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Los Olivos, California, United States
You can reach me at fool4fabric (at) gmail (dot) com

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Home from Sicily...and a Travel Wardrobe Review

We're home at last...yesterday at 2:00 AM, after 29 hours en route...unfortunately, our luggage decided to remain in Europe for a few days...Delta has promised me we will get it today (Can you imagine my panic that my Travel Wardrobe would exist only in pictures?)

As some of you may know, my travel blog Where in the World Are We? was pretty much a casualty of the trip; I was able to make one post; there's apparently an iPad/Blogger glitch. Anyway, I'm going to do some after-the-trip posts to show where we were.

On to the Travel Wardrobe Review! I was so impressed with Handmade by Caroline's post-trip critique of her travel wardrobe, I decided to do the same thing.It's always a good idea to know what worked and what didn't.

As you may remember, my TW consisted of this:
along with shoes, accessories, jewelry, etc. (See previous post for details). Well, I wore everything at least once, and consider the planning a success. The only thing which was really superfluous was the
polka dot skirt, and that was simply because I'm not much of a skirt wearer. Sicily was in the middle of a heat wave which affected what I wore the most.

This ikat print top was certainly one of the most worn items...it is lightweight, cool and doesn't wrinkle. I'm so glad I added the black twill ankle pants at the last moment, as I wore them a lot. The "high-tech" fabric from EOS I used for the shell was stellar for washing ease and non wrinkling, but was not suitable for the hot and humid air in Sicily.
This striped tee was also a favorite, it is loosely cut and that always works best in hot climates.
The polka dot pants and red tee were also well-worn... the white pants were surprisingly good...armed with my Tide-To-Go pen and my bleach pen, I wore them at least a half dozen times...
(Incredibly unflattering picture...oh, well...)
The travel jacket with red jeans shown at the top were too heavy for much wear in Sicily...I did wear them for a fancy restaurant dinner in Syracuse...

ditto for my silver vest...
My Marcy Tilton tunic worked well...
as did the Babette shirt (no pics) and the mesh polka dot shirt.

So....

1. I wish I had taken a long or 3/4 sleeve white lightweight tee (the silk tee was too heavy)
2. My white cotton non-wrinkle shirt from Orvis performed AMAZINGLY
3. The microfiber separates from Marcy Tilton were great, and not hot at all.
4. Next time I'll take some Eucalan to do my laundry; it doesn't need rinsing

Great trip...fabulous food and wine, incredible Greek and Roman ruins, good travel group, my purse was stolen and RETURNED (minus small amount of money) intact...and, best of all, my lost suitcase was just delivered...YAY!


41 comments:

  1. You looked very elegant. Hope your case arrives safely.

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  2. Excellent wardrobe recap - thanks! (should I ever get the chance to travel again....rolls eyes....)

    You can plan for weather options, but in the end you just can't control it - it sounds like you did a near perfect job of packing - and Welcome Home! :)

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  3. Excellent work on the TW! Sounds/looks like it all went together well, and was exactly what you needed over there. Your pre-planning of the wardrobe well and truly paid off...

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  4. Margy, it sounds like you had a simply wonderful holiday and your travel pics of your wardrobe are fabulous!! You look so elegant in each outfit. I really love the red top and polka dot pants combo, really funky and fun :)

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  5. Welcome home! You were missed! The post-trip wardrobe report is fascinating. It's clear from the pics that you looked fabulous! Even though there were a few pieces that weren't perfect for the hot climate, you had what you needed!

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  6. Margy, your wardrobe and pictures are lovely. Looks like your travel wardrobe was just about perfect.

    I had trouble posting to Blogger with the iPad until I began using an App called "Blog Docs - Google Docs HTML Editor". It works quite well, the directions are clear, and it has tutorials. I have found it to be the easiest way to publish blog posts from the iPad, including handling pictures and links. It is on sale right now for $7.99 on the App Store. (I have no affiliation with the App/company, I just think it is a well designed app.) If you decide to use it, I'm happy to help if you need it.

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    1. Thanks, Andrea...and I appreciate your info re blogging on the iPad. I downloaded the app you mentioned, but I was also able to delete the BlogPress app and reinstall it...it seems to work for now. I guess a lot of people have had the same problem.

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  7. Gorgeous! I'm really loving how well all your separates go together - and it also bring home how important fabric selection is when planning a wardrobe for travelling! I particularly love the KT Tunic - a beautiful mish mash of colours.

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  9. Glad you're back and had a wonderful trip. Southern Italy and Sicily tends to be warm even in late September. Four years ago we spent some time on the Ligurian coast that is a lot farther north in September and it was still summer weight clothes/bathing suit weather except for some evenings when you needed a wrap of some sort.

    *had to correct some spellings from previous comment.

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    1. Thanks, Terri...I lived in Liguria many years ago!

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  10. Thanks for sharing how your TW performed. I love to read posts like this one. Your trip looks like it was absolutely wonderful!

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  11. Wonderful travel wardrobe! And what a great idea of taking a look back on what worked and what didn't.

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    1. Thanks, Irene...now I have notes for the next trip!

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  12. Perfect selections Margy! Thanks for reviewing the details for those of us who are committed to traveling in style. I have 2 questions for you-did you cut your hair? It always looks marvelous and appears shorter in the travel shots. and...what lipstick color is that? It looks like a lovely pink/coral on my monitor.

