Need Europe Travel Advice?

Hi, I am a 26 year old female traveling to Europe the end of October. The last week in October I'm going to London for the week and Paris on the weekend, then the following week in november is in Germany and Austria. I pretty well have my trip planned out but I need advice on what to wear and such. I will be staying in hostels and backpacking, so i really need advice on what kind of shoes to by, what type of clothes to wear and that sort of thing. Also, I know I should bring towels as most hostels charge and all, but what kind? Regular bath towels take forever to dry, and I dont want to carry around wet stinky towels. This may seem weird, but will microfiber towels work? The kind used for cars? And what type of clothes will be best? Any advice would help, as I am from Texas and dont want to spend my trip wet and uncomfortable if possible lol. Thanks.