When it comes to travel, one of the most common questions I get is: what do you wear when you fly? I’m now rethinking my standard answer.
Comfort Or Class? What To Wear When You Fly
I’ve long believed that how you dress matters, even when boarding an airplane. While airlines no longer require a jacket and tie in premium cabins, there’s still something to be said for looking sharp when you fly. It communicates respect for yourself, respect for your fellow passengers, and respect for the privilege of air travel.
At the same time, I realize that by packing passengers in like sardines and cutting service in domestic economy class, there is no luxury in flying any longer…and the price has come down so much that it is a commodity for the masses. $29 tickets in 2025 dollars? When it comes to the cost of air travel, we are in the golden age.
For me, the answer of what to wear is not really dependent on the trip. Whether longhaul or shorthaul, I’ll usually opt for a pair of dark trousers, a collared shirt (though increasingly a t-shirt), and a light blazer. Slip-on shoes are a must for security. If I’m traveling on business, a suit jacket comes with me, but I’ve gone from wearing it to bringing it along in a garment bag.
Sometimes on domestic trips, I will wear polo or t-shirt with clean white sneakers, which (I hope) strike the right balance between comfort and dignity. Even if I’m connecting to a redeye later, I’d rather look put together during the day than shuffle through the airport looking like I just rolled out of bed.
I recognize that people have different priorities. For some, it’s all about maximum comfort and nothing else. I get that, but to me, travel is more enjoyable when you make an effort. You never know who you’ll meet onboard, whether it’s a future business connection, a long-lost friend, or even just a crew member who takes notice and treats you a little bit better. Yeah, I do think you are treated better if you are well-dressed and well-groomed (though forget about the upgrade to first class!).
And one final point: you represent your nation too. I’ve always thought it curious that some passengers board a flight to Europe in flip-flops and tank tops, only to arrive in Paris or Frankfurt and stick out like sore thumbs, screaming, “I’m an American!” Dressing well doesn’t mean dressing uncomfortably. It’s about balance, and in my experience, that balance pays off.
All that said–and the purpose of this story–I’m thinking about making the shift to high-quality athleisure for my travel. As this sort of attire becomes more mainstream, I’m looking for outfits that are high-quality, comfortable, and can be washed over and over again without wearing out, but also look decent. I’m open to hearing any suggestions you may have. Don’t worry, unlike the model above, there will be no midriff showing…
CONCLUSION
So, what do you wear when you fly? For me, it’s about trying to balance comfort with class (recalling that somewhat tragic but undeniable reality from Wicked, “It’s not about aptitude, it’s the way you’re viewed”). I’ll never fault someone for prioritizing comfort, but I continue to argue that air travel is a special occasion worth putting some effort into. How about you?
Any suggestions on new travel outfits for me?
top image: @helenowen / Instagram
So now it’s a “privilege” to fly? I’ve always said that but the entitlement a##holes want to argue otherwise.
How do I pick them out? Easy, they are always overdressed and on their laptop. These “businessmen” and their demands & expectations are the only reason I feel bad for FA’s that have to deal with them.
To be fair, if they are an American flying to Paris or Frankfurt in 2025, they already have proven they are an a##hole regardless of the flip flops. At least they probably used deodorant or never killed Jews, unlike the locals.
Douchebag Dave Edwards, no doubt any FA would much rather deal with those you call a##holes than deal with you.
Douchebag Dave Edwards, proving with your every comment that your nickname is absolutely accurate and completely deserved and that you have nothing better to do with your pathetic waste-of-oxygen life than to post abhorrent and revolting comments here over and over again every single day. Thank you for confirming once again that you and all MAGAs are stupid hateful racist morons. Trolling or not, the extent and frequency of your comments are indicative of severe psychiatric and/or addiction problems. Your insults, undoubtedly projection, speak much more to your (lack of) character than to anyone (on these anonymous comments) you attack. You should crawl back under whatever rock you crawled out from you SHPOS.
I had a blast once traveling from LGA to DCA wearing a dark suit, briefcase and no rollaboard bag. Made me feel powerful even though that’s weak compared to flying from NYC to DC in a private helicopter. I’ve also traveled that way except on a longer flight and rollaboard.
I wear clothes that I believe is safer. Bare skin can be more easily and severely burned. A jacket does some protection against jagged metal. Planes occasionally crash or catch fire on the ground.
