Travel attire
 

i just read this interesting article (albeit slightly tongue in cheek) and wondered if anyone has any strong views, I know I do.

http://www.cntraveler.com/story/editors-letter-why-your-flight-attire-matters

I have found it to be true, that the better you are dressed anywhere, the better you are treated.

I don't think it's tongue in cheek at all. It's pretty obvious that the way you dress will give people their first impression of you. If you dress like a slob then people will (usually correctly), make the assumption that you are a slob and treat you accordingly.

Refreshing to hear. I have, over the years, seen some atrocious abominations, even in F, plimsoles, anoraks, even ladies in t-shirts! I suppose the golden age of flying when people took pride in appearance are long gone. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting we make ourselves uncomfortable but what's wrong with a Givenchy or Versace twin set for the ladies and at least smart slacks and a lovely jacket for the gents

dressing for airports
 

i have settled on my standard airport attire, regardless of destination. simple blazer, shirt, khakis, sneakers.

no need to go all hawaiian even if that is my destination wear.

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if flying out of countries where human tafficking is a perceived problem what you wear can affect how passport control staff of your country treats you. especially true in the case of solo women travellers or solo women with foreign man.


yep the clothes make the man (woman). naked people have very little influence in society.

"certain sartorial truisms transcend taste" -- very hard to come up with a sequence of five words more pompous than that.

When I travel I care only that my attire is functional. I avoid belts with huge metal buckles that I'd have to remove at security. I prefer button-up shirts with front pockets because the buttons hold cloth napkins (on flights with meals) and the pocket holds boarding passes.

That seems unfair. Using only five words fully to describe a slightly complicated matter almost inevitably involves multi-syllabic words which are not in common usage. Perhaps there should be a prize for who can say the same thing more succinctly.

For most flights I wear business attire, or jeans and 'smart' top if it's a more casual flight. But if it's an international flight, I bring something comfortable to change into on the plane (which can be a challenge in those tiny bathrooms) so I can try to sleep. I then change back before we land. I don't know why, but I feel like you need to be presentable when you are getting on and off the plane, but I am okay with being comfortable on the plane.

I wear whatever I want and I'm still getting treated nicely. Usually I wear jeans and a t-shirt/shirt and that's about it. More importantly is that you're wearing clean cloths and don't look sloppy. I hate it when my seat neighbour smells like a burning dumpster (I've had a few over the years).

There's nothing comfy to me about flying in wool, and they generally are not cut very long (and seeing midriff or worse when you lift a bag into the overhead isn't all that classy!) Plus I have had too many things accidentally spilt by FAs or other passengers to want to opt for items that are dry clean only (especially on the outbound flight somewhere). If I am spending 32 hours travelling, I am not doing it in fitted clothing and heels, but in breathable, stretchable fabrics that can be washed on arrival and flat shoes.

Absolutely. No, it will no longer get you upgrades on flights...however, there is a subconscious response people have. The better you look, the better you are treated. It is known as "The Halo Effect".

I have found that I get much better response from rental and hotel clerks, as well as ticket agents and even other pax and FA's when I am wearing a suit and tie than if I show up in jeans and a t-shirt. Rational or not, it is the case.

Shorts and t-shirt. If I ask for another drink, I always get it. I've never been kicked off a plane for dressing down. I've never NOT been served my tiny bag of pretzels because I'm in an regular shirt. I find how I get treated by FAs is far more influenced by how I treat them, as opposed to whether or not I'm wearing a dress shirt. Don't like how I dress? Start your own airline and make a dress code.

Yes, and so are the days of small airports, low cab fares, red cap luggage handlers, small crowds, loose security, and roomier airline seats. At least for most people.

If I'm going to have to walk 30 minutes (at least half of that while toting my luggage), stand in a crowded line, have to take off my shoes +/- belt +/- jewelry for security, wait in hard plastic chairs and then shuffle into a narrow plane seat and not move for a couple of hours while pressing creases into my clothes and hair, I'm not going to get dressed up.


