There’s nothing that irritates me more than landing in the US from an international jaunt to find my fellow Americans clad in pajamas at the airport. I understand long flights (Seoul, anyone?!) and I understand wanting to be comfortable, but I do not understand grown adults (who clearly have enough money to travel) walking around an airport dressed like they’re ready to spend a night on the couch consuming thousands of calories of Ben & Jerry’s while watching some rom-com. Do these people not have friends or family? My mother cannot stand ill-dressed people at the airport, and I don’t blame her.
It is possible to be both comfortable and chic while traveling! Whether in a car or on a plane I find a cotton maxi dress is the perfect travel companion. Loose and flowy, it’s feminine, not too casual, and keeps all important areas covered while you try to maneuver a comfortable sleeping position in a 2’x2′ space (not possible, trust me). I like to bring a jacket/cardi to wear incase it’s cold on the flight– I also keep a pair of socks in my bag. I like to wear the simplest shoes possible to remove for those inevitable security screenings. (Sidenote: I also hate seeing socks under sandals at the airport) A watch is a must for good time keeping– no one wants to miss a flight due to getting into a phone convo and losing track of time.
I don’t wear any other jewelry other than a watch on the flight due to a terrible mishap in Paris at CDG where I realized mid-flight that I had been asked to remove my necklace at security and it hadn’t been returned to me. I was absolutely crushed as the necklace was of great significance to me. So I now keep all my important jewels nicely stowed in my carry-on bag. Also in my carry-on I like to stock a couple snacks, earphones, and some good reading. With more and more flights offering wifi I think it’s worth it to bring the laptop if you’ve got a long flight.
