As you may already know, my husband and I just returned home from a wonderful vacation in Italy.  Before we left on our adventure, I purchased some things specifically with the trip in mind and thought I’d share my haul with you!

Shoes

I did a major clean out of my shoes this year and knew I wanted to add a few supportive, neutral-toned (read: brown) shoes where there were some holes in my collection.

✻ Keen Presidio Shoes – I wore the treads of my previous walking shoes completely out over the spring and summer.  I wanted something very supportive with a bit more going on in the sole especially since I walk so much on a daily basis with my dog, and particularly for our time in Italy.  Keen’s to the rescue!  I absolutely love these babies!  They are super supportive with a roomy toe box to accommodate my pesky feet.  Plus, I can slip my own orthotics in, which is a must for me when it comes to sneakers.  They really stood to the test in Italy and I foresee myself enjoying them for a long time.

✻ Born Belinda Sandals – The hunt for comfortable dressy-ish shoes is tough, but I struck gold with these lovelies by Born.  I wore them most every night we went out to dinner in Italy and walked on the cobblestone streets with nary a wobble.  The classic design goes with everything.

✻ Dansko Janice Dress Sandals – I purchased these to replace an old pair of brown sandals that my feet never really got used to.  While I ultimately decided not to pack them for Italy because the weather wasn’t super hot, I am happy to have them in my collection.  I can’t walk for long in sandals without a strap, so it’s nice to have a sturdy pair that are neutral enough to wear with a lot of different clothing items in my collection.  These have great arch support, as well, which is a nice bonus.

✻ Tieks Chestnut Flats – I deliberated for a long time on Tieks due to their price point, but I finally took the plunge and am so happy that I did!  Not only are they super conveniently small for travel and can fold up for easy packing, they’re actually comfortable and have a solid sole.  There’s no arch support to speak of, but they’re surprisingly easy to wear and this brown is a great three season color.  I had also purchased the Sam Edelman Felicia Flats, which are similar in color and shape, but the Tieks won out in comfort, so I returned the Edelman’s.

Socks

What good are new shoes without comfortable socks?  I really needed to overhaul my collection of socks, most of which I’ve had for a decade.  It was high time to refresh my sock drawer!

✻ Asics No Show Athletic Socks – Back in August I hauled some Champion Women’s Athletic Socks I picked up from Target to leave at the family vacation home in Utah.  Well, as it turned out, I really didn’t like those socks and found they always slipped down my foot while walking.  I knew I needed similar style new socks for our main home in Illinois so I decided to try out a different brand.  I brought these on our trip and they never rode down once!  I love the extra cushioning in the footbed.

✻ Forever 21 Ankle Socks – I popped into Forever 21 before we left for a quick look around, and while I had no luck with the clothing (I don’t think I have enough shopping patience for that store), I did find a bunch of super cute ankle socks.  They’re pretty nice quality for the price, with a bit of cushioning in the footbed.  I picked up a few different pairs with lions, guitars, and cats.  I like that these are low cut, which is my general preference in socks.  Plus, they’re super cute!

✻ Forever 21 Fuzzy Bear Face Ankle Socks – My feet are usually cold unless I have socks on and I swear by slipper socks when I am home or on vacation just bumming around the hotel room.  I thought these sweet bear ones would make easy to pack slipper substitutes for travel.  I wore them in Italy usually when I was getting ready for dinner and was glad to have them!

✻ Earth Therapeutics Aloe Socks – I’ve talked about my love for these lighter weight slipper socks before.  In fact, I tend to wear them in place of regular socks on very cold winter days.  I needed some new airplane socks, since the ones I’ve been using for the past decade finally gave out on me.  I like to take my shoes off on the plane, and these are great to slip on over my other socks to keep my tootsies warm and happy.

Pants

Pants are the most difficult item of clothing for me to buy and have been ever since I hit puberty.  My body shape is curvy with a small waist relative to my hips and derrière.  This means that when I find jeans that fit my thighs they’re almost always gaping at the waist.  I am happy to report that I found pants that actually fit my curvy figure that are not only comfortable but nice looking as well.  Huzzah!

