Dresscode on Commercial flights in First Class
 

What was first class travel dresscode when it applied, like 1950-s, 1960-s?

Was it enforced - i. e. were people with paid tickets liable to be denied boarding or involuntarily downgraded for failure to meet dresscode?

When did the men only flights operate (so that men could remove their jackets - since stewardesses count as "maidservants" rather than "ladies", and are not entitled to the same courtesy)?

When did dresscode on commercial flights disappear? (In which countries?)

If you're researching this you might try to take a look at "Airline: Identity, Design and Culture" by Keith Lovegrove. Lots of pictures from the golden age of travel.

I don't think the airlines had a First Class dresscode so much as social norms of the day enforced one. It was simply expected that if you were going to go out into public for a formal event (air travel definitely qualified as such back then), you dressed accordingly. And most people complied, even those traveling in economy class.

I never heard of any airline deying boarding or involuntarily downgrading a revenue First Class passenger, though an "improperly" dressed passenger might incur a few glares and even comments from fellow passengers.

Starting back in the early 1950s, United introduced "Executive Flights" featuring complimentary cocktails, steaks, business publications and cigars on board. These flights were available to men only, though female flight attendants were always available to light your cigar. I believe these flights ended in 1970.

Dresscode onboard airlines has eroded at the same pace as societal views on what's considered proper dress for various situations. Look at old pictures from the 40s and 50s. Men wore coats and ties to baseball games! People dressed up to go out to a movie. As for flying, it's no longer the novelty it once was and many people these days dress no differently than if they were just running down to the corner store.

Times have certainly changed.

Some restaurants still enforce dress codes. I recall reading that Ex-President Jimmy Carter was once denied service at a prestigious Boston eatery because he wasn't wearing a tie and refused to wear one proffered by the restaurant.

Dress Code Today??
 

What about now? I rarely, if ever, see anyone dressed in any particulary way (other than casual) in First Class. Because I am a single female, I do try to look better than usual when travelling, particulaly in First Class :p

You're flying the wrong routes. Try flying F on AF LAX-CDG. Stunning.

This has nothing to do with dress code but simply the fact that you see supermodels on this route a lot.

Who cares what they wear ... ;) :D

It all started downhill when the airlines offered discounts to college students ~40 years ago. Next thing you know, there’s a bunch of hippies in jeans and tie-dye t-shirts onboard.

In the early 1980s, a friend of mine working on a video project with Pan Am was flying to Europe in F on a comp ticket, but denied access to the F cabin by the senior purser owing to his clothing... I think he was wearing jeans and a polo shirt. He had to go sit in coach. Today the full-fare passengers are usually wearing jeans and polos, if not sweats.

You seem upset that things have changed...

In 2009, most travelers who are in full business mufti (especially in premium cabins) are probably non-revs.

Some years ago, a number of corporations required employees traveling on company business to dress in business attire as they were "representing the company in public". I don't know if any companies follow that practice these days.

If the airline is paying for the ticket (comp) they have every right to expect the passenger to dress appropriately and enforce their (written) rule. It's too bad your friend was disrespectful to the airline by showing up dressed too casually.

There is, and should be, a difference in a comp (free) ticket and someone who pays.

I personally do miss the days when people had respect for themselves and other. The days of morals and chivalry. Yes the wonderful days when people would not consider going to church in anything other than the Sunday best. The days when people dressed up for dinner, movies and gatherings. Yes, days of Leave it to Beaver, Alice or The Brady Bunch. Much better social environment than we have now with so many feeling that they must express every minute of every day how much they have rights. Rights to do what they want, when they want, however they want, whereever they want. Even if that means boarding an airplane in the pajamas with a dog and a chicken under each arm. Yes between the two, I prefer the earlier scenario. Let the bums and the ones that look like bums ride a bus. :)

Without going too OT, I'd prefer my rights to your morals.