Pockets help. Looking at least in the 60th percentile while traveling is good, in my opinion. If I were a woman, I would not wear too skimpy clothes and would probably wear some jeans or slacks, not yoga pants or a short dress.
I basically wear shorts and T-shirt everywhere I go. Even flying to/from and within Europe. I’m 40 years old and I’ve been to 150 countries. I really don’t care if I “look” American. I am who I am.
For what it’s worth, basically everything I own is from Lululemon or Vuori, so it’s at least decent quality.
More power to you, Jerry!
Good comment! There’s a big difference between a MAGA Floridian in a t-shirt and shorts, and someone with style in a t-shirts and shorts. It’s not about the money, but the presentation and style that creates the image.
As a Floridian who does not identify with MAGA nor the GOP, I do wear Ts and shorts, but that is because I am most comfortable wearing that type of clothing.
Being a Trauma Surgeon, I wear scrubs day in and day out, I find scrubs to be the most comfortable, but I try not to wear scrubs when I travel because I somehow feel that is inappropriate.
Always wear my Arc’teryx gear on flights. Designed for hiking and sweat, so after 14 hours of flying I hopefully dont smell like the sardine I am. The comfort is unparalleled.
My suits are comfortable… moreso than my jeans, and an earlier comment about tropical weight wool led me to paradise.
I feel like I’m in pyjamas the entire time. Jeans are for outdoors, that’s why I pack them, not for the airplane cabin or the city.
I’m with you 100%. Wool suiting, especially tropical wool, is so comfortable and light. I do not understand why some are so insistent on wearing jeans.
Faherty “jeans” and one of their dress shirts. Super comfortable, and it looks good.
I used to wear business casual as I would have meetings immediately after I arrived, but these days, as I have a much more cushier job, I wear smart casual as it’s more comfortable and have a bit more time between landing and my meetings.
UA BIS Million Miler, retired Navy & ER doctor, 1800 hour private pilot
Always natural fibers, cotton or wool, much less dangerous in a fire than synthetics which will basically melt into human skin.
Always long sleeves and long pants, never know when you’ll be rubbing elbows, knees or thighs with someone for a few hours and safer in a fire.
Always closed toe shoes, never know when toes will be stepped on or rolled over by a rollaboard and much safer in the rare event of emergency evacuation. Slip on shoes plus or minus, can’t recall the last time I had to take my shoes off going through security. Shoes on for takeoff, landing (and bathroom), optionally removed during climb, cruise and descent.
(For those who say a fire or emergency evacuation is so rare that advanced preparation is not always required, bear in mind that the same thing could be said about wearing seat/shoulder belts in a car.)
If the accolades in your username are to be believed, I can only assume you’re purposely disregarding the odds of ending up in a plane vs car crash. Do you wear a full body protective suit when walking as a pedestrian? Surely your experience as a doctor has elucidated that you should, going by the numbers… I agree with your sentiment but comparing it to traffic accidents is a bit disingenuous.
Bart S: My username is completely accurate. Comparing my choices for flying attire to a pedestrian full protective suit is a false equivalent. A full protective suit would be uncomfortable and unmanageable, my flying attire choices are equally as comfortable and manageable as anything else.
Dave Edwards: Repeating my username in the post was a simple copy and paste typo, I forgot to delete the username from the comment section. And I’ll ask you not to attack and insult me, I’ve certainly never attacked or insulted you.
Matthew: Gratuitous attacks (such as that posted here about me by Dave Edwards) might explain why those who wish to engage in intelligent discussion do not comment on your blog. Definitely explains my reluctance to comment, even when the subject matter is in my area of expertise.
Actually you did attack me before and I only go after those who come at me first. I just do more viciously than most. And I’ll bet you are real joy in life around others. Probably responsible for more than a few suicides after listening to your droning on about your life and being prepared for nonsense.
Stop crying like a little b#tch “Doc”
Yeah I agree. Bart S. is one of the biggest d-bags on here, for no apparent reason.
King of the braggarts is bad with his BS nonsense. Note the first part wasn’t necessary since it’s in your name a## clown.
The only time you played Dr was on a ship when you “examined” a bunch of horny seaman at night.
But I’ll say the same thing they said to you after “finishing”….Thanks for your service!