If dressing casually and crumply in inexpensive and easily-washable clothing is going to mean that I'm not treated as well by airline staff, I can live with that......there are more important things to me than whether or not I'm offered an extra magazine etc. or make a good impression on ground crew that I'm unlikely to ever see again.

Yes, there are lots of people who are prejudiced into thinking clothes make the man (or woman), but I will choose when I want to play their game and when I don't. Airplane travel is one of the times I won't play.

I've traveled in full business attire and I've traveled casual. I've reached the conclusion that this is not a variable that is supplied to the algorithm that automatically sorts the upgrade list.

I mean, it'd be nice if the United.om app would take a selfie, automatically recognize the coat and tie, and then move my name from #27 to #1. But it doesn't work that way, and I just assume any travel writer doing a piece on attire is lying on a beach somewhere mailing it in for the week. This tired old story has written itself many times before. We usually get them in December.

IMHO, fatmenace has it right. How you're treated is more correlated to how you treat the people you interact with during the journey. They don't care how wealthy or important you look: they see it all, every day, all day long.

Reading the article, I think the author has unresolved mommy issues. ;)

:D This gave me a little chuckle.

I'm allergic to wool, and all itchy while trapped in the flying metal tube is an outer circle of hell for me. Usual flight garb for me is stretch khakis, cotton sweater layered over a single color t-shirt, and the tiger print Dansko clogs of butt-kicking that are both comfortable and likely to draw a 'cool shoes!' from male and female security screeners.

Save for the shoes, I'm as generic-looking of a middle class white American woman as you can get, and tend to just blend into the background enough that no one really notices I'm there.

Despite having been on FT for a year and a half, I'm still amazed sometimes by the attitudes displayed here.

I travel most often in comfortable clothes with extra button down pockets (e.g. cargo pants/shorts.) On those rare occasions when I need to travel in something nicer I haven't noticed any different in treatment.

There are better things to do than spend time judging what other people are wearing on a flight. Should my lack of sartorial splendor dismay or offend fellow passengers that is their burden to bear and they should do so in silence.

The question the article asks is what happened to what was once considered culturally excepted and acceptable. The picture accompanying the article indicates an era that just doesn't exist anymore. Once luxury becomes available to the masses it is no longer luxury. You're just not going to see, from a general standpoint, and in this case specifically, good and decent and thought out in-flight fashion when everyone can afford to fly.

The author's reflection on her mother's lessons in fashion sensibility is the transcendent take-away. When flying, men are not going to wear 1930's era three piece suits. Women are not going to wear dresses like Marylin Monroe. Let's be honest, that was almost 90 years ago. I do think, however, there is a cultural expectation line that should not be crossed. While I might wear jeans, I will never wear the kind on which scissors have been dulled. My fashion will never include big honking chains down to my knees to keep my wallet close at hand. I definitely want the ladies to be comfortable, but some of these yoga pants look too much like body paint. As my mom says, "They leave nothing to the imagination". As I say, some of them don't even belong in the gym.

The author's mother's teaching, "It’s not what you wear, it’s how you carry yourself in it", is true but leaves the door far too open for personal interpretation which I suggest is how we arrived at the modern travel fashion sense. I think most of us here would agree the statement, what we wear represents who we are and what we are about, and so we dress accordingly.

Perfect long-haul flight attire:

Fleecy rugby top, black sweatpants and grandad slippers. Never failed me yet.

No!! Say it isn't so!

I took that particular post as tongue-in-cheek... ;)

It's unclear to me if the original article is tongue-in-cheek, lampooning tired travel-attire fluff pieces in general.

Somebody should write appropriate-attire pieces about other forms of public transit. We've got airplanes covered. Personally, I think a three-piece suit should be required on the NYC subway.

Based on that quaint conclusion I am "about" comfort and functionality. I am also emotionally secure enough to not give a rat's patoot about the opinions of self-appointed arbiters of what is acceptable fashion on public transit. YMMV. :)

:eek::D

For modern traveling, function beats form every time. My standard flying attire are elastic-waisted pants with deep pockets; a T-shirt or polo shirt with a silk oversight, a polartec jacket, and a trail vest, with either Merrell jungle mocs, Keen sandals, or mukluks, depending on the season and destination. I do not detect any attitude as a result; I agree with those who say it's more about how you treat others.