Fly in Japan... almost everyone is in suits and ties...

And, while I'm not advicating a dress code per se, I do think there are some things that shouldn't be worn on an airplane, Flip Flops are my biggest pet peave, as are t-shirts. I know, it sounds ridiculous but if i'm in coach, i don't want your skin touching me...ever.

Amen to that one!

Was air travel a formal event, a semiformal or an informal event?
Thanks! What was the age requirement for men?
Was it different these days? Did the dress in commercial First Class differ from what they were supposed to wear daily in their offices?

Really! I'm going to Japan for the first time next month - will anyone care that I'm in jeans or khakis on intra-Japan flights?

I think a better question is: do you care?

If Japanese local custom is that locals wear suits that fine for them, but it does not apply to you. Would you be offended if a Saudi businessman wore a dishadash on an airplane between JFK and ORD? Or a Seikh in a turban between MCO and SFO? Or an African in one of those wonderful colourful tunics?

I don't know Japan well enough to say whether you'll be stared at, but I do know it well enough to say you won't offend anyone by dressing as you suggest.

If you did wear flip-flops... uggh!

The only reason "everyone" wears suits on Intra-Japan fligths is that "everyone" is going to a meeting or flying for some other work-related reason. I've flown domestic Japan mid-week and it was like this. I've also flown at weekends and it was much less formal as more people are travelling for leisure purposes. I was wearing jeans on both occassions and never felt self-concious or out of place (at least not due to my clothes!) Wear what you want. The biggest thing in Japan is to show respect through your actions, not through what you are wearing (within reason).

What about, offending the people the poster is flying to Japan to serve/deal with?

Someone notoriously got in trouble for being seen in an Aloha shirt in Hawaii. He was not even a Japanese, he was a Mongol.

Usually I couldn't care less what others think of me - but I do want to respect the culture of the country that will have me as a guest. I definitely don't want to be another obnoxious American assuming that every place is like the USA.

Actually I'm only going because I had some miles about to expire and wasn't willing to do anything to extend their validity :) Not going to see anyone in particular but still want to appear respectful in general, same as in any other country.

What is an Aloha shirt and why are they bad?

Thanks for the advice. I had assumed as much but thought I'd draw on the collective wisdom of FT just in case.

ahh so you are the me first generation.

There is a wide gap between what is acceptable to wear and what some consider aesthetically pleasing. Someone wearing clean clothes that cover all the proper parts of their body is not offending anyone (unless they were otherwise required to be wearing something else). If the airline does not require a person to soil and wrinkle their dry clean only "sunday best" riding in their cattlecars, nobody should be offended if a person shows up dressed in something else.

Mondays I travel in dress pants and a cashmere sweater, Friday afternoons its jeans and a cashmere sweater. I don't think that the fact that the textiles used for making my pants is different makes me any less acceptable for airtravel.

The dress code at my current client is jeans on Friday and often if you aren't wearing jeans people will ask, "Did you forget it was Friday?" One thing that most of the consulting world has picked up on is that you need to make your clients comfortable. Showing up every day in a suit and tie when they are a khaki/polo type of work environment actually makes an inverse impression; "I'm better than you". While its entirely appropriate to dress up on certain occasions: initial sales calls, big wigs in town... I'd say its better to make the client feel at ease with you.

When I was a very young child back in the early 70's, me and my brother flew unaccompanied quite often. I clearly remember my mom always dressed us up in our little suit jackets and trousers with our little clip on ties for a flight. From a child's perspective, at least in our family, flying even in coach, though common to us, was still a formal event on par with a wedding or some kind of special church service. No kind of airline rules, that is just how my mom was. I think that era was all over for us by '76-'77 when by that time it was jeans and a t-shirt.

Even today I still usually dress business casual on allot of Asian flights. Not because anyone would probably care that much if I didn't. Just in Asia I perceive that there are sometimes subtle differences in how you are treated based on how you are dressed. More so than the US, where I have flown more than a few first class domestic flights in camo cargo shorts, t-shirt and 'gasp' sandals.


