Yep—we’re gettin’ REAL specific with this post over here at TME. Were you just thinking to yourself you may need to figure out what cute clothes you should wear for an upcoming trip to Mexico City where you will be stuffing your face with every taco and every tamale and every tostada you see? Great! So glad I can be of assistance. I’ve got ALL those deets in this post, in addition to some roundups of cute pieces you could wear places OTHER than Mexico City as well, so go ahead and click on what interests you the most:
What To Wear + Where To Eat In Mexico City
Tee | Skirt (similar) | Bag (similar) | Booties | Earrings (similar)
Voloshin Dress (On Sale) | Earrings
A few months ago, we found an absolutely lovely, reasonably-priced boutique hotel and convinced my parents that they needed to come to Philly and spend some quality time with our boys. SCORE!
The thing is…when my husband and I do get away, we eat a lot and we eat well. Not necessarily the fanciest of restaurants, but we LOVE LOVE LOVE to find hole-in-the-wall local spots, as well as try ALL the street food (we are both blessed with strong stomachs.)
Tee | Skirt (similar) | Bag (similar)
Voloshin Silk Blouse | Denim (similar) | Clogs (similar) | Bag (similar) | Headband (similar)
What To Know About Mexico City Vacation Outfits
I’ll tell you right now…I was definitely overdressed for certain neighborhoods we explored. Mexico City is huge, though, so there was a little bit of everything in terms of clothing everywhere we went. I also enjoy being a little dressed up when vacationing alone with the hubs, and I had full access to Shana’s closet the night before we left, so it was pretty hard to resist bringing some special pieces.
Voloshin Silk Dress | Clogs (similar)
Voloshin Dress (On Sale) | Earrings | Bag (similar) | Shoes
Note on weather: Mexico City is NOT hot! The weather is often warm-ish during the days, but cold at night, so layering is key. I was happy with summery-springy outfits during the day with fall-type shoes, and a jacket and scarf over these outfits at night. No judgment please on the quantity of tostadas I have in front of me in the photo below.
Tank | Skirt (similar) | Jacket (similar) | Booties
Day-To-Night Packing List: Looking Cute In Mexico City
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**Note: Many of these pieces are pricey. I DO think it’s fun to bring a couple special pieces on vacation, but this is also intended for idea purposes. I tried to include a wider range of pricing in the Shopping Section at the end of the post.
A Couple Pretty Dresses (Floral | Green): I’m such a fan of pretty dresses on vacation (and Reformation and Voloshin are my favs). Make sure the dresses you bring can be layered with a shirt underneath (for you gals who get REALLY cold) or a scarf & jacket over the top (which is what I did) when it gets cold at night.
Basic Tee (White | Brown): I can’t go anywhere without comfy tees. Good for the plane, good for daytime exploring, good for lounging.
Versatile Comfy Pants: I wore these Voloshin gauze ones on the plane, for morning coffee runs, dressed up with the my silk blouse, as well as lounging at our B&B. Could also serve as a swimsuit cover-up if your hotel has a pool. Ridiculously soft and versatile.
PAIGE Moto Jacket: I am not a leather jacket gal, but I was so glad I threw Shana’s in last minute. It was absolutely perfect for giving my pretty dresses a more citified feel (and keeping me warm at night).
Scarf: On the plane, and for cool mornings and evenings. I used mine as a shoulder wrap over dresses for a dressier evening feel as well.
Sunnies: It’s not super-hot, but it IS sunny.
A Special Blouse: This washable silk beauty would mix and match easily with denim, skirts and pants, as well as over little dresses.
Your Favorite Denim: I’m always happiest when I bring my absolute favorite pair–I have to size up in these Mothers.
A Playful Skirt or Two (Print | Black): Throw on a tee and walkable shoes and you have a super-cute wandering-the-city outfit. Or a nice blouse at night for a dressier feel.
A Pretty Bikini: If your hotel has a pool.
Cute PJs: We’re all in love with Print Fresh’s pajama prints…so cute!
A Good Backpack: Bring one big enough to carry the stuff you need for under your airplane seat, but also lightweight and cute enough to be worn with dresses. I love Fjällrävens for this purpose.
A Cute Bag: I used this way more than I thought I would. My hubs carried a backpack, so I got away with this small crossbody most days. Cute enough for evening, but easy to wear as a crossbody during the day.
Comfortable Flats: I wore these flats on the plane, and with dresses and skirts on the trip too. These Everlane Day Gloves look polished, but are somehow still super-comfortable.
Walkable Booties: Great to add a more street style flare to whatever you’re wearing. Most locals were wearing booties or sneaks. These Everlanes are much more walkable than I ever expected, and the ecru color goes with everything.
