Honeymoon Packing List: What Nightwear and Loungewear to Pack

For a one-week honeymoon, 2–3 nightdresses or shorts sets, one robe and a slip dress you can also wear to dinner are enough for most people. On a warm route, put short, light, strappy cuts first; on a cold route, long-sleeved pyjamas and a robe. Pack few pieces and wear each one two different ways.

Think about the days first

Start the suitcase not from a clothes list but from how the days will go. Mornings in the room, breakfast on the balcony, the poolside, dinner, a walk around the hotel. Each calls for a different piece, but not every one needs its own outfit.

• Warm route (sea, island, tropics): Nights are usually mild and the room is air-conditioned. Light, short, strappy pieces.
• Cold route (mountains, a winter city): Even if the room is warm, the corridor, the balcony and the mornings are cool. Long sleeves, long trousers, a robe that covers without being heavy.
• Mixed route: Two cities, two climates. Pieces that layer: a short nightdress with a long robe, a camisole with trousers.

Don't read the weather of your route by daytime temperature alone. The night wind by the sea, the morning frost in the mountains and the night chill of an air-conditioned room change the plan. Check the night and morning temperatures where you're going and choose your nightwear by them. Daywear is chosen for the holiday, nightwear for the air in the room. Even on a hot island a light robe is useful in an air-conditioned room; in a winter city a short-sleeved set can be comfortable in a well-heated hotel room.

One-week nightwear and loungewear list

The list below is for a honeymoon of 6–8 nights. If you're staying for a shorter or longer time, adjust it in proportion.

Most hotels have a bathrobe in the room. But a towelling bathrobe is thick and heavy; for breakfast on the balcony, late afternoons in the room and photos, a light robe fits better.

For her: few pieces, many combinations

• Long nightdress: For the first night and one special evening. An ankle-length style with thin straps looks good in photos too.
• Camisole + shorts: The piece for warm nights. The top also works with linen trousers for breakfast on the balcony.
• Slip dress: The most versatile piece in the suitcase. In bed at night, under the robe in the morning, with a jacket or kimono at dinner.
• Robe or kimono: A below-the-knee kimono is more practical for walking around the hotel; a long robe makes more of an impression in the room and in photos.

At JANESIA the Long Slip Dress is bias-cut and falls to the ankle; with its thin bias-binding straps and a single lace detail, it moves easily between night and dinner. The Camisole + Shorts set is a light option for a warm route. Both are silk. How to wear a slip dress in different settings is covered in how to wear a slip dress.

For him: three pieces are enough

Loungewear is often forgotten in a man's suitcase, and he ends up in the hotel bathrobe. One robe, one pair of shorts and one pair of trousers are enough for the whole week: shorts and robe in the heat, trousers and robe on cool mornings. The men's Lounge Set · 3 Pieces brings these three together.

If you both want pieces in the same colour, khaki and black are easy colours for both of you. Couple Sets come in these two shared colours; side by side they look consistent in honeymoon photos.

Notes for a warm route

• Sunscreen and oils: Sunscreen, tanning lotion and body oil can mark light fabrics. Wait for the cream to absorb, then dress.
• Pool and sea: Don't put fine fabric over a wet swimsuit. Chlorine and salt water can wear silk and affect its colour. Shower first, dry off, then dress.
• Sun: Silk left in direct sun for long can fade. If you need to dry it on the balcony, hang it in the shade.
• Sweat and colour: Sweat marks show more on light colours. Dark tones such as khaki and black cause less trouble on a warm route.

How silk behaves on warm nights is explained in are silk pyjamas hot in summer.

Notes for a cold route

• Layer: A robe over a light pyjama set is more flexible than a single heavy piece. When the room warms up, you take the robe off.
• Choose long sleeves: A long-sleeved pyjama set with a shirt collar is comfortable for morning coffee too.
• Dry room air: In a centrally heated room fine fabric can build up static. Hanging it in the bathroom steam for a while relaxes it.

Layering tips for winter are in are silk pyjamas warm enough in winter.

Packing without creases

1. Use the dust bag. Put each piece in its own bag. The bag reduces friction and keeps other things in the suitcase from rubbing off on it.
2. Roll loosely. Fine fabrics hold sharp creases when folded tightly. Fold the piece in half lengthways and roll it loosely.
3. Put it on top. Keep it out from under the shoes and the toiletry bag.
4. Keep liquids apart. Perfume, shampoo and sunscreen go in a sealed pouch, away from clothes.
5. Hang on arrival. As soon as you walk into the room, hang up the silk pieces. Light creases often drop out on the hanger.

Divide the suitcase into zones. Give one side to nightwear and loungewear only: dust bags side by side, nothing heavy on top. Bring a separate cloth bag for worn pieces. Don't put worn silk in the same bag as clean pieces; sweat, sunscreen and perfume smells transfer to clean fabric. When rolling strappy, delicate pieces, fold the straps inward so they don't snag and stretch. With belted robes and kimonos, roll the belt separately and put it in the same bag; it won't get lost or mark the fabric. Keep the same order on the way home.

Care at the hotel

You can't know how the hotel iron is set. If you iron silk, turn the heat to the lowest, iron inside out while slightly damp, and don't aim steam directly at the fabric. An easier way: after a hot shower, leave the piece hanging in the bathroom; the steamy air softens the creases.

If you get a stain, don't let it sit. Hand wash it in the sink in water no warmer than 30°C with a little gentle detergent; don't rub or wring. Roll it in a towel to remove the water and hang it to dry in the shade. If you send it to the hotel laundry, show them the label and ask that it not go in the tumble dryer. The care rules are on the care page.

The first wash at home

Back home, don't throw the silk pieces into the laundry basket; keep them apart. If there's sunscreen, oil or wine on them, check the type of stain before washing and don't treat it with hot water. What to do is in silk stain removal. If there are no marks, wash inside out at 30°C, by hand or in a mesh bag on a delicate cycle, with a gentle detergent; no bleach or fabric softener. Once dry, put them back in their dust bags, ready for the next trip.