For those asking about skirts/dresses and the TSA, I travel in skirts/dresses all the time. I have NEVER been asked to change out of my skirt/dress (whether pencil type or full) and I've not had any search that seemed any different than one I would receive in pants or jeans.
I completely agree with this statement, no more or less invasive whether in skirts or pants. I am in dresses 90% of the time and travel several times a month and I always opt out of the nude-o-scope machine.
I think that a lot depends on the airport, the screener, and the skirt.
Every time I have flown from DTW all women with skirts are pulled aside. At MCI (contract security, not TSA) a manager told me that their directive from TSA is that all skirts receive a secondary search. A TSO who posts here said that all skirts result in a secondary search.
Sometimes I have no issue at all, other times I receive a secondary search, and sometimes it is very unpleasant.
Most have caught on that white sneakers aren't the way to go unless you just want to stand out as a tourist. By the same token, special travel garb can look pretty silly if you are not really on, for instance, safari.
To each his/her own. I think it's a cute skirt & I wear mine like any other skirt in my closet and don't think of it specifically as a travel skirt. I certainly don't put it in the same league as white sneakers.
I think that a lot depends on the airport, the screener, and the skirt.
Every time I have flown from DTW all women with skirts are pulled aside. At MCI (contract security, not TSA) a manager told me that their directive from TSA is that all skirts receive a secondary search. A TSO who posts here said that all skirts result in a secondary search.
Sometimes I have no issue at all, other times I receive a secondary search, and sometimes it is very unpleasant.
I haven't flown through DTW so I can't speak for that airport but I have flown through MCI 4 times in the last 16 weeks, last time time 4 weeks ago. I was in a skirt each time and no secondary search at MCI at all for me.
In the link given, this skirt looks absolutely hideous, and I am unable to figure out how it differs from any other dowdy skirt with deep pockets. I understand, they're selling you a clip, so you can make it into an even more awful balloony, diaper-y looking pants that no one would be caught dead in. Seems like you could accomplish the same thing with some oversized safety pins on a skirt that actually flattered you.
There is psychological as well as physical comfort, and you are not going to enjoy any psychological comfort in this skirt, not if anyone around happens to hold a camera. Which commonly happens at the popular tourist destinations!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MichelleNC
ITA: the Macabi skirt isn't going to win any fashion competition! But it's cool, comfy, and easy to travel in.
There is psychological as well as physical comfort, and you are not going to enjoy any psychological comfort in this skirt, not if anyone around happens to hold a camera. Which commonly happens at the popular tourist destinations!
Way to ruin my self esteem
The Large is a bit too large for my taste. I'm wearing it on the hips, sort of like a UtiliKilt.
Haven't configured it using the clip or the snaps. It's pretty comfortable. Don't know how it looks in photos, probably makes my butt look big.
I realize the OP has already taken her trip to China but for the benefit of others reading this thread, I offer two anecdotes.
My husband's best friend is married to a woman whose mother was born in China. She has lived in Canada for many years. Shortly after my husband's friend was married, his MIL, who was 60ish at the time, came for a visit (from another part of Canada). He observed her for several days walking slowly around the yard, pausing, doing some deep knee bends, and then continuing with her walk. Finally, when his curiosity got the better of him, he asked her whether she was practising Tai Chi or some other type of Chinese exercise. She smiled and said no, she was practising for a trip back to China. She had got out of the habit of using squat toilets and needed to build up her strength
I was chatting with the woman who made my wedding dress about my fiancee's and my plans for a hiking trip in Morocco as part of our honeymoon. She told me that she had climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. She said the hard part wasn't the walk up. It was the walk down with exhausted, trembly legs. The worst part was using the horrific squat toilets en route, which were more like pits. She and her friend ended up figuring out a system where the person who needed to use the toilet would throw one of a scarf over the door of the toilet, and hang on to one end while the friend hung onto the other. It made it possible to use some arm strength to balance over the toilet instead of just relying on leg strength - since a loss of strength/balance would result in tumbling backward into a disgusting pit
In the link given, this skirt looks absolutely hideous, and I am unable to figure out how it differs from any other dowdy skirt with deep pockets. I understand, they're selling you a clip, so you can make it into an even more awful balloony, diaper-y looking pants that no one would be caught dead in. Seems like you could accomplish the same thing with some oversized safety pins on a skirt that actually flattered you.
There is psychological as well as physical comfort, and you are not going to enjoy any psychological comfort in this skirt, not if anyone around happens to hold a camera. Which commonly happens at the popular tourist destinations!
You know, I've been thinking about this post for a while...
I think the choice to buy/wear this skirt depends on several factors and the type of vacation/holiday one is taking.
I brought my Macabi on my honeymoon. We didn't go to Europe or Tahiti, we went to the Galapagos & the rain forest. The Macabi was AMAZING for an active/grungy type of adventure. I also have worn the skirt to music festivals where it's hot & muddy. I have received many compliments on it -- people really think it's ingenious.
However, I wouldn't be caught dead wearing the Macabi while walking down Champs-Elysees or Via del Corso.
If I were taking a trip to Asia, knowing I'd be hoisting up a skirt over a squat toilet, I'd happily take my Macabi and leave the Prada at home.
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The Macabi is WAY too crunchy granola for me. I have a couple of great knit travel skirts from Patagonia that I like - fashionable but cool and quick-drying. A couple of my favorite (leisure) travel skirts have come from the sale rack at Banana Republic. And my favorite casual knit dresses for vacation almost always come from Target or Old Navy. I rarely take much 'nice" stuff with me when schlepping around SE Asia or South America.
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I'm going to loan my Macabi to a friend of mine who's going to Jordan with her family for a vacation.
It is comfortable, and dries quickly... but that's because it's polyester. What I think I like most about it is that it's very long, and I love long skirts. I'll definitely get my money's worth from it.
My friend's back from her trip to Jordan and Turkey. She borrowed my Macabi skirt, and I asked her about it. She was unstinting in her praise. She's keeping the one I bought originally, as it was a bit too large for me, and has ordered another in medium for me.
Here's her review:
The skirt was *great* traveling - and really comfortable and cool in the desert. it folded up super small and never wrinkled... I got some smoodge on it at one point and then just used a wet washcloth to clean it off and it looked nice and clean again. Also the deep pockets were boss. Just super impressed... oh, and also used the little key fob thing on it, clipped my keys on it at one point.
My friend also said that she loved the deep pockets and had filled them up during a very exciting round with Turkish customs, where the rest of her family was on one side of the checkpoint, and she had all their luggage including 3 rollaboards on the other.
The only problem she reports is having to cinch the skirt really tightly during that episode as the pockets were so full that the skirt started sliding down her hips.
I don't know that I will actually wear it in the pants or shorts configuration, but I might give it a try around the house to see how it feels.
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I took a serious look around the Macabi WEB site and even figured out what size and length I would need, but am still not convinced that it would be better than some of the skirts I have now. I am confused about the comments that the belt/waistband is a different color than the skirt especially when looking at the photos.
There is also a recent comment that the cellphone pocket is too small, I suspect, for smart phones.
It'll be fun to see how poufy it looks in different configurations.
But it's cool, comfy, and easy to travel in.
