Hope it's ok to just jump in and post after being away for a few days.
Just wanted to say that I have the Halogen stretch denim pencil skirt, and I just got back from meeting up with family/attending a trade show in Las Vegas (very, very hot there - it was 111F when I arrived) and the Halogen stretch denim pencil skirt worked out beautifully.
If you have a J. Crew skirt that is similar, I think it would be very useful for your upcoming conference. My denim pencil skirt (the Halogen version from Nordstrom) is unlined, and it did *not* wrinkle up too much during the day. It might have been just a teensy bit rumpled at the very end of a (14+ hour) day - just a tiny bit at the back hem - but hanging it back up on a clip hanger in the hotel - the slightly rumpled effect smoothed out again by the next morning. I found it quite comfortable and not too hot at all. It looked dressed up enough, while also looking casual enough for low-key dinners/get togethers. I could wear the denim pencil skirt with a blouse and a jacket during the day (provided the a/c was sufficiently frigid) and I could also wear it during 'down time' with just a simple, well-made tee, some flats and a necklace for a relaxed and very casual dinner.
I don't know if you've noticed this - but when it's that hot outside, the dinner get togethers are decidely casual and very relaxed. You just want to get back to your room, cool off and throw on something comfortable before heading back out for dinner. You can switch out the blouse/shirt/jacket/dressier shoes for flats and a casual top.
Just as an aside for business travel/conferences - I'd recommend picking up Downy Wrinkle Release. You can get it in the laundry section of just about any grocery store - get the full-size spray bottle and also pick up a travel size mini bottle. When the mini-size runs out, you can just refill it from the larger bottle. Spray ...smooth clothes, hang up to dry and voila - any rumpling is magically gone. If you can't find the travel size bottle - just buy the larger bottle and pick up an empty travel-sized spray bottle from the aisle where they keep all the travel stuff/trial size items.
http://www.downy.com/en-US/pro.....easer.jspx
http://downywrinklereleaser.com/aa/
It's handy thing to have around when traveling. Yes, I know - there is an iron in the room, but the last thing I'm going to do when I'm traveling is iron stuff. If you're thinking you want to go to a conference with just a couple of pencil skirts, no matter what their fabrication etc. - I'd recommend getting the Downy Wrinkle Release spray- it *will* come in handy.
In the meantime, I found it useful to hear from Suz that the famed Halogen Seamed Pencil skirt is more of a fall/winter/early spring item. That's kind of what I thought too, even though I don't have one of these skirts yet.
In closing, I think you're very smart to just stick with skirts for this upcoming trip. The PPL thing isn't something you want to fuss with in the height of summer. Also - I'd take the denim pencil skirt, even if you didn't wear it to conference functions at all, because there might be casual dinners in the evening, and I still think a skirt looks better than shorts in these situations. Does that make sense? Even if you went with more business-like skirts during the day, what's likely to happen is that you get a chance to go back to your room, freshen up...and then meet up with a few people for a casual dinner (and these will be much more casual than usual due to the hot weather). The denim pencil will come in handy here, for sure, even if it doesn't get used during the day.
In the end, Kyle's right though - these types of denim pencil skirts are definitely appropriate for a conference, especially in the middle of summer.
Take the denim pencil skirt for sure
