The best lightweight, easy-care women’s travel dresses

As an over 60 woman, I plan my travel wardrobe around classic, easy-care items. I take inspiration from the French style of dressing, focusing on solid colors and a classic look in high quality pieces. I accent these with colorful scarves, jackets, and jewelry. A dress fits perfectly into this capsule. Designing your travel style around a simple dress is a great way to pack light and look great! I’ve tested some of the best women’s travel dresses and present my favorites here.

Why pack a dress for travel?

I’m not your typical dress person. At home you’re more likely to find me in a great pair of jeans or workout wear. But when I’m planning a trip, I want to be ready for anything – museum visits, evenings out, and lots of walking. For me, one of the best options is a travel dress! On cruises, a dress is always on the list. (We don’t book anything that requires formal wear. It’s just not our thing.) On an active adventure where you’re in hiking or cycling clothes by day, it’s nice to have an option for something soft and pretty at night. And in a stretch, a dress can be worn as nightwear! That’s where dresses for travel come in!

This post includes affiliate links. Traveling Tulls may earn a small commission, at no additional expense to you, if you purchase something from one of these links. Unless noted, we were not supplied with the dresses we reviewed here, but were so impressed with the Wool& dress and bike shorts, that we have chosen to partner with Wool& going forward. DISCLOSURE

As a woman over 60, I began traveling IN the sixties. My Dad wore three piece suits, and my mom and I wore dresses. Does that make me a travel dress expert?? No, but it does give me an appreciation for the functionality of dresses.

What makes a great travel dress?

Any piece that makes its way into our bag has to earn its place. Dresses are no exception. Here are our criteria for the perfect travel dress:

1. Packability – lightweight, wrinkle resistant

2. Versatility – I don’t pack anything that I can’t wear more than once. Clothing that has more than one good option is the best way to pack light. Choose a casual dress that can go from daytime touring to evenings out with an accessory or two. A dress that’s convertible gets extra points!

3. Low Maintenance/Ease of Care – who has time for doing laundry on vacation? A sink wash and air dry are usually the most we do on vacation.

4. Sustainable Quality – don’t be fooled by fast fashion. Invest in well made, classic items from ethical companies. Not only is this best for the planet, but it’ll save you money in the long run.

5. Comfort and Pleasure – (Probably the most important yet often forgotten criteria) Do I like how I feel in this dress? Does it work for my body type? Does it fit my personal style? Do I enjoy wearing it?

Choose your color, a dress style you like, and fabric that travels well

Color. The foundation of the French woman’s style is the little black dress. This staple piece is simple yet classy and never goes out of fashion. When creating a French-inspired travel wardrobe, I start with a solid color dress – the base palette – and add color and patterns with other pieces and accessories. Parisian women may favor black as their base, but you should choose what’s best for you, and your skin tone. Navy blue, wine, or dark gray can be more flattering to women over 60. They certainly are for me.

You can choose a patterned dress if it works best for you, or add that fun dress as an extra if there's room in your luggage. If you're traveling for a wedding or a special event, you may very well want a special dress. I'd still advice selecting for fabric, and ease of care.

Style. Your choice will depend on your signature style and your destination. Sleeveless styles are great for hot climates, and will work just as well in cold weather when you add layers! But some ladies prefer long sleeves. And some love maxi dresses! (though maxis will take up more luggage space!) Go with what makes you comfortable and what flatters your best features.

Fabric. To earn its place in your bag the dress (and every item really!) has to be lightweight and easy to care for. This is where the fabric choice comes in. For example:

• Cotton is heavy, retains odors, and takes forever to dry.
• Linen is wonderful, but wrinkles can be frustrating.
• Synthetics are very lightweight, but can retain odors.

For ease of care and sustainability we recommend choosing natural fibers such as bamboo, Tencel, and wool for your travel clothing.

Bamboo is quickly becoming a popular material for travel clothing. It’s sustainable and odor resistant.

