hip 40 something alaska wardrobe questions

[citygirl]

sooooo I hate to say this but most of the posts regarding dressing for an Alaskan cruise talk about very utitlarian/dowdy sounding clothes ie: Dockers and LL bean type stuff, we are going on an extended family cruise with my parents etc but, my 20 y.o. daughters and I don't wear that kind of stuff, not planning on dragging/ruining my Uggs and Juicy wear but what do you bring that will keep us dry, comfortable and fashionable?? Excursion include ziplining, ATV's . also its August so do we ignore summer wear even on the ship?

[cb at sea]

Wear whatever you wear at home, but bring stuff to "layer", in case of colder weather. There's no reason to go out and spend money on clothes for a cruise---if you have serviceable things, bring them!

I wouldn't be caught in LLBean, etc.... stuff! You're right--it IS dowdy!!!!

 

No need to bring winter coats, tho--just plan on layering! In Aug., it may very well be warm in most places in Alaska!

[cruisinmama0]

Hi, I'm having same problem. I don't want to look dumpy, but I want to be warm and still stylish. Why don't they make really cute fleece jackets?

 

I found one in a raspberry color insead of navy or olive green and am planning my wardrobe around basic black pants, nice dark jeans and one pair of khakis. I have a few pairs of shorts packed and some cool t-shirts. One of the pair of pants is one of those zip off convertible things, but it is in black so it doesn't appear so ...you know. They're a little low cut on the waist and actually look really good on. Magellan makes them.

 

I am taking some nice dresses for the evening and heels as I figured I'll be mostly inside during the dinner hours. And I'm bring a great black wrap that I bought at a boutique here in New Orleans.

 

At the Coach outlet, I found a beautiful. large tote for the cruisetour portion and to carry onboard the plane. It serves a purpose, but looks darn good.

 

I'm still trying to find out if I need to brings my Uggs in June?

[Hoyaheel]

Southeastern Alaska is rain forest like, NOT arctic like. Especially not in the summer. You might have cold weather, so pack a fleece, some waterproof jackets, light gloves and a headband or hat. You won't need winter boots or down parkas:rolleyes:

 

While I personally like a lot of "utilitarian" style clothing, and have been wearing LL Bean and Lands End stuff since I was a kid, it's because preppy is my style.

 

As suggested, wear what you would normally wear at home, in temperatures that might range from the 40s to the 80s (in September in Alaska, we had temps from mid-30s to upper 70s, we travelled inland quite a bit, and then did a cruise from Whittier to Vancouver. We also did a fair bit of hiking on the inland part of our cruise, so our clothing needs varied)

 

You can find a lot of options in technical clothing these days--much is very sleek--if that's what you're looking for. I wore a turquoise microfiber long sleeve shirt as a layer, a raspberry fleece and a lime green goretex windbreaker--all from LL Bean:D I also dressed up for formal nights on the cruise and my husband even brought his tuxedo.....

[Texaswinediva]

I agree with you. I don't want to look like a man in my clothes.

I had rather wear stylish ladies clothes. Where did you find a

raspberry fleece jacket? Sounds yummy!!:p

 

Kay

[6rugrats]

The stores some posters love to hate and their fleece jackets. How are all of these dowdy?

 

http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1&categoryId=42350&sc1=Search&feat=sr

 

http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1&categoryId=42350&sc1=Search&feat=sr

 

Must add; for those of you with children, Lands' End purchases at Sears are great. Save your receipts and they will replace anything that gets worn out, even holes in the knees, free!

[Texaswinediva]

The stores some posters love to hate and their fleece jackets. How are all of these dowdy?

 

http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1&categoryId=42350&sc1=Search&feat=sr

 

http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1&categoryId=42350&sc1=Search&feat=sr

 

Must add; for those of you with children, Lands' End purchases at Sears are great. Save your receipts and they will replace anything that gets worn out, even holes in the knees, free!

 

 

If they had a few rhinestones on them, they would be cuter.:p

[6rugrats]

That's what a Bedazzler is for.

[Hoyaheel]

See, now personally--rhinestones are NOT part of my wardrobe. But I don't think I look like a man; nor do I wear men's clothing. I wear women's clothing that is fit for my body. There's a LOT of room to dress in between "mountain man" and "hollywood starlet" you know;)

 

My raspberry fleece jacket (it's in my avatar photo, I think, that was the Alaska cruise) is from LL Bean and it's a straight bottom (no elastic to pouch out at my waist/hips) I'm not sure if that model is being sold anymore, but they have plenty of options.

 

I know that Travelsmith used to have fleece jackets that were styled like blazers & car coats, etc. They're not in season now, so I don't know if you could find them. We talked about this a LOT on the Alaska board last year, if you want to look for that thread:)

 

I like the classic Barbour coat, might be a little warm for AK though:

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/10013,95946_Barbour-Fleece-Jacket-Quilt-Detail-For-Women-.html

 

Sleek, lightweight, cheap, lots of colors: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/10013,1074V_White-Sierra-Cornice-Fleece-Jacket-For-Women.html

 

Casual sweater/jacket look: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/10013,49273_Orvis-Toggle-Jacket-Berber-Fleece-For-Women.html

 

Love this--it looks like a motorcycle jacket: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/10013,54950_Lole-Essential-Jacket-For-Women.html

 

 

Love this pattern: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/10013,49203_County-Clothing-Chantilly-Trail-Blazer-For-Women.html

 

There's a LOT of variety in clothing. You can dress appropriately for the weather & your activities, but still be dressed like you :-)

[cruisinmama0]

I got my raspberry fleece from LL Bean. And my cool black zip off pants from Academy Sports.

