One of the hardest things about fashion is looking awesome while dressed appropriately for all situations. Sure, dressing for school or work or a gala may be tough stuff, but we can’t exclude air travel from that list, especially with summer vacations coming up. I should know, seeing as I am currently on an airplane.I am following the sun back east as I write this after a trip to the west coast. My situation en route indicates that I was faced with the troubling task of properly attiring myself for this flight. Before I get into how to do it right, let’s first take a look at some of the mind-boggling appalling ways to do it wrong.
Oftentimes when one goes to the airport, one sees small children in weird bedazzled T-shirts and Abercrombie sweatpants toting their monkey-shaped backpacks around and moaning about how bored and miserable and hungry they are. One sees teenagers and young adults dressed and/or acting the same way. One sees people wearing cocktail dresses with tall heels they can barely walk in, daintily pulling a way-too-big-for-one-person-going-away-for-three-days suitcase. One sees a humongous crowd of tourists in fluorescent orange oversized shirts and baseball caps with their tour group logo on the front stumbling around the terminal looking frantic and confused, perhaps muttering in a different language. Does any of this sound familiar?
I’m not saying that everyone in airports is dressed poorly, because that’s not true. There are plenty of people who are capable of flying in style. It’s not an arduous feat to achieve if you set your mind to it. Most people choose not to because they want to be comfortable if they’re going to be cooped up, claustrophobic in a space for several hours, hauling a week’s worth of clothing and reading material around. That’s quite understandable. In fact, that is so understandable that that is at the core of my philosophy on fly dressing. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: comfort is the key to confidence. No one likes other people to think they’re slovenly, so why not avoid that predicament altogether? Find out to how over at Chictopia!
How do you dress when you fly?
ranunculus / 3457 posts
I usually fly for more than 20 hours and in that case I dress comfortably, sweats and sneakers (and I usually get bumped to first class, because I have so many miles), and whoever doesn’t like it can go screw themselves. I believe airports are one of the few places were bad fashion can and should be forgiven.
sunflower / 291 posts
I agree with the first poster@MoonFaeEyryan@xanga - , my journeys are always long, but I never get first class because I’ve got a small child in “weird bedazzled T-shirts and Abercrombie sweatpants toting their monkey-shaped backpacks” or whatever the author thinks my son is wearing.
Last time I flew, he just wore a diaper for half of the trip because he was overheating. We were in Boston and some guy said, “You better put some clothes on that baby, it’s 30 degrees outside!” And the looked absolutely floored when I said, “It was about 60 degrees colder than that when we left home.”
As for me, I end up with drool, formula, food, pee, and sweat all over most of my “flying outfits” so I am usually in my backup clothes – running shorts and a t-shirt. If people judge me for what I’m wearing, I’ll let my baby cry on the plane. HAH
sunflower / 255 posts
Birthday suit.
It’s a form of protest and a way to get through security without the hassle of taking off your shoes. ;D
But in all seriousness, who cares? You’ll be there for two hours killing time and eating cheeseburgers while your bum becomes numb even before you get inside the plane. And everyone around you is a stranger whose more concerned about their luggage ending up lost or if terrorists might finally kill them than whose wearing what.
guest
Oh, who cares? When I’m spending 24+ hours on planes, buses and in airports travelling from England back home to Australia, how I look is the least of my priorities. If it’s just a short flight across Europe, I normally wear a dress, tights, flat shoes and a cardigan, but a long-haul flight? It’s sweats, tank tops, hoodies/cardigans and comfy uggs, with flip-flops in my carry-on so I don’t melt when I land in Singapore for re-fuelling.
orchid / 177 posts
I wear the same thing for every airplane ride, no matter the length, because I switch airlines a lot and I never know what width seat I’ll get. My black nike shorts, my in-n-out burger cali t-shirt, sperrys/toms/nike tennies, and my columbia jacket. If people are judging you on what you wear on an airplane ride, they need to reassess their own life and probably don’t need to be flying anyway.
guest
@LupusInvictus@xanga - People should never judge anyone traveling with a child unless they have traveled with one before, or else they have no idea what it is like. You rock!
guest
Depends on the season. In the winter, I am known for boots, comfy sweat suit, loose fitting shirt, a nice coat. The boots to easily slip off when going through security check.
In the summer, it is mainly a long dress with shoes that easily slip off like some flats or even flip flops but no excessive accessories.
I have a suitcase with wheels that is a carry-on with a bookbag that has my laptop in it. Get about three or four items to switch up on and two pairs of shoes make the makeup and other toiletries minimal and you are golden! I have worked up a system on this since I traveled so much last year.
guest
No matter what I wear, I always carry my down lap blanket. It stuffs easily into my shoulder bag when not in use and it weighs next to nothing. I’ve had people offer me money for it on several occasions and I’ve shared it with the person in the seat next to me at times.