Today I’m sharing everything I packed and wore on my recent trip to Italy.
I know that many of you have big summer travels plans … to Italy and all over … and I hope my packing edit can help with your planning or give you a few ideas.
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Everything I Wore For a Week in Puglia
We recently spent a week in Italy’s Puglia region, the high heel on the ‘boot’ of Italy. It was a group trip with Jim’s company who is celebrating their 100th year. It’s a real treat to go along on these trips that are beautifully coordinated and planned. We stayed at a wonderful hotel, the Borgo Egnazia in Fasano, which was the site of last week’s G7 Summit. The hotel grounds are designed to resemble a charming, old Italian village. The weather was quite warm during our stay with lovely ocean breezes keeping things comfortable at night.
Puglia by Day ~
Our daytime adventures took us to historic cities and towns throughout the Puglia region. We did a lot of walking, as one does in Italy, on uneven pavement. And with that in mind I packed flat sandals and white sneakers. I wore lightweight, summer dresses and always had a shirt or sweater in my tote to toss on when entering a church or air conditioned space.
During the day, my dresses were basic black. Sticking with a single color or color palette keeps things cohesive and is easy to mix and match accessories. Plus black is very forgiving in the event of a mishap … like a wine or food spill. I love dresses for travel … comfortable dresses that move easily and are presentable for whatever the day brings. I wore three dresses on repeat.
#1 – Quince’s pleat-front, linen dress.
#2 – A cotton, knit fit-and-flare dress from Target. It’s many years old, but this one is similar.
#3 – Tiered dress from The Drop. This is one of my all-time favorite summer dresses and it has pockets (yay) and adjustable straps.
To cover up my shoulders when necessary I carried a striped sweater (similar) or chambray shirt (similar here and here) in my tote. A linen shirt would work well too.
I wore white sneakers or tan sandals on our daytime adventures. If I had to do it over again, I’d stick with sneakers. Not only are Italy’s cobblestone streets uneven, but they can be slippery too. I bought Dr. Scholl’s Time Off sneakers shortly before our trip. Not only do I love the way they look, they’re lightweight, easy to get in and out of and the price is right.
On one of our daytime adventures, Cindy, a stylish member of our group, wore a pale pink pair of Tom’s platform espadrilles … with linen pants. I’ve been eyeing these shoes for a while (in natural metallic linen) and Cindy looked so chic I regret not buying them. She said they’re very comfortable, and she navigated the cobblestones just fine.
Tom’s Valencia Platform Espadrille
Packing Miscellany ~
I brought two bathing suits and coverups for the pool, beach and a day of sailing. And I packed a pair of shorts and a couple of casual tops plus something to sleep in.
And, of course, a tote, hat, sunnies and sunscreen are daytime essentials.
Puglia Evenings ~
Most of our evenings were pretty casual. I’d call it elevated casual.
Night #1 – On our first night, I wore a Steve Madden lime print maxi dress I bought on impulse last year. It’s not my usual style and that’s probably why I get such a kick out of it and how it found its way into my packing. That first night is kind of a blur. Our luggage caught up with us just before getting dressed for dinner (thank goodness for AirTags so we could track its progress). I have no photos from that evening, but here’s one of the dress from an event last year.
Night #2 – Quince’s linen scoop neck midi dress in navy was a last minute – and great – purchase. The spaghetti straps are adjustable which is nice. It’s a classic silhouette and a wonderful basic. I wore it with a pair of Michael Kors embellished slides.
Quince European Linen Scoop Neck Midi Dress
Night #3 – Reformation Olina Linen pants with a cami and Cinq de Sept ruched sleeve jacket. (I also love the jacket in boucle). Linen pants are so versatile for travel. They can be worn day or night, and even as a cover up option at the pool or beach. This pair from Quince is also good.
Night #4 – I bought this Banana Republic giraffe print linen dress with Italy in mind. I wore it with relatively new wedge sandals … another favorite summer purchase.
Banana Republic Giraffe Print Linen Dress
Night #5 – Dining at the famous and picturesque restaurant, Grotta Palazzese, called for a more elevated look. I wore a many-years-old Michael Kors floral, embroidered silk dress.
Night #6 – Our last night was a buffet style dinner at the hotel and I wore Talbots organic cotton striped caftan. This dress has been a reader favorite and another piece that can be worn day or night.