Merino wool has a natural warmth and resiliency not found in other textiles. Merino sheep, bred originally in Spain, have ultrafine wool which doesn’t provoke the itchy reaction some people experience with wool. AND it’s naturally odor resistant. That means you can wear a merino wool item over and over again, with only an overnight airing out!

I've been a convert to merino wool since I invested in merino sports socks for our cycling vacation. Seven days on the bike and only one wash needed! They were truly odor resistant, but also soft and comfortable even after hours of wear. We began purchasing quality merino wool tees in preparation for our Grand Canyon rafting trip and added a sweater for our second safari. With the switch to merino we saved over a pound in luggage weight from our first safari. This is a big deal when you're limited to 35 pounds including photo equipment!

Best Women’s Travel Dresses: tested and recommended

Our Top Pick for General Travel & Versatility:

Wool& Merino Wool Dresses

Rowena swing dress, price: $138 USD

• Packability: 11 oz., wrinkle resistant.
• Versatility: simple swing dress, but can be styled as a top or tunic
• Ease of Care: fabric is 78% ultrasoft merino wool and 22% nylon
• Quality: very well made
• Comfort and Pleasure: temperature regulating, very comfortable, and has pockets!

I discovered Wool&, a small Oregon company producing merino wool clothing, through a Facebook ad. To prove the durability and natural odor resistance of merino wool, the company challenged people to wear their dress for 100 days straight. (I can’t imagine they expected this challenge to be so popular or to inspire an online community of women sharing the ups and downs of daily life over 100 days! No doubt the kindest group on social media!) Needless to say, given my interest in merino wool clothing, I was intrigued.

I base my capsule wardrobe on my favorite color, navy blue, so I opted for the Wool& signature item, the Rowena swing dress in marine blue. It’s a wonderful rich blue and I’m thrilled with the color. The dress has a boat neckline which is very flattering (and protective in the sunshine). As this is a swing dress, the body of the dress is loose, flowy, and flattering to my body shape. The material is light and lends itself to dozens of styling tricks and outfit ideas shared by the Facebook community. (There are many different colors available for this and other Wool& dresses)

My Wool& Review: Is this the best dress for traveling?

For the first month of the challenge, I played with the dress. I shopped my closet, pulling out long neglected items to pair with the dress. It was fun being creative with a simple piece of clothing, and truly surprising to pull out the dress each morning to find it as fresh as the day it arrived!

Then I got serious and began testing the dress for travel. I limited myself to a small capsule and worked on different outfits for different travel scenarios. First I wore the dress to my grandchild’s christening, and then another granddaughter’s lacrosse game. I wore it during zoom meetings, neighborhood clean-ups, and even for bike rides. The Wool& Rowena came through every time.

I had two opportunities to travel during this time – once to NYC for a fun weekend, and once to Texas for a sad event. The dress became my nightgown in Texas and gave me comfort.

Ease of Care: I aired out the dress every night – flipped it inside out and hung it over a bar. I sink-washed the dress six times and washed it in the washer once just to test durability. (I did use a lingerie bag) Day 100 the dress looked as fresh as on day 1.

Wool& offers several other travel dresses with pockets, including french terry dresses like the Sierra, a sleeveless option that’s very popular with travelers, the Everett, a tunic length sweater dress, and the Willow, a 3/4 sleeve swing dress with a V-neck.

---

Merino wool dresses are also offered by Icebreaker and Smartwool. Both brands produce quality goods so I’d feel confident ordering one of these if you find a style that suits you!

Amazon carries merino wool clothing at a more affordable price. I haven’t tried any of these so can’t speak to the quality. Let me know if you recommend them!

---

Best for a Special Event While Traveling

Chico’s Travelers Collection – dresses

• Price: ~$100-109 USD
• Packability: wrinkle resistant
• Versatility: n/a
• Ease of Care: machine or sink wash
• Fabric: 96% acetate, 4% elastane. From website: Our Travelers Classic collection contains Eastman Naia™, a sustainable cellulose fiber derived from wood pulp.
• Comfort and Pleasure: stylish, and flattering. Fabric has a bit of stretch for extra comfort

These packable travel dresses would be perfect for date nights, a destination wedding or afternoon tea party. Chico’s designs these dresses for all but I think the dresses, with their simple lines and great style, appeal especially to mature women. I like the mid-length pencil skirt look, but Chico’s also has cocktail dresses.

