Originally Posted by
JMBResona
Personally, I choose to maintain some baseline level of propriety while at the airport, because it's very much a public area, and not everyone's coming off a 12 hour transpacific long-haul, dragging themselves to yet another long flight. So I usually don't dress in clothes that I wouldn't commute/ride the subway in while at the terminal.
To each his own, but I agree with this guideline. I personally wear a short-sleeved polo, long jeans/khakis and shoes of the dress/athletic crossover type, with a sweater handy for when it's too cold. In summer I may wear a Dri-FIT shirt when traveling through TX or the south, as a polo may trap sufficient sweat to light up on the body scanner. Somehow I feel very uncomfortable wearing shorts on planes, I appreciate the extra level of protection against accidental bruises or cuts that clothing may provide, especially with the tight spaces on airplanes nowadays.