Shift directions just a bit. We all have different ideas on this. That much is clear.

For those who believe they should dress up in First Class on a plane. Why? What is your personal motivation for doing that?

Jeans are terrible, particularly to sleep in.

I am much more concerned with my fellow pax being and smelling clean and having good manners.

I would much rather sit next to someone in plaid pajama pants and a t-shirt and dreads who is clean and polite than sit next to an over-lubricated rude person or someone who spilled aftershave or perfume on themselves who is dressed to the nines and has a DYKWIA attitude to go with it.

- same reason you dress up for other experiences which are classier or more special than your mundane existence (e.g. dinner out)
- you feel better dressed smartly than as a "Walmartian"
- it reminds you to step up your game

And?

What game? I'm on an airplane going somewhere with a cabin full of strangers. Should the fashion police find my "game" not suitable to their standards that's their problem. In the unlikely event one of them works up the nerve to say something directly they will be told in very graphic terms to leave me alone. :)

Yeah, seriously. I don't understand this at all.

Granted, I am reading this thread rather curiously as an outsider, as I've never flown anything other than cheapest economy and I am 22 years old. Reading this thread feels a bit weird - like reading about how people used to dress up to get on a train, this feels like it's one of them things that is going by the wayside. And personally I don't see a reason for it not to. I don't think less or more of anybody who dressed up or doesn't for a flight. Maybe others do, however.

I sure do. I look better in suits and they're slimming! That's just for international First though, if I'm traveling domestically I usually limit myself to khakis and a button down or sometimes jeans and a button down.

I'm sure when people like myself say they wear "sweats" most people on here immediately conjure up thoughts of dirty 15-year old sweats that are worn, stained, and disgusting.

There are such things as tailored sweats that are clean, look nice, and probably cost more than the slacks you are wearing.

I always wear at least a polo shirt and generally some kind of jacket when flying in Premium cabins. I don't expect anyone else to, but I enjoy it. I'll often change into something more comfortable on overnight flights though.

My opinion: If you dress like that, wearing a jacket, because that's the way you feel most comfortable then good for you. But if someone "dresses up" trying to put on airs or act like he's "something" just because he's in First Class then I have a somewhat different opinion.

I'd love to learn more about these fancy sweats. Do you have links / examples?

There's a strong undercurrent of snobbery in this thread. The peacocks who preen their finery in the first class cabin would impose a dress code if given the chance. In the meantime, they will privately roll their eyes at anyone who does not meet their lofty standards of sartorial splendour.

They are the same type of people who adore formal nights on cruises, Decked out in tuxes and formal gowns eating mediocre cruise ship cuisine and imagining themselves to be sophisticates. :rolleyes:

Conversely the same applies to those who dress 'down' and look like their diets' comprise nothing more than Red Stripe and Twinkies.

In any case, your comment is borderline nonsensical - how can you tell the difference in your example? You go around chatting to random passengers about why they chose to dress a certain way?

Do you "dress up" to fly premium cabin?
 

Why would some people not "dress up" for a special experience.
First might be normal for you and comfort is as a road warrior more important.

My cloth are "better" going international first as I can change into a PJ right away and when I arrive I am appropriately dressed (someone else might just go to the hotel/relatives so who cares).

I grew up in a time when girls had to wear skirts to school and people dressed up to go to the theater, out to dinner, or even, in my mother's case to go into "the city" (ie, Manhattan). When I was 10 or 11, it occurred to me that people who live in Manhattan probably didn't dress up just to be there, and since I was sitting next to a kid who lived there, I asked her. No, she said, of course not. That's when I began to jettison the notion of dressing up to go places. By the time I was 16 I was going to the theater and nice restaurants in jeans, like many others around me. My attitude now, so many years later, is that a place that imposes a dress code is not somewhere I want to spend my time. It strikes me as anti-democratic.

I would far rather the people around me on a plane - especially in economy, where you're squashed so closely together - were comfortable and relaxed than trying to impress other people with how they look. They're likely to be much pleasanter that way.

wg