pair of jeans, is 3 too many in my book! Jeans are among the bulkiest of items to pack. Wear 1 pair on the plane, and if you must 1 more in your suitcase.

What I focus on is having *different* items. For instance I don't need 3 colors of the same style top... I do need 1 long sleeve, 1 short sleeve, 1 sleeveless (for instance). And surely you can wear your jeans several days in a row without washing them, right?

Since you mention dressy heels, I'm guessing you plan to do some things at night? I'd add one more evening outfit, and you'll still come out ahead if you ditch at least 2 pair of the jeans!

I agree with everyone else that 4 pairs of jeans is too many. The last time we took a 10 day trip I took 2 prs
(1 black - 1 blue) of Levis with a little bit of lycra in them. They did seem lighter wieght and when I washed only the places on the jeans that needed some laundering - they dried quickly. Have a wonderful time.

If you've got room in your case then pack them...unless you're going to be carrying your suitcases around with you everyday then there's no point worrying about having too many things.

I like jeans myself and find them very versatile. I don't know what the weather is like over there now, but if it's not really hot, being bulky could be a good thing (meaning they aren't really thin and might not be warm enough). Jeans wear well and don't wrinkle. I don't think I even own a pair of khakis, actually, and wouldn't wear them myself. I think they are kind of dorky. (I know some won't like that, but it's true, I do). I don't think it matters that they take a while to dry when washed, as I wouldn't expect you'd have to in a short trip -- or you'd take them to a laundry or some place else. I wouldn't ever do in-room laundry in the sink for pants, anyway, myself, whatever they were made of.

However, I also think you have too many jeans for 10 days, and like the idea of two pair -- black and blue. Maybe three at the most. But I would substitute for one pair some other kind of pants (but not khakis which I don't like and don't think very practical). I have some nice casual pants of nylon/cotton twill or some twill called Tercel or something like that--I'd take some other pair of pants in olive or a beige/tan color or something, which don't wrinkle much and are lighter weight than the jeans so you have a variety.

I don't like jean jackets, myself, but if you do, sounds fine.

One question -- what are you going to wear with the dressy black heels? Maybe some nice jeans could go with that, but I'd pack a skirt myself. Maybe a cute black denim miniskirt or something like that.

Assume the heels go with the black pantsuit.

My cute little khakis (one pair from the Gap, other from J.Crew) are darling, comfortable and so not dorky, no offense Christina.
They travel well and go with everything.
I agree with some of the above, ditch a couple pairs of the jeans and go with another slack that you can dress up or down.
Have fun Skydog!

I would definitely ditch a couple of the jeans as suggested. More importantly, ditch the heels! Too many cobblestones in Europe. Sometimes I see women in heels and they are having such a time navigating the smallest distances. I've worn heels once for a ball at a castle - by the end of the night I was walking barefoot back to the car. It is too just too much work not to trip while you're trying to enjoy the views.

The women who live there seem to wear heels alot, but I think you have to be born there to be able to do it! I don't know how they get around so well with the cobblestones and other walking hazards. JMHO

I don't know the other 2 cities, but Prague is very difficult to walk around in any kind of a slim-heeled shoe.
Cobblestones are everywhere, and the paving is uneven,with spaces in between the stones, and I just think it's treacherous. Wenceslas Square and New Town have a lot of flat pavement, but Old Town and Mala Strana don't.

I was just in Prague last week - the weather was mid 20's (I'm Canadian, thats Celsius). You may want to eliminate the extra jeans as suggested, and go for capris...take a cardigan as a cover up and light tops, sweaters will be too warm.

Lordy a 40 inch inseam means a bloke better have some pretty long legs or as you said they will "puddle"...well that is an understatement. Seeing as the average is probably 30-31 inch inseam.

Curt,

LOL! MK2 is a fashion disaster in the making. I love his/her posts... they just prove that some folks can exist in fantasy land full time.

I'd have a 10" cuff on the 40" inseam pants. The horrors of all the horizontal stripes. Let me band the jeans with a black shirt to make me look squater (squatier?).

I had enough trouble with cobblestones in sturdy shoes, I wouldn't want to try heels. Of course, after spraining my ankle, I'd get to try it with crutches.