Your Fav Clogs or Sneaks: My clogs are actually more comfortable for me than sneaks, so I brought clogs as my walking shoe for full days out and about. They worked perfectly for long days of city exploration, but if you’re a sneaker gal, bring your cute fashion sneaks and a good insert.
Where I Ate: Favorite Mexico City Food Tours & Eating Spots
Club Tengo Hambre Street Food Tour: I cannot recommend this enough–it was definitely the highlight of our trip. Monica was delightful, and it definitely felt more like she was a friend taking us around the city for her favorite eats, rather than a tour guide. We stopped at eight different food trucks/stands/markets, and the food was some of the best I have EVER had. SO good.
Tostadas Coyoacan: Our favorite tostadas of the entire vacation. We went there twice.
Mercado de Comida Coyoacan: Off-the-beaten-path market with incredible pozole stands.
La Guerrerense: Yum! Specialty seafood tostadas.
El Califa: Several locations–great for late night tacos.
Coyoacan in the Morning: We stayed in Coyoacan, and if you pick any busy corner in the morning, you’re bound to find mouth-watering tamales of every sort. My “lady” was just around the corner from our B&B, and she had different types each morning. I couldn’t get enough.
Cafe El Jarocho: You can find fancy coffee at Cafe Avellaneda, but we enjoyed getting a cup at Cafe El Jarocho and sitting outside on the benches to people watch.
Corozan de Maguey: The food was fine, but if you’re in the neighborhood, the experience was what we came for. Our waiter gave us a full lesson on drinking mezcal, we “enjoyed” a flight of local mezcals, along with a bowl of crickets to snack on (which to me, tasted WAY better than the mezcal).
Where I Want To Eat Next In Mexico City
We stayed in Coyoacan on this trip and LOVED the laidback, family-friendly vibe, but will likely stay in Roma or Condessa next time to try something new. We will go back to as many of the places above as we can, but will hopefully squeeze in these as well:
El Turix: Looks and sounds ah-mazing!
Contramar: Make reservations ahead of time–we couldn’t get in.
Club Tengo Hambre Street Food Tour: We want to try the Mexico City After Dark tour next.
El Hidalguense: We had a ton of amazing al pastor, but not much barbacoa, so we’ll either contact Club Tengo Hambre to see if they can help us find the best street food barbacoa or check out El Hidalguense.
Shop Vacation Clothes
Pretty Dresses
Playful Skirts
Easy Tops
Denim & Versatile Pants
Walkable Shoes
Moto Jackets
Cute PJs
Vacation-Worthy Bikinis
Practical Accessories
We had such an incredible time in Mexico City and are really itching to go back…I start planning another trip anytime I’m hungry..ahhh…that FOOD! Anyone else have good food recs for Mexico City? Preferably not SUPER fancy-schmancy places?
-Linzi
This one’s for the pinners…
What’s the bag in the pic where you’re wearing the Voloshin silk dress and clogs? This post is great!
Thanks, Aks. I actually got that bag there in Mexico City. It’s from Carla Fernandez. Some pretty interesting stuff going on with her and her boutiques are GORGEOUS! Here’s her website: http://carlafernandez.com/en/about/
Love the outfits here. I went on a girls trip to Mexico. City a couple years ago and LOVED it. We went on a tour with Eat Like A Local tours. The owner/guide Rocio is a delight and works directly with vendors to ensure they get paid their full asking price and can make a living. In her work for the tour, she got to know the children of the vendors in the market. They don’t have a lot of options in life, but she saw an opportunity to offer them something new and started free English classes. They also bring in people from the neighborhood who got out to give talks about what they do now and how they got there. Tour money funds the charity, called 80IQ (after the concept that a change in perspective can increase a person’s IQ 80 points). I just loved Rocio’s commitment to ethical tourism and her community. That, and I still think about the food I ate on the tour a year and a half later! Highly recommend.
This is great! Thank you so much–we will definitely check them out when we get back there and hopefully others reading will too.
Love everything about this, but can we talk about your hair? Have you done a post on products/styling? I think my texture is similar and I would love to wear it curly more often (of course blowing it out is part of my problem…)!
So funny, Anna…I actually debated whether to post these photos because I HATED my hair in them. Curly hair can be oh-so-wonderful and oh-so-frustrating. I don’t do much for my hair (which some days shows more than others). I use different products on different days—I really like Oribe Surf Comber Textured Mouse, I sometimes use Aveda Be Curly, sometimes I just use a salt spray, and some days I don’t use anything. I try to shape the curls by twisting them with my fingers rather than scrunching them after I get out of the shower, but really…as you know…curls will be curls and will do what they want to do usually. A hair clip or barrette does wonders on days the curls aren’t cooperating. You’re probably right…I’m guessing the more you wear your hair naturally curly, the more you’ll get used to your own curls. Thanks for the comment, Anna.