Although by now Japan and most Asian populations with wide exposure to western visitors are pretty much hip to the fact that Americans are a little more on the casual side and think nothing of it.

Looking out my apartment window in Tokyo right this minute, I see how everyone's dressed. All school kids are wearing their uniforms, with tie, backpack and sneakers. The teenagers going to work are wearing their black suits, (sometimes with brown shoes, but that's getting better), and shoulder bag. Of course the business men and women are smartly dressed in their (mostly black - always dark) attire, with shoulder bag or briefcase. Even on weekends, suits are very common. Now I see someone standing out in jeans with no shoulder bag - oh yes, it's a foreigner. Japan is a country of conformity, people are respectful, rebels are noticed and people care what others think. I truly love this country and its people.

Dude, that's me!! hahaha

Agree!

For some odd reason I can almost hear the theme from The Andy Griffith Show as I read this thread.

I've traveled this route with Johnnie Depp and his family. Johnnie and Vanessa were quite "stunning" in torn jeans.:)

Interesting.

1) I always wear a tie when I travel. I tell my students (when they themselves travel on business) to wear what they want but no jeans or loud T-shirts. I do think I (and my students) represent the university and the people who fund what we do, so it's not what I or they think, it's what the people holding the purse would think.

2) Making people comfortable or uncomfortable is largely a matter of what you do. I'm one of very few faculty members teaching with a tie, yet that doesn't make students uncomfortable the least bit. I figure that they ultimately pay for me to be there, so I might as well show a bit of respect and not wear the proverbial flip flops.

You're exaggerating a bit.

Riding into the city on weekday mornings, you'll see many people dressed down in jeans, T-shirts and other casual clothes. The guys wearing suits on the weekends are wearing suits because they have to go to work (and the guys who don't have to go to work are probably sleeping in at home). Everyone with an office job wears a suit when they're going to work, and most people in school wear some sort of uniform, but that's it.

I'll grant that people are usually much more elaborate with their casual wear here than they are in the US -- you'll never see someone wearing just a T-shirt and shorts, for instance, unless you're at the beach. At least two layers are the norm, even in summer, and the only worn-out clothing you'll see is scientifically worn-out jeans.

No matter what you're doing in Japan, it's best to dress a little conservatively. For men, as long as your pants cover your ankles and your shirt has a collar, you're fine in most personal contexts. The unspoken dress code for women is a bit harder to determine, but anything subdued and tasteful should fit in here (and even some un-subdued and tasteless items will fit in in certain parts of town).

Where are you riding? The subway this morning was all suits and ties.

I challenge you to be in Mita on a workday if you think I am exaggerating!

By the way joejones, i had to laugh at the Hibiya Club Gold... Are you talking about the subway line?? :)

Like other posters have indicated, the previous days reflected the social norms. While some may want to return to the days of only jackets and suits in F, I have seen my share of men in suits whose grooming and hygiene habits were quite pathetic.

One can look very good casually dressed, but not too casual (like wearing a tank top for the men, short/shorts for the ladies, or flip flops), if the clothing is well maintained and the person maintains his/her grooming habits properly along with a healthy weight to height percentage.

Who would you rather sit next to, a slim man or women in jeans or a 300 pound business man sweating profusely and wearing a suit that had not been cleaned in years?

What about yukata, jinbei and samue? Are those seen in public?

The sum of the parts needs to equal a certain amount. Grooming and clothing need to be good for a good overall image. If one item is really bad it ruins the overall image. Also, one part can be a little lacking if the other is well above average. This can be applied to a lot of situations in life.

Also froma safety stadpoint if you need to evacuate, you can trip up easier. My father-in-law is a Net Jets pilot & forbids my wife from flying in anything open toed or open heel. smart

What is the big objection to flip flops?