Suggestions for functional travel clothes.
 

Seeking suggestions for functional travel clothes that are wrinkle resistant, pack easily, and can quick dry. I have been using exercise type clothes and the Travel Smith catalogue and I do use these items frequently, even for work because they are so easy to care for.

Any leads and tips would be greatly appreciated.

I am planning a trip to Positano, Italy (first time) in late October.

Thanks so much!

Happy trails,
Aranda

In the past, I have purchased clothing from Chico's and Travelsmith's for trips to Europe. Altho you can easily launder them in your hotel room, they can be pricey.

I've found that you can use many of the same items you wear at home. I like cotton/spandex blend tee shirts for their comfort. Also, all I have to do to keep them looking fresh is spritz with water (I pack a small spray bottle just for this purpose), smooth them out and hang up.

If you wear skirts, many people here like the "broomstick" skirts for traveling. Myself, I like stretchy slacks and jeans. They are lighter than regular slacks/jeans and more comfortable on me.

This last trip I took a look at the clothes I was wearing a lot on the trip & figured out that the ones that are most useful are the Ex Officio label. I've never paid full price for any of these & always buy them on clearance from sierratradingpost.com. To me their quality is much higher than that of the clothes I've bought from Travelsmith.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm following through on them!

Aranda

Bought a lot of stuff from REI.com, L.L.Bean and Altrec.com -- both for my outdoor activities as well as for business wear. Grabbed several colors of Royal Robbins tank tops and wore them, first, under my two-piece suits and later with capris for my vacation. Most of these T-shirts are quick to dry and once you put them on, the wrinkles go away real fast due to the stretchy material (cotton plus CoolMax/polyester/spandex). Do check out these websites.

I use, almost exclusively (for everyday as well as travel clothes) items made with 'slinky' fabric. It's a rayon/acetate mix that is very stretchy, drapes nicely, breathes, and you can wad it up and leave it in a pile on the floor for two weeks and it will have NO wrinkles.

The bad part is there is no absorbency if you sweat. But for me, that's a small item. That's what underclothes are for :)

No dry cleaning, no special care, and they look fine after an overnight plane trip!

Chicos has an entire line specifically called "traveler" that sounds like what you're after.

I should throw in here too that you need to think about how the actual fabric functions. This trip I took a few nylon & lycra stretch tops from Target that I thought would fit the bill because they looked nice & didn't wrinkle. What I forgot about is that when you sweat, you will stink because these fabrics aren't made to breathe. That's why sometimes it pays to spend more on clothes that are designed for active use with more breathable fabric.

Another vote for Chico's traveler line. They are well-made, classic and stylish. If you get on their mailing list, you will receive great coupons in a catalog regularly. I always save money there, using coupons and sales. You can also get bumped up to higher buyer status, and they have your profile in the computer so you can still use a 'coupon' even if you forget to bring it. Great service there.

I like jjill's "wearever" line. They have nice separates in black and brown.

If they don't have a store near you, look at their website www.jjill.com

Ahhh... now I have some serious shopping to do.

Thanks for the leads!

Aranda

Thanks for the Jjll website...and they have petites too!!

loisco, that's why I like JJill because I need petit sizes. Also, their matte jersey is not shiny which is a big plus.