 

Tonight I am taking everything I already put in the suitcase and trying to repack so I don't take too much! Got to leave room for new stuff!

[Joy2theWorld]

I waterproofed my Uggs and wore them when we were in Glacier Bay. They were a lifesaver!! I highly recommend them.

 

For casual wear, I wore jeans and usually a cute sweater coat on the ship. It wasn't warm really at all when we were there (early Sept). The sweater coat (had one from J. Jill and one from Banana Republic) were fantastic and helped me look pulled together.

[cruisinmama0]

Took everything out of the suitcases and laid it all out last night. Ended up removing some shirts, added one and realized I hadn't packed my famous black pants.

 

My husband realized he didn't have enough basics like socks, underwear and a belt. Oops. I guess we would have been at Walmart in Anchorage if we hadn't discovered that.

 

We are going on a Princess cruise tour prior to the cruise and are supposed to be able to check in our cruise only suitcase. So I have been stressing out about packing a suitcase that is just for the cruise that I won't see for 5 days while still having all I need with me. We only have 3 suitcases packed for 3 people so we'll just have them all with us the entire time. What a relief.

 

I have my extra large tote and my dh will have the backpack with the computer and all electronics. We are ready!

[mrspaj]

not planning on dragging/ruining my Uggs and Juicy wear but what do you bring that will keep us dry, comfortable and fashionable??

 

Hi citygirl.... we're going to alaska in july and i keep going back and forth about my uggs.. on the glacier tours they give you special glacier boots so you wouldn't need them for that, but i'm thinking about my coquettes (slip on with rugged bottom) for just walking around on chilly days and on the ship... so torn though! i'm really not a big sneaker person except for the gym but i bought a pair of ecco goretex shoes since i've heard that "fast drying" is key

 

i actually am going to bring a pair of juicy sweats with me (trying to limit it to just a pair of black terry ones) - cozy for walking around the ship (there are 3 at sea days after all) and i'll probably end up wearing them on the flight home...

 

i say if it's what you wear at home then bring it! on our last cruise i bought stuff i thought was cruise "appropriate" and wasn't pleased - ended up wearing my jeans and tshirts constantly - i'm just not a khakis person!

 

[JCDeck]

This sounds kind of silly but I got a lot of use and a lot of fun bringing a pair of those colorful rubber boots (you know the kind that have wild designs or flowers all over them,various colors,etc) they were about 19.00 you just pulled them on,tuck your pants in them and away you go! Good for the mud, rain, snow or slippy surfaces,were good for misty/rainy days on deck,you won't slip.. Dress fun and comfortable on those excursions.

[citygirl]

thanks JC Deck I just bought a pair of those rubber boots yesterday and both of my daughters already have them hope they're comfy for walking cayse they sure look cute with skinny jeans and a sweater

[cruisinmama0]

I got a pair that looks like black lace on a white background. They are extremely waterproof and fun to walk through big puddles in. The only thing I didn't like was they chafed the back of my legs when I wore them with jeans. My legs aren't big, it was the rubber rubbing against my bare skin. Ouch! The next time I wore them was over a pair of leggings and that was better.

[slidergirl]

There are fleece jackets out there made with a "furry" fleece material. I bought mine up in Canada at the Calgary MEC store - it's lime green.

Marmot has the Radiant Jacket - Zappos has it. It looks pretty much like mine.

Mountain Hardware has the Lynx jacket (Zappos, too). It has Windstopper, which is a very nice feature.

The MEC website (http://www.mec.ca) has a "Fifi" jacket that is very "urban" - the fleece is done boucle style.

The MEC jacket I bought is online as the "Amenity" jacket. It's still outdoorsy looking, but the feel is really nice and the color makes it definitely NOT boring. The pricepoints at MEC are also pretty good compared to other outdoor-specific stores. Right now, the chartreuse color is reduced to $45CAD, which is about $44.25US.

[JCDeck]

thanks JC Deck I just bought a pair of those rubber boots yesterday and both of my daughters already have them hope they're comfy for walking cayse they sure look cute with skinny jeans and a sweater

 

They are fun and you.re welcome. I have hot pink with yellow daisies all over them and youngest daughter has lime green with electric blue polka dots.:D

Perfect for slushy weather and non skid too.

[Hoyaheel]

Either you aren't doing a lot of walking or you don't expect a lot of support from your shoes--there's no way I'd walk more than a couple blocks in a pair of rubber rainboots--there's no support in them! Plus, your feet can't breathe in that material. May be cute, and good luck to you, but they're certainly not a shoe I'd pick for travel.

[6rugrats]

Either you aren't doing a lot of walking or you don't expect a lot of support from your shoes--there's no way I'd walk more than a couple blocks in a pair of rubber rainboots--there's no support in them! Plus, your feet can't breathe in that material. May be cute, and good luck to you, but they're certainly not a shoe I'd pick for travel.

 

I totally agree! They take up a lot of space and room in baggage and they aren't comfortable for long wear. I wear them here working outside when it's wet, or walking through the woods, but only for short periods. I'd never hike in them. IMO, it's better to just purchase some lightweight hiking shoes that are waterproof. They are easy to find at REI, etc.

[mousey]

Hi City Girl,

 

Don't know where you're from. I live in California and we have Sport Chalet stores here. If you have one in your area check them out. They have all kinds and styles of boots and warm and cold weather clothing. They kind of carry styles mostly for younger women, but I'm 61 and I've bought some really cool things there. Even us "Baby Boomers" like to style out!:D They have really stylish clothing for the whole family!;)

 

P>S> Where I live in California the girls/women wear their Uggs year round!:eek:

[onceagain]

Just be sure to bring warm clothes. Our friends went in August a few years ago and froze the entire week. They bought extra sweatshirts to keep warm.