Women’s travel clothing summer vacations in Paris and Rome

Paris in Summer

In Paris, an over-40 girl can never go wrong with a knit travel dress that falls below the knees. While not of the same high caliber as chic Parisian clothes, wearing something like a Travel Smith dress will help a woman get a better response than if she’s wearing jogging clothes, shorts (never), or jeans. Yes, jeans are okay on an over-40 woman if she is anorexic and shops in Milan.

• Something like a lightweight crinkle cotton dress would be great for very hot days.
• Skirts and lightweight tops work, though, when rushing out in the morning to see the sights, an easy over-the-head, pull-on dress is quicker.
• If wearing slacks, knit pants with pull-on waists are more comfortable, but tops must be long enough to cover those sinful elastic waistbands.

Any outfit is embellished with a gauzy scarf. Women in Paris don’t seem to wear necklaces in the daytime (some wear jewelry out to dinner). So, buy a gorgeous scarf there. It’s the best souvenir, and accessories are more fun to buy, because there are few stores in Paris with larger-women’s sizes.

Rome in Summer

Lightweight cotton skirts and dresses are right for Rome. Jeans are too hot for the daytime (though, at night, parading below the Spanish Steps, they might be okay with a cute top). If a woman hates skirts, even after being forewarned about the weather, another option would be very thin cotton or linen capris.

• Gauzy, loose fitting dresses rock
• Tank tops, sleeveless cotton blouses, and other shoulder-baring outfits are fine, but shoulders and knees must be covered in many European churches (carry a large gauzy scarf to wear as a shawl or pareo-sarong). Vatican is extremely strict.
• If running around on tourist-agenda days, like riding hop-on hop-off buses to the Coliseum and places like that, wear anything. It’s all tourists.

No matter what, a packable sunhat (or small parasol umbrella) should always be in one’s purse because tourists usually end up in lines. Note: Duck into any church in Europe for natural air conditioning.