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    1. Thank you, Mary! 2 answers: I have a severely asymmetric hairdo...If you see one side, it looks short, the other side looks long! And the lipstick is Revlon Copperglaze Sienna, #320, a longtime favorite of mine. It's a little more coppery than pink/coral.

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  13. Thanks so very much for your post-trip review of your travel wardrobe. DS and DDIL are in Italy now (Rome and surrounds) so I'm wondering how her wardrobe is working out with the heat wave.

    I am so surprised and pleased to hear that the microfiber from MT worked out so well. I have pants and shell in her black but never thought to take them on a trip where I might become hot.

    Thanks for such a helpful post!

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    1. You're welcome, Martha. Yes, Marcy's microfiber is a real find. I'm going to get more.

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  14. Your post visit review is great and your Made-by-Me wardrobe certainly stepped up to the mark, you look stunning in all the photographs.

    Glad you had a lovely time (hope your suitcase arrives soon)

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    1. Thanks, Pauline...yes, the suitcase arrived!

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  15. It's always fun to see your well planned travel wardrobe. Looks like you had a wonderful trip. So happy to hear that your purse was returned and that your luggage made it home!.

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    1. Thanks, Rhonda...it was a wonderful trip, and I'm so glad the purse/luggage thing turned out ok.

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  16. Margy you are an inspiration! I adore your travel wardrobe posts and a post-post is so helpful. I am currently wearing my travel wardrobe on a genuine trip, no practice this is the real thing. And already I am getting ready to ship one pair of pants and one skirt home. (I'm shipping my metalworking tools home so will use the tools to pad the box).

    It's so so helpful to see your fabulous wardrobe and admire your exemplary travel wardrobes!

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    1. Thank you, Claire...are you taking notes on what works and what doesn't in your TW? Where have you been, using metalworking tools?

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  17. Tons of tips! Thanks so much for the recap and lovely photos.

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  18. Hullo Margy! i am late to comment but i had to let you know how very much i appreciate your travel posts!!! i was born a compulsive overpacker, and my tendency was reinforced by my disorganized family. On every camping trip or family visit, after being teased mercilessly about my 'kitchen sink' habits, i would get the secret visit from an abashed sibling "do you have any toothpaste? a comb? extra socks? undies?" what would they do without me!

    as i grew older (and dealt with more physical troubles) this grew tiresome. I never knew where things were, never knew when i was 'done' packing, etc. Reading detailed reports online from experienced travelers such as yourself has been the most help to me in becoming a very light, organized packer these last few months. Seeing what works and what doesn't for other people has helped me to develop my own list (a key for me).

    I also have to highly recommend your method of documenting what you take, what you actually use, and making notes of it all for future reference. All the pre-planning in the world won't help if you don't sit down afterwards and deconstruct how it unfolded in real life. This does take time and effort, but it will repay both immensely.

    And it's why i appreciate this so much - it's a lot of work, on top of being so valuable :) i hope you don't mind me going on a bit (or a lot), but i really wanted you to know how much i get out of these posts.

    And on top of it all, you look so great! that Tilton tunic is wonderful on you, and polka dot pants with the red top is so fun and chic! anyways, thank you again and have a great weekend! steph

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    1. Thank you, Steph...I appreciate your comments!

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  19. This is the first time I'm commenting on your posts although I've been following you for several months now. I find your posts very helpful and appreciate the after posts you've put up here. Where did you get the storyboard to show the outline of the items you put in your suitcase? I found this very helpful as we could see the outline of a particular pant or shirt.

    I am thinking of taking a very lightweight tunic jacket when I go home to visit my parents. It doesn't have a ton of pockets and I'm thinking of putting one or two on the inside. Do you have any ideas on that?

    Love your posts. I'm also new on blogging and find yours and other readers' tips very helpful.

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    1. Hi, Liana...thanks for your comments. I made the storyboard in Photoshop...just used drawings of patterns and then layered with the fabric behind. When you add inside pockets, be sure they are at the right height for you. You can pin them on and make sure of the position.

      I grew up in Hawaii...small world!

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  20. I also wanted to add that pictures of your outfits including your shoes help a whole lot. Often I can pack a pretty good wardrobe, but then I'm not sure my shoes go along with some of my outfits. I think we need to plan our wardrobe around our shoes as sometimes some outfits may look good in heels, but are impractical for travel and looking good.

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  21. Margy, you planned and executed and A+ travel wardrobe. Reading this makes me even more motivated to create the exact same thing for myself to my work wardrobe. The flexibilty of mixing and matching is exactly what i want to find in my closet when I am in a rush and impatient.
    I don't know what happened to my blogroll, I thought you were there and today I realized it was gone and I had to add you - that explains my belated comments to your wonderful posts.
    I love your blog almost as much as I appreciate you sartorial aesthetic. I guess it's because we like the same colors, that I would happily wear everything you have posted!!

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  22. What a fun trip and loved the travel attire documentary.... Our first trip to Kauai I proudly packed 2 huge suitcases, convincing my hubbs I would wear everything plus..... ended up wearing 2% of what I brought, then there was all I bought (1st taste of hawaiian fabric).... I did one smart thing I took pics of the full closet and bureau full of items and always reminisce our arrival home pulling those 2 cases plastered with the orange "HEAVY" stickers through the deep snow.... I can get by pretty light these days but love how you were able to print out your wardrobe... What program did you use?

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