Anyone live around Santa Barbara? Clothes question.

Parent Cafe
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It’s going to be 79/80 degrees for the high when we are there. Looks like low humidity, too. I know this time of year is the warmest.

During the day, I know I can wear shorts, but are white shorts apropo? Here in the Midwest even though we are having a heatwave, it looks odd. I don’t want to wear them. What about a white sundress? I know I can wear what I want, but I never appreciate that response. I don’t like looking out of season.

At night, it’s easier for me. Is it chilly at night now? Is lightweight suede jacket still too warm, or am I better off just leaving that at home?

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Bring the jacket (or a wrap), evenings do become very cool; white is perfectly fine. By the way, you may need a cardigan or light sweater during the day as well; 80 degrees in Santa Barbara, is not the 80 degrees of the midwest!

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Thanks @momo2x2018 , I think I need a bigger suitcase!

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We don’t have seasons in California :wink: You will see people wearing white shorts and/or sundresses all year long. Just realize that it doesn’t stay warm all day and the closer you are to the beach, the more you will experience a cool (cold) coastal breeze. If you are indoors, it will be air conditioned and you might get cold there as well.

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If you take a boat trip, day or night, it will be colder yet. There are a lot of souvenir sweatshirt places along the harbor selling to tourists who didn’t know how cool it could be in California.

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White shorts , white dress or white pants is fine. It is a casual town and you can get away with jeans everywhere.
A lot will depend on where you are staying. I’m near the coast and this morning at 8:30 it’s already sunny. Some mornings when it’s hot inland you can wake up to a thick wall of fog on the ocean. I’d leave the suede jacket at home and bring a sweater. I went out for dinner recently and we sat outside and I had on a t shirt and a lightweight cashmere cardigan type sweater.
It’s great that you are getting to experience so many Ca coastal towns. Hope you’re lucky and getting to fly into the wonderful Santa Barbara airport.

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LA times travel section had an article this past Sunday on SB on a budget. I don’t agree with all of the dining suggestions but might be worth googling. Also New York Times had an article this summer 36 hours in SB.

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I was going to post the same thing about the suede jacket but I’m not sure of the purpose of your visit. Are you coming for business or vacation? If you are on vacation, think jeans, a t-shirt and a sweatshirt during the day. If you are going to a nicer restaurant for dinner, you can still wear jeans but, as was mentioned above, you might want to bring a sweater.

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OP wrote: “I need a bigger suitcase.”

Not necessarily true. Since this is Santa Barbara, the only thing needed is a bigger line of credit.

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You won’t look out of season - there is no such thing. But I echo everyone’s concerns about bringing a sweater / jacket especially when you’re near the ocean - but also understand that we’re all wimps. When it gets in the 60s here people pull out winter coats. You will likely be totally comfortable. You definitely won’t need a big suitcase, just bring a few light outer layers.

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Thanks all! I’m leaving the suede jacket home. Did a first pass at my clothing and will finish up tomorrow. I’ve become pretty good at taking just what I will wear each day, with sometimes one or two extra tops, or an alternative outfit. My biggest problem are my shoes. I love to dress up in the evening and my shoes are part of the outfit. Believe or not, my “carryon” is a tote or duffle with about 3 -4 pairs of shoes in them, with a couple in the suitcase

I’ll be taking white shorts and jeans, but leaving the dress home. I have other stuff to wear.

I can’t wait. Today I’m getting excited!

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and if it gets around 50 degrees, don’t be surprised to see people wearing gloves lol, though at this time of the year it probably won’t dip that low.

