Dress question - How many (for my wife)

[holula]

I pack two dresses for formal/semi formal night and a skirt and a few tops that match for Palo dinner/brunch, plus an extra dress in case I spill something! Generally I try and take one pair of heels that matches ALL my outfits so I save space that way.

 

[ImDMous]

I like to bring a dress for every night, I like to have options. If I only have one choice and I don't feel like wearing it, I get cranky. I do try to find 2 pairs of shoes that will go with all of them. Shoes are the big space hogs.

Let her bring as many as she likes or you'll have to listen to her complain when she's not comfortable. (That's what my DH would say from experience.)

 

[twopeasonepod]

She can bring as many as will fit in her suitcase.... For me, it's not the number of outfits, it's the space in suitcase that matters.

Definitely!

Let her bring what she wants. She will have to deal with it if she doesn't wear it, so no big deal.

Ladies, can you post links to the kinds of dresses you're bringing? We have a 7 day WC scheduled for June and I need help packing. I wear jeans everyday to work and am not a dress person. So I guess I need to go shopping.

This last cruise (Pixar Pacific Coast), I took this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BCBG-NEW-RE...OCKTAIL-DRESS-ACJ6N288-268-SZ-S-/200820916086

and this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BCBG-Edith-Black-Chic-Gold-Chain-Halter-Long-Dress-US-6-/360488452817

I wore the same gold shoes with both (since the black was so long no one could see and I had Jessie boots and pirate boots so I punted on shoes for the black dress).

I didn't buy them on ebay, but that's where I could find them now. Packed very nicely in the suitcase.

 

[eva]

I like to bring a dress for every night, I like to have options. If I only have one choice and I don't feel like wearing it, I get cranky. I do try to find 2 pairs of shoes that will go with all of them. Shoes are the big space hogs.

Let her bring as many as she likes or you'll have to listen to her complain when she's not comfortable. (That's what my DH would say from experience.)

Ok, I brought 5 cocktail type dresses for our 7 night in September. I really only needed 4, but I like to have options. I did bring dresses that went with 2 different pairs of shoes. So I didn't need 5 different pairs of shoes.

Here is what I wore to Remy:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/adriann...ategoryid=0&fashionColor=Eclipse&resultback=0

Here is my Palo Dress (it is a lot fuller than this picture.):
http://www.overstock.com/Clothing-Shoes/SL-Fashions-Womens-Tiered-Party-Dress/7264039/product.html

This is similar to my formal night dress:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/xscape-...extualcategoryid=0&fashionColor=&resultback=0

Then I brought a couple more dresses like this for informal and a backup:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/tadashi...lcategoryid=0&fashionColor=BLACK&resultback=0

On the casual nights I wore sundress or skirt type wear. So I brought 8 dresses total. I find a sundresses much more comfortable than a pair of jeans. I also brought a couple of dressy capris with blouses. But I wear those to things like Palo brunch.

 

[Momma2Jax]

I did 2; one for formal, and one for semi formal. Then I brought slacks with blouses and sweaters for other dinners. As far as palo, she could always wear her semi formal dress again, and the only people who would know are the two of you!

Edited to add.... She may want a new dress out if this...so she for sure needs one!!!

 

[jedijill]

I had 3 dresses for my recent 7 night cruise. The dresses I bought are made of a stretchy, non-wrinkle material so they don't take up any room at all. I had one of pair of shoes that went with all 3.

Not married, but it would be non of my SO's business how many dresses I brought with me as long as they fit in the suitcase and didn't go over the weight limit.

Jill in CO

 

[DisSarahK]

She should bring as many as she wants--it is her wardrobe.

With that said, she should keep shoes and accessories in mind because she doesn't want to have to pack too many of those. I made sure I could wear my black dressy shrug with most of my dresses and my black heels went with them as well. Make that my *new* black heels...I decided that a nice cruise merited gorgeous new heels from Nordstrom. Love those shoes! (but I digress...)

Anyhow, I wore the same dress for formal night and semi-formal (my husband wore a navy jacket, khakis and a tie--so no tux--for both nights). It was a purple sleeveless dress that went to my knees. One night with the shrug and one night without.

The other nights (and to Palo) I wore nice dresses by Ralph Lauren and Donna Ricco that folded small in my bag but didn't wrinkle (love that!)

Hope that info is helpful for your wife. If she needs to shop (yes, I said needs!), you can find great sale prices online on various websites. Just search around.

 

[disney minnie]

We have cruised before, so I am happy with what I am taking.
1 formal, 2 semi-formal, 5 casual, and 2 dress pant outfits. Besides the regular dinners we are eating at Palo for brunch and dinner and Remy for brunch and dinner.

I honestly don't think we would have a nice beginning to our trip if my husband tried to tell me what I could take on our trip. I have one suitcase and all of my stuff will fit.

 

[rhinodadz]

Having cruised many times with a wife and two teen daughters you should run from this conversation - you can't win!! Our travelling rule is that you can pack whatever you want, but you have to carry whatever you pack - tends to work pretty well in forcing self-control.