I don’t worry about my fabric choice when flying. It seems like the advantage of doing such a thing is the marginal benefit of one fabric over another in a situation where there is a fire on a plane that heats your clothing to over 400F, but also doesn’t kill you.
The odds of being in such a situation on a commercial flight would seem to be almost incalculably small in the present day, and if you really want to protect against this situation there are clothes available in synthetics that outperform cotton in fire.
I don’t see making a fabric choice to prevent burns on a plane as comparable to wearing a seatbelt in a car– the risks involved and the mitigation efforts involved are just too different to me.
As a frequent flyer and risk manager, THIS comment is the right answer. A person should at least wear decent shoes and leave them on until at cruising altitude. Even if you’re not concerned about your own ability to exit an aircraft that is on fire you could cause people behind you to die in such an event.
What I wear depends on where I’m going and why. On business I might need to wear a suit but would rather dress down with a polo and slacks or button down shirt and maybe jeans or maybe golf slacks. Flying to Miami for a cruise you might see me in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts but with decent shoes.
I really don’t care what other people wear but it sure looks trashy to me to see people board a flight to Europe or Japan in basically pajamas or crappy sweat pants and a hoody. I don’t care if I stick out as a tourist either because well…I am at times, but if flying to Europe on business I’m going to take a suit in my carry-on and change when I get there for meetings.
Usually a below the knee black dress and sweater or loose blouse and black pants with a sweater… I have seen some scary things lately/.. Some people should not wear short shorts to travel and those spike heels…
I also try to dress for comfort and class, especially when traveling business, Usually Lululemon (or similar) synthetic pants as they don’t wrinkle ( even though I am a cotton guy for everything else), a nice heavy weight cropped tee shirt such as you can get now from Abercrombie and a coordinating cardigan from Banana Republic. 80% of my clothes are Banana Republic. For shoes vintage Puma sneakers with sock liners. For long haul I carry a set of short sleeve, just above the knee silk pajamas that I buy on Amazon. I don’t do the blazer as I am usually too hot for that though it does look good with nice jeans.
What a brand name dropping clown!
“For me, the answer of what to wear is not really dependent on the trip.” It is exactly the opposite for me. First question is: what is this trip about? If for business, I follow your “pair of dark trousers, a collared shirt and a light blazer.” I don’t like slip-on shoes (hard to find one that fits well for me) and I don’t remember last time I had to remove my shoes at an airport. Now, if traveling on vacation with family, I follow @Jerry above and wear Lululemon and Vuori comfortable clothes, although never shorts on a plane for me. I always bring a 1/4 zip with me if it gets cold inside the plane.
When I was working, I traveled in something that wouldn’t embarrass me if I ran into a client along the way. Now that I’m happily retired, I wear yoga pans when traveling in the US and travel pants from Athletica or Spanx when traveling overseas. I fly business class but if I flew coach I would be in the most comfortable thing I own and wouldn’t care how I looked.
T-Shirt, shorts, falling apart tie-dye Keens, snoopy sweatshirt if the weather calls for it. Credit Cards are the disease ruining the lounge for the finer folk, and I’m the symptom >:P Coming soon to an airport near you. Though I don’t quite have the cc churn rate to waddle into business class, it’s only a matter of time…
What? No Ed Hardy T-shirt and dirty hoodie? You should step up your game and roll with some cut of jean shorts and flip flops, lounge lice would love that look 🙂
Bart S is the hero this site needed!
Please post more often.
Heading to the Caribbean for vacation – a light weight dress or shorts/top. Sandals or sneakers.
Europe – high quality casual – Woolx is my current favorite. It light weight, doesn’t wrinkle and washes beautifully.
Concerning the shorts in Europe comments – I find summers in most countries too hot to wear pants during the day when I am out and about on foot. I am old enough to care more about my comfort (shorts/sneakers) than if locals are trying to guess my nationality.
Workout gear with a bare midriff and shoes up on the seats… Trash. Utter trash.
I’m in the stylish and comfort category. So most trips are anything from Vuori or Faherty, and my Arc’teryx lightweight jacket in case the cabin is too cool. And easy slip on/off and lightweight On Cloud shoes.
i’m a bigger guy and i mostly travel for leisure, so i generally wear some sort of upper layer (sweatshirt/crewneck outside winter, proper jacket in winter), shirt depends on season, and then some form of long pants (in case you get put next to somebody else bigger, so your raw legs don’t touch). If I was traveling for work or on my way for a meeting, I’d likely dress nicer
Hahah I literally commented on your jeans earlier this week.