Talbot’s Organic Cotton Striped Caftan
I wore a Vince cropped shirt-style jacket most evenings when it cooled down … it’s been such a staple in my wardrobe and I wish it was still available. A few similar options below. A lightweight cashmere wrap would also have been a good choice, and easy to pack and carry.
My J.Crew Portofino clutch worked well with all my evening outfits.
Similar bags ~
Accessories … jewelry, shoes, bags, and hats –
Jewelry was a bright spot in my packing. I brought the bare minimum and it worked.
And it fit into my small travel case.
As for shoes, flat sandals and a good, sturdy wedge or espadrille are the best options day and night. Sneakers for exploring. Again, those cobblestone streets + wine. Err on the side of caution.
Of course you can buy beautiful leather sandals in Italy. I was tempted by these pretties in Lecce.
I’m pretty proud of myself for bringing only two bags. A tote by day and clutch by night.
And of course I brought my trusty Panama hat. It’s seen better days but it’s still getting the job done. I’m eyeing this Cuyana’s packable Ecuador hat as its replacement. And, of course, a good hat clip is essential.
Enroute ~
Last but not least, the most important outfit choice of all … what to wear on the plane. I’m serious. Long flights are rough. When traveling to Europe it’s important to (try) and get some sleep in an attempt to adjust to the new time zone. Being comfortable is my main criteria. On this trip I wore a jogger set purchased on Amazon. Yes, Amazon. The set comes in many colors. I chose black and wore a white t-shirt underneath. Am I going to win any style awards? No. But it was exactly the right thing and did double duty as lounge wear in the hotel room.
Jim was shocked and scandalized by my decision to travel in Birkenstocks instead of sneakers. He’s right, wearing your bulkiest shoes to travel is best practice. But for a long flight, where comfort and ease are key, Birks were the better choice for me. They’re so much easier to slip in and out of during the flight (don’t worry, I always wear plane socks when in my seat, and this trip I wore compression socks). It worked out so well I did the same thing for the trip home.
Pre-Pack Planning & Preparation Tips ~
- I love a rolling rack for pre-packing and planning. It’s been a game changer for me and you’re probably sick of hearing me drone on about it so I won’t say anymore. Other than, if you don’t have one, get one (the collapsable kind).
- A couple weeks (or more) before your trip, pull everything from your closet that you think you could wear during your travels and place it on the rolling rack.
- Organize it by color or color family. If you can get a cohesive color scheme going, many pieces (especially shoes, bags, and jackets) can do double, or triple duty.
- Try everything on … and start putting together outfits, accessories and all.
- If anything needs to be altered, repaired or cleaned you have time to get it done.
- Edit (eliminate), edit (eliminate), edit (eliminate) until you have outfits planned for each event or activity. Resist the last minute urge to toss in more ‘just in case.’ If worse comes to worst you can (probably) buy whatever you need wherever you are. And the extra stuff rarely gets worn.
- Use packing cubes and keep hanging stuff on lightweight hangers zipped into garment bags. You can get a lot of hanging pieces into a single garment bag and it’s so easy to unpack this way. Hotel rooms never have enough hangers.
I do all of the above and still overpack. But I’m getting better.
A couple of things I bought in Italy ~
I did almost no shopping on this trip … pathetic, right? I was tempted by beautiful ceramic pitchers and olive oil jars but couldn’t make up my mind on color and size … and regret it now. I did make a couple of impulse purchases in our hotel boutique and they easily fit into my luggage for the trip home.
Oversized Linen Shirt
Lightweight, breezy and versatile … an oversize linen shirt can be worn as just that, an oversized shirt, a shirt dress or a pool coverup. The latter is what I had in mind when I made the purchase.
Anyway, it’s an Italian brand I can’t find online, but this Quince version is a very affordable option. And here are a few more at varying price points.
Toe Ring Sandals
Metal toe ring sandals have been on my wish list ever since I did a summer sandal round up. And when I glimpsed a pair of Maria Luca sandals in the hotel boutique, I knew it was time to take the plunge.
I can’t find the exact sandals online, this is the same brand and style with gold stud embellishments on the strap, and this is the sandal I was eyeing before our trip. And I love this pair with a woven band.
So there you have it, everything I packed and wore during my week in Puglia. Stay tuned, there’s more to come on our Puglia itinerary. It was my first time traveling to this region of Italy and I hope it won’t be the last. Have you been to Puglia?
I appreciate your visit and welcome your thoughts in the comments below. Sign up here to subscribe to the blog and have new posts delivered directly to your inbox as soon as they’re published.
Cheers from Snowberry!
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