The biggest difference in the way I've been treated over my traveling life has been over whether or not I had a guitar with me. Customs folk see guitar and long to inspect the insides.

wg

Standard attire: Short sleeve button down with a front pocket, comfort fit jeans, gym shoes, belt with low metal content, and My Little Pony underwear* (Adult male XL). All items of clothing in good condition and not stained, torn, or wrinkled.

Short sleeves because I get hot easily, and while sitting at the gate before the air flow picks up I don't want to sweat. The front pocket on the shirt ensures I don't have to screw with my pants pockets at all mid-flight.

*Actual choice in underwear may vary.

I don't care what other people wear, but for me (1) I need lots of pockets for electronics and other items. Yeah, I suppose cargo pants would work, but I think a blazer is better. And (2) I am usually traveling for business and I like to travel light, so any jeans or polo shirts would be surplusage. And I want to be ready in case a checked bag is delayed. So I tend to be business casual, with a tie in my carryon, so I am ready to go to my first meeting whether the bag shows up or not. Works well for me. In some countries, I also sense that I am treated better than a tourist if I look like a business traveler. YMMV.

^

What my fellow passengers wear on board is certainly none of my business. I might be amused and envious ;) at the pax, who appears to still be wearing pajama attire and clutching a pillow as they board. Good for them.

For business travel, I am always "Business Casual" or full suit and tie, depending on what my appointments dictate on arrival. No choice. And I only travel domestic US for business, so no extreme long haul flights.

For leisure travel, I dress for the destination and comfort.

Fly DEN-SFO/SJC and you'll see plenty of people (including me) in jeans and a hoodie. There's truth to the tech stereotype.

That was my hope, but OP used his very first post on FT to opine that people wearing shorts shouldn't be allowed in BA's galleries lounge, so I'm inclined to take him seriously.

I often wear shorts in summer, including in airport lounges. If anyone objects, I am more than happy to remove them.

And currently sitting in an airport, with my boarding pass neatly in my front shirt pocket. :)

(Of course, used the button hole in my napkin on the plane to make sure I didn't spill all over myself.)

I didn't know that. :eek:

If that was a serious post, I feel like I should have laughed twice as hard as I did thinking it was a joke. :p

The people or the shorts? ;)

As long as passengers are clean, don't smell, and are reasonably covered up I don't care what they wear.

Discussions about appropriate travel attire are a perennial topic here on FlyerTalk. Pretty much always they devolve into straw-man arguments about "People can't tell me not to wear comfortable clothing." Usually this is spurred on by some recent travel magazine article waxing nostalgic about the days when everyone dressed up in public and dress codes were enforced.

The interesting thing is, as far as travel magazine articles waxing nostalgic go, the one cited by OP here is fairly benign. Pilar Guzmán describes what travel attire was like years ago while simultaneously acknowledging that it is not like that today. She doesn't ask for a return to the past. All she's saying is be comfortable but not slobby.

Either, as required!

Wasn't this the publication that was encouraging
its readers to steal stuff?

How the self-styled mighty hath fallen.


And nothing says "pretentious heehaw" like a nonnative
wearing "an embroidered skirt in Peru" or anyone wearing
Harris Tweed anywhere. Speaking of mighty and fallen,
who writes for an audience that needs to be told that
Harris Tweed is "Scotland's"?

As far as my own sartorial splendor goes, I have
publicly described my attire as "shambolic." I used
to have an upgrade shirt that worked every time
(rust-colored silk that shimmered like crazy and
made me look almost desirable and was guaranteed
to make NC0 turn into NC1), but a dog ripped the
sleeve off. I almost kept the shirt so I could
wear it with one sleeve, but my standards are
strict that a shirt has to have two intact sleeves
(long or short), slacks or jeans have to have two
intact legs, tears at the knee or fraying ok, and
shoes have to be closed-toed, because most people,
myself included, have ugly or malodorous feet. If
I were treated any better by cabin crew, the rest
of you wouldn't be getting any service.

P.S. anoraks and plimsolls are fine.