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@conmama where are you eating?
For ice cream- McConnells or Rori’s
Mexican food- don’t let the casual go up and order fool you the food is great. 1. Las Agaves (multiple locations) . They also have a fancier restaurant called Mezcal which I haven’t been to. 2. Corazon - inside the Public Market building. Great unusual selection of salsas. Again don’t let the location discourage you from eating here. Also inside the public market is a great noodle place and a pretty good BBQ place. They also have a Rori’s so save room for an ice cream after.
Italian food- Toma, Ca Dario both sit down restaurants.
I’d avoid eating at any of the places on the wharf.
In the LA Times article they ate at The Boathouse. I’ve never liked the food but I have family that absolutely love the place.
Hip coffee shop- Handlebar coffee
Hip and my favorite special occasion dinner spot Loquita. Tapas and interesting cocktails. Expensive for serving size.
Don’t be surprised to find many people in athletic leisure everywhere you go. Shopping isn’t great but there is an interesting store in the funk zone called Shopkeepers. If I recall your H is a surfer. Two great surf shops worth checking out are Channel Islands and the Beach House.
I don’t think Conmama needs to worry about the cost of SB. She is visiting not planning on buying real estate.

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Forgot to add-
A fun spot to go shopping depending on your taste in shoes is the Deckers Showcase store. It is out in Goleta towards UCSB. It is the showcase store for Deckers brands. Deckers is the owners of Ugg, Teva, Hoka, and Sunuk. It’s a fun place to see all the different shoes and with Ugg to discover all the things you didn’t know they made like clothing, handbags and home furnishings. You will discover they have a lot of shoes that aren’t sheepskin boots.

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@mom60, we are there 3 nights., thanks so much! On the first night I made reservations at The Lark. I was planning on going to Loquita either before or after for drinks. Do you think I should switch it?

The 2nd day, a late breakfast at the Boathouse, then heading to State St. to shop. We will skip lunch, perhaps stop for a snack if that. Dinner was at Buchon. What do you think of that? It will be a Saturday night, we like lively places.

The next day is an all day Classic Wine Tour. Dinner/drinks at the Miramar. What are your thoughts?

We leave the following morning.

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The Lark and Loquita are owned by the same person. I think a lot of people in town would say their menus are a step above the usual SB restaurant food. Both have creative menus and both have good cocktails and a hip vibe. Service at both is excellent. It’s personal preference I prefer Loquita because I like to try a lot of different dishes but I have friends who prefer the Lark.They both have a nice ambiance. At both I prefer to sit outside. They have heaters. Loquita to dine inside is really noisy. Both places have a bar. You won’t be disappointed at the Lark.
To be honest I’ve lived here over 30 years and I’ve never gone to Bouchon. I do know it’s quiet. My S and DIL have gone for special occasions. For SB it’s a “fancy” restaurant.

Haven’t been to the Miramar yet. The hotel looks amazing and it’s on a very nice beach. I’ve heard mixed reviews on the restaurants. My D and her BF went to the nicer restaurant and they enjoyed the food. They loved the dessert. She said if you go make sure it’s still light out as what is special is being on the water.
For the Boathouse know that it shares a parking lot with a popular beach. If it’s a nice day you might have to drive through the lot a few times to find parking. Dress would be casual and I’d wear shoes that come off easily if you want to take a walk on the sand.

What I feel is missing is Mexican food. I think Bouchon and Miramar are both high end restaurants and if that is what you want you will be happy. I don’t consider them as places to get a real local feel.
Shopping might be disappointing. State street has lost a lot of stores and in some sections you will find a lot of homeless.

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@mom60, I didn’t realize you actually lived in SB, I just thought you visited a lot. I can’t wait to visit your town.

I cancelled our Bouchon reservation, we don’t want quiet. I made reservations at Lucky’s instead. Any thoughts on that? I also have resys at Loquita and Miramar on Sunday, so need to decide.

So, I’m bummed to hear about State street shopping. Where else would you suggest. I was thinking it would be similar to Montana Ave. in SM.

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@conmama - After you are back, you’ll have to give us a Trip Report :wink:

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@colorado_mom , I will!

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Here’s my trip report. Thank you so much to @mom60 who messaged me a ton of suggestions and advice, and to everyone else.

Well, we are in love with Santa Barbara, it completely met and exceeded my expectations. The drive from LA on the Pacific Coast Highway was gorgeous. I even played America’s Ventura Highway when we got to Ventura Highway!