I don’t own any of these gorgeous dresses above because I have another Chico’s dress, bought 10 years ago, that still looks great! It’s a floral print and always in my luggage if I want to add a beautiful dress to my bag!

---

Our Favorite Convertible Travel Dresses

Origami by Diane Kroe

I’ve been a customer of Diane Kroe Designs for many years. I love the versatility of the collection. The Origami is one of my favorites. Usually I wear it as a top with skinny jeans or white pants, but I love having the option to wear it as a dress when traveling. This piece is great for older women travelers. The shape and drape are stylish and forgiving.

The main thing about convertible clothing is the style options while traveling. I’ve packed this dress specifically for special events but reached for it later in the trip as a light layer.

---

Best Dress for Sun Protection

Coolibar (Malta) Travel Shirt Dress –

Note: After first posting about this travel dress, the company kindly sent me one for review.

Price: $115 USD

• Packability: wrinkle resistant
• Versatility: wear it as a shirt dress, an opened jacket, or tie the ends to make a cute button-down shirt.
• Ease of Care: fabric is quick dry. Machine or hand wash in cold water,
• Fabric: from the website: Antimicrobial fabric that is lightweight, breathable and soft to the touch. With 4-way stretch it is naturally wrinkle resistant and moisture wicking.
• Comfort and Pleasure: a travel (and home!) classic style

What makes this a great choice? The Coolibar brand produces stylish clothing with sun protection – great for us older women! This shirt is rated UPF 50 and is breathable making it a great option for days of intense sun. The collar and cuffs can be adjusted to give maximum sun coverage.

Another great feature of the Malta is the hidden, zipped side pockets!

I was gifted the black version of the this dress. It is remarkably lightweight and cool. I wore it to a recent event – belted over leggings – and received lots of compliments!

Visit the Coolibar website for other dress styles for travel and sun protection.

---

Best of the rest: more suggestions for travel dresses

Athleta is one of my favorite brands for comfortable travel-friendly pants. I haven’t had the chance to try any of their dresses, but they offer several cute – short and sporty – dresses. You’ll find similar dresses at TitleNine.

For hard-working dresses suitable to many overseas trips check out Travelsmith, Magellan Travel Catalog, Lands End, L.L. Bean, and Orvis. These classic travel clothing companies will often have something that fits our easy-care, lightweight, wrinkle-free standards.

An option often offered in travel dresses is a reversible dress – pattern on one side and solid on the other. This might work for you, but I donated mine as it was too heavy. Some reversible dresses, like mine, are actually a two layer dress (a black sheath inside a patterned sheath). Thus the dress is heavier than a single layer dress.

A variant of the reversible dress that I do like is a dress with two necklines. Basically you can wear the dress back or front depending on the neckline you want. I love my Wool& Summer midi dress which has a high neckline and a v-neck neckline. This actually does give versatility to my travel wardrobe!

---

Have I convinced you to pack a dress for your travel?

Some last thoughts. The right dress can be endlessly useful during your travels. Wear it to a nice dinner? of course! But you can also wear it when you’re on a bus tour, for a hike in the mountains, and even sometimes as a workout tunic over exercise tights. (believe me. I’ve done it several times!)

Look in your closet first to see if there’s a dress that’ll be versatile, stylish, and easy care for your trip. If you need to buy a new dress find one that you can see wearing several times on your travels. Take some time before you leave to try the dress on, and play with accessories. That’s the best time to see if the dress deserves a place in your travel capsule wardrobe.

What do you think? Will a dress fit into your travel wardrobe?

Tip: for maximum comfort (and modesty) consider wearing leggings or bike shorts under your dress. I love my merino wool shorts by Wool&, Frankie Bike Shorts and Summit Shorts- both keep me fresh and comfortable and have pockets!

---