We traveled to Italy two years ago in June. It was a celebratory trip, other wise I would have chosen a different time.

It was warm and humid. Capris and t-shirts will be fine. What I was surprised about was how dressed down everyone was! Lots of jeans, shorts and sleeveless. This of course made sense because you will be doing tourist things with other tourists! Not with the well dressed Italians. (Jeans are now allowed at the Vatican.)

You will be walking and standing on your feet as you tour the museums and churches. A priority would be your foot wear.

Do you have some "go to" really comfortable clothes? Comfort is key. It's nice to buy a few new things, but you need to be sure about how they wear. Will they wrinkle, will the pants stretch and look baggy after one wearing etc?

My one bit of advise is to plan in some relaxation. We didn't. My DH signed us up for everything! But, one day we both just decided to stay back and wander the streets of Venus. My favorite memory.

How nice for you to do this special trip with your daughter.

When it comes to packing light, I always like to look first at Vivienne Files. She has a lot of wonderful ideas and suggestions for how to pack to maximize outfits while minimizing pieces. Not only does this make for light packing, but it also lightens the burden on the budget. I also suggest shopping your closet first for the basics like black slacks and tee shirts. Those are most likely to be comfortable for you. Then pick and choose a few pieces to purchase that will become the accent colors with coordinating accessories. And be sure that, if you're buying new shoes, to break them in first. I don't think I've ever been to europe that I haven't walked my little dogs off.

Vivienne Files on packing

Thank you!

Unfortunately, I have arthritis in one foot. So my shoe choices are incredibly limited. I will likely take two or three pairs and I will make sure they are well broken in, but they will all be essentially the same shoe as that is all I can wear and walk more than a quarter of a mile without pain. (The dansko marcelle style is what works best for me I have a couple of other dansko styles I am testing now to see if I can expand to using them as well.)

My closet contains almost exclusively jeans and cotton t-shirts. Comfortable here nearly year around but the jeans will be too hot for Italy in the summer and neither will work for washing out in the sink and hanging to dry.

I would like, however, to start adding pieces now that could be worn at home (for example t-shirts from title 9 that are not all cotton and would hang to dry better).

I have a lot of pieces from j.jill and they're great for travel (I go to Paris twice a year and carry-on only).

If you'd like to get a lot of bang for your buck, they're having an additional % off sale on their sale merchandise. Buy 4 or more sale pieces and get an additional 40% off. There's still a good selection of spring and summer merchandise left.

Couple that extra 40% percent off with $50 off $150 or more (before tax or shipping) and you'll get a great deal. The coupon code for the $50 off $150 or more is WW1215. You can also use that coupon code on regular price items.

My one indispensible summer travel piece is a long packable black tank dress. Mine is an Eileen Fisher, but Travel Smith has some cute ones. It can be worn alone, but I usually throw something over the top -- like a white oversized long sleeve asymmetrical tee in the daytime or mesh sweater in the evening. It's really pretty amazing how many pieces look good just thrown on over it. The dress can be dressed up or down and the other pieces do double duty with pants and capris.

I love the slinky knits I have pants, skirts, coulots, tops and longer duster type jackets. They are extremely light weight and pack wonderfully no wrinkles. Rinse and hang to dry in very short time. I have lots of colors and prints to mix and match.

I also have several capris and pants that are danskin super comfortable when we are traveling in the rv that's what I usually wear.

Home shopping has the slinky knits on often. I have bought mine at various stores.

http://www.hsn.com/shop/slinky-brand/107?&cm_mmc=Paid+Search+Brand--google--G_BRA_Fashion_S--slinky%20knits_mkwid_sL4pjG2s9_pcrid_70510243881_pkw_slinky%20knits_pmt_e_pdv_m_slid&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=slinky%20knits&utm_campaign=G_BRA_Fashion_S&gclid=CIeExpbImcoCFRCqaQod7DYJ0g

Sorry for some reason on my new phone I don't have a link button.

The slinkyknits are very cool to wear and so light it's easy to wear and can be dressed up easily with accessories.

I like the slinky knits, too, for all the reasons ravencajun mentioned. I also like skirts, as they tend to be cool and usually go anywhere, and you can get them in any length. The one thing I would recommend as you consider capris and skirts, is to sit down in them before you decide to keep them. Items that fall just below your knee in a standing position could go above your knee when you sit down.

I did get a lightweight cotton knit dress from LL Bean for France trip that I got a lot of use out of...

For traveling on the plane, I like the comfort of stretchy pants. I have been known to wear jeans and roll up a pair of yoga pants and change into them on the plane. I have ordered many times in the past from Athleta and Title 9 and can vouch for the comfort of their skirts and skorts (esp Athleta's). With the skorts they tell you the length, so you can buy the longer ones that come almost to the knees for me and I am tall. I would only take one pair of jeans and let everything else be lightweight. A couple of white T's work well with everything and then pick a color you like (soft pink for example) that works well with black and build the rest of your wardrobe around a few more T's and pieces that interchange with black or grey knit pants/skorts/skirts and a black cardigan. If you wear scarves, take one (I am not, so usually take a few simple pieces of inexpensive jewelry).