Here’s the pro tip. Get lululemon trousers. They’re so comfortable. Last forever. Have a lot of stretch. They look formal enough for almost all occasions but not too formal.
And then just buy like 5 lululemon t shirts and polos. Done. They’re expensive but they seriously last such a long time they’re worth it. I can’t wear regular t shirts anymore.
I have always struggled with comfortable pants for flights across the ocean but got some nice Lululemon trousers last year and completely agree with Mick on them. I don’t wear their shirts but I wear nice moisture wicking T-shirts under a thin quarter-zip pullover. The long sleeves are perfect on a cold plane but if I get hot or when I’m on the ground the 1/4 zip can come off.
On domestic flights I just wear what I need to wear when I land.
You may think they look “nice” but the discerning eye (which you may not give a crap about) can tell those are cheap polyster yoga pants from a mile away.
Fair enough!! I have no issues with that.
Absolutely! And proving what suckers a majority of the American public is buying that garbage. I can housewives F’ing their “personal trainer” while the husband is away on a business trip, but any dude wearing that garbage deserves to be cucked.
As a former Flight Attendant I cringe at the very brief shorts that woman in particular seem to favor ( Tampa is my home airport so….) because if you need to evacuate that aircraft down the slide you will be burned badly. People do not ever think about the ” unlikely event ” but it is a real possibilty. Comfort , absolutely ! but jeans and sturdy shoes (kept on !) will protect you
Fair point but you do have to balance the one in ten million with hours and hours and days and months in comfort.
lol Tampa
lol Mick.
Yea sadly Tampa is one of the few sh#tholes we have in Florida. From a dike Mayor to minorities everywhere, it’s best avoided but the airport is nice.
Brad Farr-Coach: Thank you, excellent points, particularly about burns from the slide. I should’ve added that as another reason for my choice of flying attire, I learned about burns from an aircraft slide firsthand at a MegaDO years ago when we spent a day at a flight attendant training site.
Who cares a##clown. Certainly nobody here cares about what course you took.
It’s interesting that people here are partial to brands making stuff in China under who knows what sort of conditions. It’s understandable if you are just going for the cheapest item and hoping that it’s not going to fall apart after three wears, but premium Lululemon stuff looks pretty pricey.
Most countries, including the USA, have ‘slow fashion’ brands which emphasise things like provenance and the use of natural, sometimes even organic, fabrics. Look for them- they shouldn’t be any more expensive than the Lululemons and Calvin Kleins of the world.
My work is 99% remote and I no longer wear suits or ties (though I do have ‘sports jackets’ which can be paired up with trousers or even jeans). I also don’t enjoy subjecting the rest of the world to my calves, so I never wear shorts.
As a result, I nearly always wear the same sort of things regardless of the environment, meaning that I am slightly overdressed in casual situations and slightly underdressed in formal ones. The same goes for travel. My ‘uniform’ consists of twill/moleskin/chino/corduroy cotton trousers (with or without elastane), an isothermic vest [and/or t-shirt, depending on the season], long-sleeved cotton t-shirt and a canvas/corduroy cotton ‘work jacket’. I try to avoid sports shoes but equally I am not a fan of heavy English-style welted ones so it’s usually something from S. Europe with a blake-stitched sole (a leather one if I’m not going somewhere with lots of rain).
Beyond the flexibility of the ‘smart casual’ approach in terms of formality, its big advantage it’s ideal for layering.
Going from autumnal climate to somewhere hot?
I can add an overshirt/’shacket’ on top of the t-shirt and just squeeze the canvas jacket into the rollaboard (it’s not going to need ironing or anything). The overshirt also takes next to no space in my luggage.
Going somewhere cold? I am already equipped with isothermic vest and t-shirt for the first two layers, the long sleeve t-shirt covers my arms, and I can use gloves/beanies/scarves on top without the need for a sweatshirt which would probably make me sweat in places with good heating. Similarly, a second pair of socks (ideally merino wool) works with basically every type of trousers in ensuring legs and feet don’t get too cold.
If it’s a proper long haul flight and I happen to be in business or first class, I will normally change to a black short sleeve t-shirt and [corduroy or heavy cotton] shorts for the duration of the fight. I also always carry a pair of Havaianas which are also deployed in those circumstances.
