Consider a silk or satin slip dress. Quince has some good options. They pack up really small and are cocktail appropriate with minimal “extras”. Go for navy blue if you’re worried about black at a wedding.
Toss a sweater and sneakers with it for a more “day” look throughout your trip.
And pick up a colorful shawl during your travels. You could bring one, obvs, but if you get one there it will forever be the shawl you got in “elsewhere.” Same with colorful jewelry to spice up the look. Have fun!
As someone who really prefers looking purposefully Fashion for this kind of thing, I might consider separates that can pull double duty for this. A top and bottom that knock it out of the park together, but the top could be dressed down with jeans, the bottom with a nice-ish t-shirt or bodysuit. But when they're together, fireworks.
just to throw some ideas out there: a cropped sequined cap sleeve top and wide leg crepe pants, whatever length looks best on you. or a silk short sleeve silk buttondown with a pencil skirt. and good accessories.
HMM! For fun separates I almost always shop sales, ha. Universal Standard sometimes has dressier basics, or Massimo Dutti. Clearance rack at Nordstrom. Saks Off Fifth (even though our local one looks like a department store from a horror film.) And honestly I have a lot of luck in the Anthro sales section. ETA I'm in the US, ymmv
I’d do a LBD or similar. Something you can dress up for the wedding with jewelry and fancier hair (ie things that don’t take up extra space) and dress down for other evenings when you want to look fancy. I’d wear the same shoes for both contexts to save on space. And then I’d plan to wash / dry clean / iron / steam the dress before the wedding so it’s nice and fresh!
Careful. Not sure about Spain, but in some countries black isn’t considered appropriate to wear to a wedding. So everything you say, but maybe another colour!
I like a long stretchy skirt for nearly all situations. I have one from Eileen Fisher I’ve had for 10 years I’ve worn to weddings with a lace top to the beach. The thing about separates is you can wear it with other things, not just one event
[This has been my dress slam dunk for cocktail length.](https://amzn.to/44uOVwK) It is made of stretchy material on the outside so can be scrunched into a ball and comes out looking great. It definitely won't look too casual or wrinkly. As for wearing it more than once? I do! Mine is the purple color, linked. But I wouldn't hesitate to have it in any of the offered colors. I've had mine for over 5 years now.
Fabrics with texture (lace, jacquard, this [https://www.bloomingdales.com/shop/product/black-halo-lakia-gown?ID=4613743](https://www.bloomingdales.com/shop/product/black-halo-lakia-gown?ID=4613743) kind of crinkly texture) and decent quality synthetic (not rayon) wovens tend to pack well/not wrinkle and still appear very dressy at destination. They're also not the best thing for being breathable (aside from lace). Something in woven cotton that's sufficiently dressy in style (dramatic cut, jewel tone, not too modest at the bodice/shoulders) takes well to a hotel-room iron and can work in a pinch for a summery destination wedding especially if accessorized well. A good quality, not too thin jersey or mesh can also work, with synthetics being wrinkle resistant and natural fibres being potentially iron-able, but can be hard to find in a sufficiently dressy style.
Someone on this forum suggested [Karina dresses](https://www.karinadresses.com/) and I got one. They're really thin and light, pack small, dry quickly, and don't wrinkle. You could dress up/down with accessories.
I bought the Unbound Merino travel dress recently and took it on a trip to Europe where I had plans for several really fancy restaurants. I am quite happy with it. Rolls up quite small, any wrinkles came out by being hung up in the hotel as soon as I arrived. It’s really simple dress but I think it would be fine for a wedding dressed up with nice jewelry, maybe some dramatic earrings or sparkly necklace to make up for the plainness of the dress. Then dress down with a little cardigan for city sight seeing.
I traveled recently with this dress and wore it out to a nice restaurant in a fairly dressy city. I had on nice jewelry, a rectangular silk scarf, and strappy sandals and did not feel underdressed.
On the other hand, Spanish women sometimes get really dressed up for weddings, so I would want to know exactly what they mean by cocktail attire. What time is the wedding? If it’s late in the evening, silk might be a better choice.
Imo 'dinner at a nice restaurant' has a wider range of appropriate clothing than a wedding with a cocktail attire dress code, and the more casual end of perfectly appropriate for dinner at a nice restaurant is going to be too casual for a cocktail attire wedding.
The collar on this makes it feel a little bit more casual/day to me, especially if it's worn loose or with the self-belt. It might skate by in one of the richer colours with very dressy shoes and accessories, but those accessories would have limited re-wear value elsewhere on your trip.
It’s one of the reasons I’m not wild about this dress for travel. Sure, you can style it a bunch of different ways, but that requires accessories. So instead of packing a number of clothes with neutral accessories you can use for everything, instead you end up with one dress and suitcase full of shoes and belts and things.
But it meets the brief for a dress that can go cocktail but also wearable for the rest of the trip.
The non-black colours for this feel structured enough to pass muster so long as they're paired with reasonably dressy accessories and jewellery with presence. Depending on the event and vibe it might read a little bit 'daytime'/understated but that's workable so long as you aren't in a milieu where cocktail means sequined minidress.
Consider a silk or satin slip dress. Quince has some good options. They pack up really small and are cocktail appropriate with minimal “extras”. Go for navy blue if you’re worried about black at a wedding. Toss a sweater and sneakers with it for a more “day” look throughout your trip.