For your DS, he will want to wear jeans or shorts I imagine, so keep it as simple as possible for him too. Khaki or dark shorts, 1 pair of jeans if the weather will be warm, and several shirts.

If you think you will need to dress up, he can 'dress up' with a polo and you can dress up with a simple black knit dress with your cardigan and a little jewelry if needed.

I can say enough good things about Icebreaker merino wool. They have a range of styles from sporty to work-appropriate, they don't wrinkle, and they never get stinky even after repeated wearings - even after repeated sweaty wearings. The stuff is not cheap but they have good sales at the change of seasons and Sierra Trading Post has a nice supply of sale items. The fit is fussy though. The brand is cut for a slim build.

Sounds like a great trip! Traveling by train through Europe is a slice of heaven, in my book.

You're in the Bay Area, right? Do you have your tickets yet? Norwegian Air Shuttle has very reasonable tickets out of Oakland to Europe, all connecting through Oslo or Stockholm. Even with the connection, the total time was less than most other flights and you couldn't beat the price.

I'm traveling to France and Spain this summer with my daughter, who will also be 12 (first international vacation since 2003).

Yes, Norwegian Air. My French travel writer neighbor was impressed with the price I got. France and Spain, yay! I hope we all have fabulous trips!

I bought a few jjill items late last night from the sale page. I will update with them later (must get kid to school now).

Here are my jjill sale purchases.

Total of right around $109 including tax and shipping.

I have a pair of Eddie Bauer travel pants in grey. So I'm thinking I will add a pair of grey capris and that should do it for bottoms, assuming all of the jjill purchases work out. I have lightweight grey and black cardigans already. So a couple more tops that dry quickly and that ought to do it, except for underwear. I'm trying to decide if I should just stock up on my usual cotton undies and pack a lot of them since they are small anyway or if I should give Patagonia or ex officio a try.

I like the idea of wool, but I have had a lot of itchy wool experiences even with stuff that people say doesn't itch so I don't think it would work for me. (I had a mild allergic reaction to a wool sweater combined with a bee sting as a teenager and ever since wool has made me itch.)

This is one of the title 9 tshirts I'm thinking of getting. I would wait, but I have had title 9 sell out of things so I may go ahead and get one.

That title 9 top is perfect!

You can be turned away at the basilica for inappropriate clothing. The Vatican museum you can get away with more, but not St Peter's or the Sistine Chapel.

The rules are women must have their arms and knees covered, so a skirt or pants. The tops of your arms/shoulders must be covered, a scarf or jacket would suffice if you're wearing something inappropriate.

Males are expected to wear long pants and a top with short or long
sleeves. No t-shirts with offensive writing. No hats. No cleavage.

When we traveled Europe for three weeks it was in June. I wore long (cool cotton, summer) skirts in the hotter climates to all churches out of respect. Pants in cooler climates.

From the Vatican

Yes, allison0794, thank you. I know of these rules, which is why I mentioned that I am not planning to pack shorts in my original post.

Sorry. I guess by the time I had read most of the other posts I had changed directions. My favorite shirts have hemp in them and were purchased for om Poetry USA. It's a company out of England. They would be easy to wash when traveling and dry quickly/overnight. I also like their linen pants.

These are all great tips. I'll be in Greece, Macedonia and Albania this summer and I think it will be very warm. All my European travels to date have been spring and fall, so I will have to rethink my wardrobe. I just love the LL Bean Perfect Fit pants. They were comfy on the plane and looked nice everywhere I wore them. Too warm for this trip, though. It's hard to look neat and tidy when living out of a suitcase and also being a bit sweaty. I am not a fan of travel clothes because they are made of synthetic material that clings and isn't absorbent. They just don't fit me very well either. I prefer cotton. I do love the choices you have made from JJill.

Allison, when we went two years ago, my short sleeve t-shirts and capris was accepted every where.

Also, those cheap shawls are sold everywhere. A young girl on our tour did this and was then allowed in.

Crl, those are nice selections, I'm just wondering why all dark colors? It will be hot in July.

Some of the synthetics wick better than cotton and cotton is hard to wash in a sink and hang to dry. I am concerne about the jjill bottoms clinging too much. I will just have to see how they look when they arrive.

Light colors show way too much dirt for me for travel. With highs in the 70s and 80s, I don't think dark will make all that much of a difference in temperature.

crl_ You have made excellent choices and will be able to add to your basic pieces as needed (save room to buy as you go!) We have been to Italy several times, including when our DD studied there and when she lived there. We dressed in very basic clothing, dark colored and comfortable. The very best purchase I ever made was buying a comfortable pair of walking sandals: http://www.onlineshoes.com/womens-merrell-agave-2-lavish-midnight-p_id317804?piid=0

ellen, your shoulders and knees were covered in those, so yes, acceptable.

bonnie, I discovered those exact sandals two years ago. Love them, and have bought more than one pair.

kswl2, I feel pretty sure you stayed in a different class of hotel than I will be in.