On a fairly recent flight, I had a black jacket and a skirt (not a suit but office-like clothing) on with my hair in a bun because I did not have time to dry my hair and I do not wish to looking like a slacker by having my wet hair down.
I got mistaken for a cabin crew member and was asked for a coffee. I was so taken aback that it took me a moment to react. I assume it was due to the way I was dressed that I got mistaken for a cabin crew member but my clothes weren't remotely similar to their crew's uniform!

Another one is being asked for direction at the airport by being mistaken for a staff member. This also usually only happens when I have my hair in a bun and have black, suit-like clothing (although they were separates) but it happens rather often. The sad thing is, at some airports including T5, I can usually help them.

I also had a flight where my seat neighbour was convinced for some reason that I was a positioning cabin crew member working for that airline and started asking me questions about it. Because I had never flown on that airline before (and therefore knew nothing) and I did not behave in any way differently from a normal passenger, I can only assume that it was my clothing and my hair again. I had to explain to them that I was not an off-duty or on-duty cabin crew member with that airline or any other airline for that matter.

If I want to be left in peace, it looks like I'll have to either wear more colourful clothes (jacket/skirt), or have wild hair because it only ever happens if I am wearing a black jacket and black skirt combined with hair in a bun. It doesn't seem to matter how colourful and fancy my blouse is - I rarely have a white blouse on but I keep getting mistaken.

Do other women wearing suit-like clothes with a bun get mistaken for staff as well?