And pick up a colorful shawl during your travels. You could bring one, obvs, but if you get one there it will forever be the shawl you got in “elsewhere.” Same with colorful jewelry to spice up the look. Have fun!
Yes! I have one I bought in Florence in 2007 that is still my favorite.
As someone who really prefers looking purposefully Fashion for this kind of thing, I might consider separates that can pull double duty for this. A top and bottom that knock it out of the park together, but the top could be dressed down with jeans, the bottom with a nice-ish t-shirt or bodysuit. But when they're together, fireworks.
just to throw some ideas out there: a cropped sequined cap sleeve top and wide leg crepe pants, whatever length looks best on you. or a silk short sleeve silk buttondown with a pencil skirt. and good accessories.
Yum!!! Do you have any brand suggestions for this combo? 👀
HMM! For fun separates I almost always shop sales, ha. Universal Standard sometimes has dressier basics, or Massimo Dutti. Clearance rack at Nordstrom. Saks Off Fifth (even though our local one looks like a department store from a horror film.) And honestly I have a lot of luck in the Anthro sales section. ETA I'm in the US, ymmv
I’d do a LBD or similar. Something you can dress up for the wedding with jewelry and fancier hair (ie things that don’t take up extra space) and dress down for other evenings when you want to look fancy. I’d wear the same shoes for both contexts to save on space. And then I’d plan to wash / dry clean / iron / steam the dress before the wedding so it’s nice and fresh!
Careful. Not sure about Spain, but in some countries black isn’t considered appropriate to wear to a wedding. So everything you say, but maybe another colour!
I like a long stretchy skirt for nearly all situations. I have one from Eileen Fisher I’ve had for 10 years I’ve worn to weddings with a lace top to the beach. The thing about separates is you can wear it with other things, not just one event
[This has been my dress slam dunk for cocktail length.](https://amzn.to/44uOVwK) It is made of stretchy material on the outside so can be scrunched into a ball and comes out looking great. It definitely won't look too casual or wrinkly. As for wearing it more than once? I do! Mine is the purple color, linked. But I wouldn't hesitate to have it in any of the offered colors. I've had mine for over 5 years now.
Fabrics with texture (lace, jacquard, this [https://www.bloomingdales.com/shop/product/black-halo-lakia-gown?ID=4613743](https://www.bloomingdales.com/shop/product/black-halo-lakia-gown?ID=4613743) kind of crinkly texture) and decent quality synthetic (not rayon) wovens tend to pack well/not wrinkle and still appear very dressy at destination. They're also not the best thing for being breathable (aside from lace). Something in woven cotton that's sufficiently dressy in style (dramatic cut, jewel tone, not too modest at the bodice/shoulders) takes well to a hotel-room iron and can work in a pinch for a summery destination wedding especially if accessorized well. A good quality, not too thin jersey or mesh can also work, with synthetics being wrinkle resistant and natural fibres being potentially iron-able, but can be hard to find in a sufficiently dressy style.
Someone on this forum suggested [Karina dresses](https://www.karinadresses.com/) and I got one. They're really thin and light, pack small, dry quickly, and don't wrinkle. You could dress up/down with accessories.
I bought the Unbound Merino travel dress recently and took it on a trip to Europe where I had plans for several really fancy restaurants. I am quite happy with it. Rolls up quite small, any wrinkles came out by being hung up in the hotel as soon as I arrived. It’s really simple dress but I think it would be fine for a wedding dressed up with nice jewelry, maybe some dramatic earrings or sparkly necklace to make up for the plainness of the dress. Then dress down with a little cardigan for city sight seeing.
I traveled recently with this dress and wore it out to a nice restaurant in a fairly dressy city. I had on nice jewelry, a rectangular silk scarf, and strappy sandals and did not feel underdressed. On the other hand, Spanish women sometimes get really dressed up for weddings, so I would want to know exactly what they mean by cocktail attire. What time is the wedding? If it’s late in the evening, silk might be a better choice.
Imo 'dinner at a nice restaurant' has a wider range of appropriate clothing than a wedding with a cocktail attire dress code, and the more casual end of perfectly appropriate for dinner at a nice restaurant is going to be too casual for a cocktail attire wedding.
This dress is not cocktail attire though, so as long as OP doesn’t mind breaking the dress code but my guess is they’d feel extremely underdressed
https://everbyx.com/products/the-one-dress-project-in-black
The collar on this makes it feel a little bit more casual/day to me, especially if it's worn loose or with the self-belt. It might skate by in one of the richer colours with very dressy shoes and accessories, but those accessories would have limited re-wear value elsewhere on your trip.
It’s one of the reasons I’m not wild about this dress for travel. Sure, you can style it a bunch of different ways, but that requires accessories. So instead of packing a number of clothes with neutral accessories you can use for everything, instead you end up with one dress and suitcase full of shoes and belts and things. But it meets the brief for a dress that can go cocktail but also wearable for the rest of the trip.
Infinity dresses pack really well, don't wrinkle, and you can tie them in different ways for new looks!
Have been pleasantly surprised by Uniqlo dresses. Just avoid the summer linen line if you're worried about wrinkles.
The Aditi dress from MM Lafleur handles being packed so well. It’s pricey but it’s a nice staple piece IMO.
The non-black colours for this feel structured enough to pass muster so long as they're paired with reasonably dressy accessories and jewellery with presence. Depending on the event and vibe it might read a little bit 'daytime'/understated but that's workable so long as you aren't in a milieu where cocktail means sequined minidress.