If you want to look into European slow fashion, you can start with +351 and ISTO from Portugal, and Capitan Denim, Brava Fabrics, and Sir Lemon from Spain. Many/most of the clothes I’m wearing daily come from those firms, I am extremely happy with the quality, they’re definitely not made in sweatshops, and they’re clearly cheaper than Lululemon.
Jeans and a t-shirt if it’s hot outside. Jeans and either a long sleeve tee or a sweatshirt if it’s not. Sometimes a polo or sweater if I’m flying up front. I probably should care more about how I look, but well, I’m 5’7″ and bald so it’s not like anyone’s going to be wowed by my appearance anyway…
If for business, I wear the “menswear uniform” of navy sportcoat, light blue dress shirt, and mid grey flannel trousers. Always loafers. Have been approached by other men about how well I dress.
If for pleasure, chinos and a long-sleeved t-shirt. Blundstone boots.
The name-dropping, athleisure-adoring, synthetic fabric-loving condescension of so many of the pretentious responses is both sad and telling.
On Tuesday, I sat across the aisle from AA Concierge Key wearing a one-size-too-large black V-neck t-shirt and navy blue adidas (vintage?) sweatpants, the kind with the stripes down the side. Look the fool, be the fool.
T-shirt, shorts and sandals. I tend to dress for comfort.
Comfortable long pants with no belt, tshirt, socks and slip on running shoes. And we bring a change of clothes for each leg if we are traveling long haul. Sometimes for short flights to Flores or Kalimantan I’ll wear shorts.
Every day I put on my blue jeans with a t shirt or short-sleeve light polo and sneakers. I never dress differently by season (that’s what coats/jackets are for). I don’t own sandals and only have bare legs at the gym, I find my daily choices to be comfortable, so have no need to separately consider something else for flights. While I never wear shorts outside of the gym or sandals ever, I would never wear them on planes, if I did at other times, for safety reasons.
Do slip on shoes matter anymore now that the TSA ended the shoe nonsense?
Inshallah, no.
I’ll wear more dressy clothes when security theatre ends. Until then I’ll wear pants with only 2 pockets and that use a cord instead of belt. For a shirt I’ll wear something weather appropriate, from a nice sweater to a good quality short sleave shirt. Slip on shoes yes, even though at 75 years plus I no longer have to take them off at security.
I’ll probably never go back to suit with jacket. Nice slacks with more formal shirt, sure, when they no longer make it more difficult to go thru security.
As a former longtime UAL F/A, I was very interested to read this post. Matt, I agree with you on your original comments, show some respect, and treat airline travel as an adventure. As the typical American public dress like slobs everywhere, it doesn’t surprise me that that attire and attitude is carried onto airplanes and traveling in foreign countries. Even for those of you who don’t care/like to be identified as an American tourist, you are showing the worst side of the us to whatever country you are in. It takes so little trouble to put on something respectable AND comfortable. My outfit of choice, mostly for International flights, is a long cotton dress, not too tight, with long sleeves. I bought this dress in Lisbon when TAP (NEVER fly this airline!) lost my bag on a short direct flight from Malaga to Lisbon…it only showed up at my home in Californis, after a week, go figure. They did give me a nice allowance to purchase what I needed, and I spent every cent.Anyway, this dress is pretty, ultra comfortable and doesn’t wrinkle. I have slept in it many times over the years, and get many
compliments on deplaning “Wow, how come you still look so good?” My last comment regards Dave’s about the F/As “treat you better if you’re nicely dressed”, is absolutely true!!No, you probably won’t get upgraded, but it does show you care about yourself, and them. A courteous smile and hello on boarding work wonders as well.
PS Who is Dave Edwards and WHY do you continue to let him post some completely insane, homophobic, disrespectful and downright evil comments??
OMG, a correction to my comments, I meant MATT not Dave in 1 of my comments, SORRY
My “travel” attire is always the same – Pair of Lululemon slacks with long or short-sleeve collar shirts (try to wear long sleeve at all times but being here in HK, summer can be tough) and always a pair of ON shoes. I never wear shorts or crocs/slippers when I fly. I watched too many Mayday Air Disaster episodes and also went to the Hong Kong Airlines training center in HK during Covid, so I noticed how high and steep those slides can be.