✻ AG Prima Cigarette Mid-Rise Jeans – I’ve heard about the wonder of AG jeans before, but never tried them due to the high price tag.  I finally decided to bite the bullet and give them a go and I am in love!  I have never owned a pair of skinny jeans that not only fit my figure perfectly, but are actually comfortable to wear.  Win!

✻ AG Tomboy Relaxed Straight Jeans – I was hoping that my good fortune with the AG skinnies would spill over into a more relaxed fit style, which I tend to wear more often.  These tomboys are my new favorite pair of jeans ever, hands down.  I didn’t bring these to Italy, because I figured just the skinnies would do, but I know I will live in these for years!

✻ Prana Halle Pants – If jeans are tough for me to find, khaki pants are practically impossible.  I think it’s usually because they don’t have stretch, which my figure needs at least a little of.  Well, I have found the answer and it’s these easy to pack, easy to wear travel pants.  They look put together like classic khakis but with that lightweight, water resistant fabric you find in more traditional cargo-style hiking pants.  These were my favorite pants to wear on our trip for their comfort and versatility.  I see myself wearing them in everyday life as well and am considering picking up the dark gray pair.  I did size up in these based on reviews.

✻ Zella Live In Reversible Leggings – For some reason I got it in my head that I wanted to wear leggings for our long travel days to Italy and back.  As much as I love my long-owned Lululemon ones, I wanted something a bit thicker and more substantial for travel.  I decided on these great leggings from Nordstrom based on their amazing reviews.  They worked perfectly and I can see myself pairing them with long sweaters and boots in the winter for cozy day-to-day outfits.  I sized down in these as I found they ran a bit large.

Tops & Dresses

I bought a few more summery pieces specifically with our trip in mind.  I see myself wearing the tops in other seasons with layers.

✻ Left of Center Cutwork Tank – I knew I needed a longer shirt to pull off wearing leggings out and about and I went on the hunt for an airy tank top.  This one from Anthropologie suits the bill perfectly!  I bought it in a beautiful periwinkle blue color.  I like to layer on the airplane, because in my experience it’s either roasting or freezing.  True to form, the long flight going out was toasty and the flight back was brisk.  I was happy to have this layer in both cases.

✻ Weston Wear Olvera Tank – This is the kind of shirt I would normally pass up because super blousey styles can make me look really frumpy thanks to my super short torso and aforementioned curviness.  I was delighted to find this is not the case with this super cute print.  It was the perfect comfy and cute day time top in Italy.

✻ Baraschi Sweetwater Dress – Ok, so I know this is not fall-ish at all, but when I saw it on sale at Anthropologie I just couldn’t resist.  I have so enjoyed the other dresses I’ve picked up there this year and this one is a great addition to that collection.  I was able to fold and pack it easily.  The design is beautiful!  I generally size down in Anthropologie dresses and this one is no exception.

Jackets & Sweaters

What’s fall without some sweater weather?  I picked up a few cardigan style options that are as cozy as they are cute.

✻ The North Face Crescent Sunset Full Zip Jacket – I knew this lighter style sweatshirt jacket would be the perfect warmer layering option for our trip.  I brought it on the place in case of chilliness and was happy to have it for a couple of brisk mornings towards the end of our vacation.  I’ve also been wearing it nonstop since we got home.

✻ Willow & Clay Cable Back Cardigan – As soon as I saw this sweater on the hanger I knew it was just what I’ve been searching for.  I’ve been on the lookout for a non-wool cream colored chunky long open cardigan for years and this one is just perfect.  The gorgeous cable back is the icing on the cake!

✻ Matty M Knit Open Cardi – Right after I snagged the cream cardigan, I saw this beauty on the hanger and knew  it would also be coming home with me.  It’s an easy to wear jersey knit type of fabric in an interesting tribal print.  The most unique part of the sweater is the empire waist ruching.

I share a closer look as well as my initial thoughts about each item in the coordinating video below (I filmed the video before we left for our trip):

Have you picked up any new clothes and/or accessories for fall?  I’d love to know if you care to share!  Happy Autumn!

* Post contains affiliate links. This is not a sponsored post.  All opinions are genuinely my own. *