Evening wear for interrailing holiday?

[Turveytopsy]

We’re doing an interrail type holiday this year. We’ve booked the whole itinerary (hotels/transport) and will be going through some lovely places including Paris, Nice, Barcelona where we’ll want to go out to lovely places for drinks/dinner in the evening. I have plenty of shorts/tshirts/ casual wear for travelling in and for when we go to smaller places but if I’m going out in somewhere like Nice I want to go out-out and look ‘nice’! Although limited by wanting to travel
as light as possible (we’ll
have rucksacks, not cases). We’re travelling for 3 weeks and although I don’t want a new outfit every evening, I’m going to need more than one. Help! What would you take?
For reference: 170cm, size 10, usually shop top end of high st eg Whistles, Reiss, Me+Em.

I would take a maxi dress which you dress up or down.

Yes agree, you way 3-4 pieces that can be dressed up . Smart shorts , linen dress that you can add nicer sandals or wedges and jewellery to dress up. Also you are bound to see a couple of lovely bits once you are out there

Good call on the smart shorts! Thank you. Also agree jewellery will be key.

I'd take two cotton dresses from Uniqlo that you alternate each night. Can roll them up and they won't crease like linen.

Cos plisse (pleated) pieces, a dress or trousers and top. Crush proof! With a pair of metallic strapped sandals, as lightweight as possible. Add jewellery, a belt or scarf to accessorise.

I wouldn't do shorts (no matter how tailored) for going out to "nice" places at night. You won't see any of the locals in that kind of gear, if that matters to you.

What I do is bring a couple of pairs of very light uncrushable loose ankle length trousers say navy and camel colour. Mix and match with silky loose (no crease) tops, add some chunky costume jewellery/light scarf and you're good to go! A light maxi would be good aswell.

No point in linen, cotton or anything that looks bashed out of a rucksack imo. Less is more if you're travelling for three weeks.

It's worth searching for last week's interrailing evening wear thread. The OP was after a longish dress, I seem to remember.

I did worry about how maxi dresses would fare at the bottom of a rucksack. I have an Essentiel Antwerp plisse dress which is already on the packing list as it is super lightweight and doesn’t crease at all but it is quite a bright/distinctive print so can’t put much jewelllery with it to change the look, & I don’t want to wear it every night!