Best Travel Dress

Always looking for functional, fashionable items, I found a fun wrap dress at a charming boutique on Sanibel Island called B Unique Boutique. The dress, Wrap It by Tish, is featured in my column, "What's In Store," for the September/October issue of Bonita & Estero Magazine: on stands for a few more days or online here.

Designer Tish Grosek is a dynamic, inspirational woman, who created this piece so she could have something versatile to wear, from a beach cover up to a cocktail dress. Fabric and design were the keys to making this work, and after some trial and error, she nailed it. It wasn't long before friends and strangers asked where she bought it and viola, a business was born. Well, it wasn't quite that easy, as she would tell you.

The dress comes in short and long, I thought the long might give me more options and the basic black would be good for traveling and pairing accessories. I played with the dress at home to be sure it was as functional as Tish told me but couldn't wait to REALLY put it to the test, on the road.

My Wrap It was of the core items I packed for a six-week trek through Europe and I have to say, it's  one of the best travel dresses I've ever had. I tucked and wrapped and folded it into a variety of styles, including a shawl and a skirt.

Ah, the skirt. It was a rainy day and the way I wore the wrap found its fabric barely off of the ground. As I walked through Paris, stepping over and in puddles, I noticed that the rain was beading up on the front of my skirt and rolling off. NICE. And the bottom that inevitably got soaked, dried before I was finished with my first glass of rose at lunch.

In addition, it barely took up any room in my luggage and somehow stayed wrinkle free.

If you are looking for a wardrobe piece that is functional, fashionable and FUN, you've got to get one of these. Wrap It comes in two lengths and a variety of colors for both casual and elegant looks. This is a great gift for that 'hard to buy for' person on your shopping list this season.