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

Ok, I brought 5 cocktail type dresses for our 7 night in September. I really only needed 4, but I like to have options. I did bring dresses that went with 2 different pairs of shoes. So I didn't need 5 different pairs of shoes.

Here is what I wore to Remy:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/adriann...ategoryid=0&fashionColor=Eclipse&resultback=0

Here is my Palo Dress (it is a lot fuller than this picture.):
http://www.overstock.com/Clothing-Shoes/SL-Fashions-Womens-Tiered-Party-Dress/7264039/product.html

This is similar to my formal night dress:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/xscape-...extualcategoryid=0&fashionColor=&resultback=0

Then I brought a couple more dresses like this for informal and a backup:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/tadashi...lcategoryid=0&fashionColor=BLACK&resultback=0

On the casual nights I wore sundress or skirt type wear. So I brought 8 dresses total. I find a sundresses much more comfortable than a pair of jeans. I also brought a couple of dressy capris with blouses. But I wear those to things like Palo brunch.

I love everyone of those dresses you picked to wear!!

 

[Tara619]

Thanks for the links. I do not like dresses and am very frugal, so I have a feeling this shopping trip won't be enjoyable.

 

[jillgunter]

I say 3 We girls like to bring lots of clothes!

 

[sissy_ib]

Thanks for the links. I do not like dresses and am very frugal, so I have a feeling this shopping trip won't be enjoyable.

Do you have a Ross or Marshals where you live? I usually find nice things at a decent price there. And I shop the clearance racks at the department stores.
And of course you don't need a dress. If you would like to dress up, do you have a pair of black pants? You could do one pair of black pants and a different shirt for each night. No need to be completely out of your element!

 

[GetGlowing]

Just got a great cruise cocktail dress for myself at Ross for $15! Love them!

 

[disneyfan888]

Just got a great cruise cocktail dress for myself at Ross for $15! Love them!

I love Ross! Sometimes we find gorgeous things, but lately it has been slim pickens

To answer the question of the dresses, I think it all depends on what you have planned. If you extra restaurant is Palo, I would have atleast 3. ONe for Palo, one for Formal, one for semi-formal. We have Palo brunch and dinner and Remy, so I have a total of 6 dresses,one extra just in case

 

[tracyheartsmickey]

Let her pack as many as she wants. After almost 20 years, my husband has learned not to complain. I like to take lots of pictures when on vacation, and I like everyone to be in different outfits in the pictures.

 

[Tara619]

Do you have a Ross or Marshals where you live? I usually find nice things at a decent price there. And I shop the clearance racks at the department stores.
And of course you don't need a dress. If you would like to dress up, do you have a pair of black pants? You could do one pair of black pants and a different shirt for each night. No need to be completely out of your element!

Yes, they just opened a Marshall's last week! I haven't been there yet though. I'm glad to hear dress pants would be ok. I have some nice dress pants and nice dressy short sleeve sweaters I wear to work when the corporate bosses come to visit. Awesome!

 

[Melissa S]

Agreeing with PPs. On our 8 night I took more than 8 dresses. However they were all similar colors schemes so I was able to take one pair of shoes that matched them all. As others have mentioned the shoes are what take up the room and weight. Could I have gotten away with less? Yes. Did I want to? No. The cruise is special and something I look forward to when I am stressed or covered in DDs lunch. The cruise is really my one time that I can style my hair and take a long time getting ready since everyone is entertained and I am not in charge of cooking and cleaning. I also like to have different looks in all my pictures that I share with family and friends. For me it makes it more special (please note I said "for me" so don't blast me).

 

[GhostlyHitchhiker]

I'm hesistant to suggest this because many have an "eww" factor, but I've been *shocked* by some of the stuff (brand new with tags - even in my unusual size) at Goodwill/Salvation Army.

I started going because my kids like to Cosplay and I wasn't going to special order or even special buy stuff for the massive amounts of costumes they dress in (they're tweens/teens - not little kids) and go to meetups, etc.

I had an aversion to buying clothes that someone else wore (slight OCD in our house), until I started finding some amazing things with the original tags on them. I know for a fact that they get Ross overstock because they had 15 identical dresses all with the original Ross tags still on them.

The trick is to go multiple times (and go to multiple stores if you can). They get new stock every single day and there are literally "bargain hunters" as well as people from those trendy "vintage shops" there Every Single Day.

I went to Nordstrom Rack, I went to Macy's, I went to Ross, Kohl's, looked on Amazon and could never find anything I liked that actually looked good ON me. At the Salvation Army, I found a $300 bridesmaids dress (missing the sash - which I replaced for $2.50 at the fabric store) with its original tag for $13. And it fit like it was made for me.

 

[DesertGal]

I took 2. I wore the same dress to Palo brunch and semi formal night.
I wore one dress for formal night. I also had a skirt for pirate night.
I don't love dresses so I wore pants to dinner most nights.