Our hotel, Santa Barbara Inn, was a mile from State Street, the hubbub street. Very nice updated hotel, beautiful room with a bottle of wine waiting for us. Pretty outdoor restaurant Surrounding by all sides and above with tresses of flowers facing the ocean, where we started our trip with a salad and glass of Prosecco. It was later in the afternoon, so we just walked to Stearns Wharf to take pictures. We then just walked back, so I could doze at the pool a little before evening. At first I wasn’t sure if we chose the right hotel, but I decided I liked being away a little bit from the action. At the end of the busy day, it was a respite to go back to a quieter location.

Restaurants that night.

  1. Loquita.....just wow, great vibe, cocktails, good. This was my fav restaurant of the trip. We didn’t sit on the patio, (which I can see where it would be great), just hung at the bar for a few hours. It’s definitely happening here. Left to have dinner at.....
  2. The Lark......another wow, hopping, packed, cool communal table. Glad we went to these 2 the first evening, great way to start the trip.

Day 2:
Got an early start on State Street, starting at the Beach House store. Thanks for that recommendation, @mom60 . Found a dress and jumpsuit I wore on the trip. Although he didn’t find any surf stuff, DH found a hat and sunglasses. We spent hours strolling State Street, it is so delightful. The weather couldn’t have been more comfortable and sunny. Stopped for lunch outdoors st some Mexican restaurant, I can’t recall the name, stopped at a chocolate store! Stopped at a Coach outlet store, got yet another purse! However, this was marked down 70%.

I have to agree there really aren’t many women’s boutiques on this famous street. I was forewarned, so was prepared not to be disappointed. Did stop in at Shopkeepers off the main drag, but found the clothing was a bit more than I wanted to spend. Saw a cute blouse I was prepared to spend maybe $70 on, that was $250…that sort of thing.

Went to the beach, hot tub and pool.

Restaurants that night:

  1. Started cocktails at Rosewood Miramar Hotel Beach Bar. That hotel is definitely for the rich and famous. So glad we dressed up for the night. I felt like a celebrity just entering. The pathway along the grounds to the beach bar was fun. Very ritzy. Then had another cocktail at the Manor Bar inside. It was worth driving to the hotel for just a few drinks.
  2. Dinner at Lucky’s steakhouse in Montecito. We sat at a table in the bar, which is big and fun. They tried sitting us at a quiet corner....no thanks! Give me the hustle bustle. Which it was! We ended up meeting, and laughing with a group of gals. Turns out one of them had actually dated one of my DH’s partners in college. How the heck? I guess Ellen DeGeneres had been there the night before, darn, missed her.

Day 3:

Santa Barbara Classic Wine Tour - all day. Fantastic. Is all I can say. That drive through the Santa Ynez valley was worth the cost alone. I didn’t realize it was so beautiful I wish I could post pictures. We had a great group of 8, and went to four wineries, had lunch outdoors and went to Fess Parker winery That’s where Paul Giammoti drank the wine spit bucket in the movie Sideways.

That night we went to El Encanto restaurant for the view, which didn’t disappoint. Just went for drinks and appetizers, then wish we had stayed for dinner because…

We went to Toma downtown. I found it very much touristy, had the lasagne and got sick that night. DH had stomach pain, too. Wasn’t the wine from the day, as I dumped most of it.

Felt great the next day, and left for Santa Monica, which we’ve been a few times.

Went to Nobu Malibu that night and Simon Cowell was having his birthday celebration. Missed seeing him. I’m cursed, always missing the celebrities. But we did walk up and had to stand and walk around a celebrity I didn’t know. She was annoying me because she was talking to someone and blocking the door, I didn’t have a clue who she was until the next day. She was one of the judges on Simon’s show. Britain’s Got Talent, Alesha something. She was very tall and striking. I love people watching the beautifully dressed people there.

Had dinner at Élephante!

So, if you made it to the end of my report…the clothes! I brought way too much, but what I took worked!

We will definitely be back, so much we didn’t get to do! You who live in California are so incredibly lucky!