What is cruise wear?
Cruise wear is just what it sounds like – clothing to wear on cruises! It’s a little more than that, though. Traditionally, cruise collections are the smaller collections desginers produce in between their main seasonal collections. These days, a lot more people can afford to go on exotic cruises, so cruise wear isn’t restricted to expensive designer brands. People choose their cruise wear from all sorts of brands, and not all cruises are as formal as they used to be. Depending on cruise locations, the appropriate clothing can vary hugely, but you’ll still need three basic types of cruise wear – outfits for on board, evening clothes, and outfits to wear on excursions.
Cruise wear for on board
On board ship, you’ll want to dress comfortably, but still look nice! When deciding what to pack for the time you spend on board the ship, you should consider what you expect to spend most of your time doing. Will you be sunbathing out on the deck? Or working out in the gym? Check out what facilities your cruise ship offers, and pack according to which ones you want to try out! Tailored white shorts are a great way to look cool and comfortable as you walk around the ships, or colorful maxi skirts are great for cruises to tropical locations. Just make sure that nothing is too tight or restrictive – you want to enjoy yourself!
Evening cruise wear
Cruises used to involve very formal dinners, but these days they tend to be a lot more relaxed. Your cruise may still have one or two formal events, however, and even if it doesn’t you’ll still want to look nice in the evenings! For something comfortable but still elegant enough for evening, try a pretty maxi dress, or perhaps a nicely fitted shift dress. If you will need to wear the same dress a couple of times, try picking a plain dress and accessorizing it differently each time! Luggage space tends to be quite limited, so this is a great way to get more use from your clothing.
Excursion outfits
While a lot of your on-board clothes will work on land as well, once again you’ll want to take a few different factors into consideration. Will the weather be the same as at sea? On a summer cruise, temperatures might get much higher as you head inland. You should think about what sort of activities you’ll be doing – mountain biking needs pretty different clothing to shopping in a bazaar! If you plan to visit religious places, you should also dress accordingly – Catholic churches in particular often require visitors to be well covered, so don’t turn up in the same crop top and shorts you wear on the ship!
Where to buy cruise wear
Most retailers will have something suitable for cruise wear if you pick each individual piece and put together a complete wardrobe. However, if you want the option to buy all of your cruise wear in one go, there are a few places that are especially good to try.
Macy’s
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Patchington
This online shop is a single-stop destination for all your cruise wear needs! They have both formal and casual clothing, so you should easily be able to put together a wardrobe tailored to your personal cruise destination and schedule. They even sell accessories and shoes!
Soft Surroundings
While this site sells a variety of ladies clothes, they offer a dedicated ‘Resort’ page which is a great place to start putting together your cruise wear wardrobe. Their pieces are comfortable and elegant, with lots of cool summer fabrics and bold prints – perfect for a tropical cruise!
Simply dresses
This site does exactly what it says – it sells dresses for every occasion you could possibly imagine! They have a dedicated cruise wear section where you can pick up the perfect dress for both casual and formal events. If dresses are your thing, this website offers a range of outfit choices to put together a gorgeous cruise wardrobe.
Boston Proper
While this isn’t a brand specifically designed as cruise wear, their summery colors and relaxed shapes fit the bill perfectly! If you like bright prints and patterns, this is sure to be your kind of shop. They also offer great international shipping, so wherever you are in the world, you can look great as you head off on your cruise!
Kaleidoscope
Fashion and lifestyle website Kaleidoscope has a dedicated cruise section. Their selection of cruise wear dresses is especially fantastic, as you can pick up dresses for lounging on board ship, visiting on-land attractions, and attending formal dinners – all in one place!
Promgirl
Promgirl is the place to go for dresses of all types, so unsurprisingly they have a dedicated cruise wear section. It’s full of gorgeous dresses, from fancy maxi dresses to elegant sheath dresses and bikini cover-ups. You’re sure to find every kind of dress that you could possibly need for your cruise wear wardrobe!
Designer cruise wear collections
Designer cruise wear may be out of reach for almost everyone, but if you have the budget, then try investing in the original and the best! Many designers offer specific cruise collections which contain a range of pieces perfect for all of your cruise activities.
Louis Vuitton Cruise Collection
Ralph Lauren Cruise Collection
Cristian Dior Cruise Collection
Chanel Cruise Collection
Celine Cruise Collection
 Cruise wear outfit ideas
Now that you know where to buy your perfect cruise wardrobe, you’ll need a little inspiration! There are a lot of cruise wear companies out there, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Here are a few outfit sets suggesting what you could wear on your cruise. Use them for inspiration, and pick out the pieces and styles you like best!
