BEST DRESSES FOR TRAVEL

JULY 2020

I cannot believe I did not write this blogpost sooner.. people often ask me for recommendations where to get clothes and I will spill my secrets in this blogpost 😉 I actually don’t go shopping very often, buy most of my clothes online and I only shop at very few stores. I am super happy and proud of all my dresses, they hang color-coordinated in my closet and I love browsing through them. I know it is ridiculous that I have this many dresses, but I wear them so often and they make me very happy. I sometimes splurge on a very original or sustainable item, but other than that I am a savvy shopper and I am very good at buying things when on sale and with discount codes, which I will also explain in this blog.

FAITHFULL THE BRAND

Faithfull is one of my all time favorite brands. Their dresses are usually super airy and flowy, making them perfect to bring along in your suitcase. Faithfull dresses are not always lined, but the perfect fit makes up for that. Some of their dress wrinkle a bit in your suitcase, but when you immediately hang them after you have taken them out of your suitcase they will kind of “iron” theirselves. Faithfull dresses are designed and made in Bali in an ethical way. They always have the best prints and I love the vintage florals in their latest collection. I usually buy Faithfull dresses at ASOS or Revolve, as their prices include customs and duties and it is easy to return. The dresses are true to size and I wear a size M. I must admit that I am always hunting for a bargain, full price Faithfull dresses are expensive and I usually try to buy them with a discount. ASOS sales often start on Mondays, so when they have sale I always scout if my favorite Faithfull dresses are now on sale. Revolve has pretty good deals as well, though sometimes the dresses sell out before sale. When you are a first time customer at Revolve you can sign up for their newsletter for a 10% discount.

FREE PEOPLE

Another one of my favorite brands for travel dresses. As its name probably reveals, Free People has lots of colorful boho inspired dresses. Some of my favorite twirling dresses are by Free People. I usually buy my Free People dresses in sale as well, but they have some popular, cotton styles that sell out quickly. The quality of Free People is a bit hit and miss, but the lined cotton dresses are of very good quality. They are more expensive but they will stay exactly the way they are, no matter how many times you wash them, and they can survive in your backpack for months. They also have dresses made out of rayon, which I find to be lower quality and these dresses are less practical for traveling as they can get wrinkly. Free People is available on their own website, ASOS and Revolve. Free People is an American brand and I have the feeling that that is the reason that it sizes big. I usually size down and wear a size S.

CHICWISH

I have to admit that the website of Chicwish seems a bit sketchy and cheap, but the dresses and skirts are of exceptional quality. I find some of the clothes incredibly dated, but sometimes they have the best original designs. Shipping takes a few weeks, but the packages always arrive. A few of my favorite twirling skirts are by Chicwish and I love that Chicwish also thinks of how a dress will look in a photo. If you write some reviews on their website and upload some external reviews, you will get huge discounts. I even managed to receive two dresses for free, just by uploading reviews and pictures 🙂 The dresses and skirts are true to size and I wear a S-M.

PINK CITY PRINTS

I always shop a mix of high street brands and small, sustainable brands. Pink City Prints has beautiful cotton dresses that are handmade and blockprinted in India. Pink City Prints is a very small brand that tries to do well for the community in India as well. If you follow their Instagram you can see how difficult that has been during the COVID-19 lockdown. Their dresses have the perfect mix of colorful Bollywood extravagance and understated cotton quality. I bought directly of the Pink City Prints website, follow their Instagram for discount codes until 20%. Pink City Prints also sells on Beachcafe.com, one of my other guilty pleasure stores.

ASOS

I don’t love everything ASOS represents, but I do love their search engine. You may not expect this, but I don’t like to go shopping and ASOS’ amazing search engine helps me decrease my time spent shopping. If I am looking for something really specific, I always turn to ASOS. For example if I am looking for something specific such as a “square neck yellow midi dress” ASOS will find one for me. ASOS can even recommend items to me, that I actually want to have, and not a lot of algorithms have learned that skill yet. On ASOS you can switch the currency from euros to British Pounds, which usually saves you about 10-15%. The currency rate that ASOS uses is very bad compared to my credit card company, so I always switch currencies. ASOS sales usually start on Monday and they have good (Bank) Holiday sales as well.

SMALL BRANDS/BOUTIQUES

They only way I actually like to go shopping is when there are boutique stores. I have found some of my best dresses in boutique stores abroad. I specifically love shopping in boutique stores near the beach, as these stores often sell dresses in my boho resort style. Some of the best original dresses come from small stores in Mykonos, Cannes, Trastevere in Rome, Polignano a Mare, the Provence, Altea, Marbella, Buenos Aires etc. Luckily some of these smaller brands and boutiques can be found online as well, such as Pampelone, KITRI studio, Rouje and Sundress. I also love finding accessories in these boutiques, such as straw bags and hats!

Vintage

As I am always looking for specific items, I have to agree that I did not often shop vintage, however recently I have improved my habits a bit. This kind of started when I visited Shoreditch in London where they have an enormous supply of vintage clothes. I often find the supply of vintage clothes in the Netherlands limited (except in Amsterdam). However I decided to sell some clothes via the app Vinted and discovered that this is a fun way to buy vintage clothes. The search engine is really good, you can even select brands that you like. I recently found an uber cool Free People set on Vinted. Definitely a good way to shop a little more sustainably.

Honorable mentions

I buy most of my dresses from above brands, but sometimes even I need some basics and I do buy at other stores. H&M is my favorite big high street brand, as the clothes generally have a good fit. I always shop online though, as they have more choice and I find the stores really unstructured. Sometimes they have a good dress or skirt, but I mainly buy my palazzo pants here. I have a love and hate relationship with Mango, sometimes I buy there really often and sometimes I don’t shop there for over a year. I generally like their shoes and my favorite palazzo pant is from Mango. For sweaters I always turn to Sezane, their sweaters cost about € 100 but they stay pretty after many wears. When I buy cheaper sweaters at different stores I always end up disappointed when they start to become bigger after two wears or start to pill. I also really like the style and quality of Other Stories and for jeans I’d like to wear stretchy Levis. For some fun original items I browse the Lovers + Friends and Tularosa sale at Revolve.