I have this little game I play while waiting at the gate to board the plane. It is called “guess who is in first class.” It isn’t very hard. First class travelers often look the part. They tend to look very put together. They are often sporting designer luggage, purses or briefcases. They aren’t toting extra food and water like those of us in steerage because they know they they will actually be served food and it may even be edible. They may not be burdened down with neck pillows and travel blankets because those too will be provided. Maybe that is why they look more organized, calm and stylish. Or maybe they just aren’t stressing about knee-crushing seat recliners, rock hard cushions, stinky bathrooms, linebacker drink carts plowing their way through elbows and shoulders, or all those other things we love to hate about coach.
I know what it is like behind the curtain. I’ve flown up there…occasionally…but rarely now that I don’t travel often for business and we would rather use our miles more frequently than save up for first class seats. But as my daughter said when we flew from Newark to Honolulu in First Class a few years ago…”we should always do this!” Yeah, we should, but we can’t, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a first class look.
What I wear on a flight tends to depend on the time of day and what I’m doing when I land but whether I’m on a red-eye and landing in Europe, heading out to a business meeting for the day, or taking off for a family adventure, I have a few guidelines I like to follow.
Tips for What to Wear on the Airplane:
Be comfortable. I’ve seen plenty of teens on planes that take this tip a bit too far and show up for the plane in their pajama pants and UGG slippers. You don’t literally need to roll out of bed or throw on gym clothes to be comfortable. Just wear something that has flexibility and avoid things like tight jeans and uncomfortable shoes that will hurt you feet when hiking (running) through the airport weighed down by your carry on baggage.
Layer up. Planes tend to be cold so you may be flying to the tropics but that doesn’t mean you won’t freeze before you get there. Personally I get cold quickly so I avoid shorts or short skirts because my bare legs freeze! I’d rather opt for light weight pants or capris, a long skirt, or a maxi dress. Same goes up top. Tanks are fine but bring something to go over it! A wrap, scarf, light weight jacket, or jacket-shirt will work fine — just make sure it doesn’t add too much bulk.
Plan around your shoes. Shoes take up weight and space so whether you are checking baggage and need to keep it under 50 lbs., or you are trying to minimize space in your carry on, you just don’t have the luxury of bringing a ton of shoes. If checking a bag, I try to wear my heaviest shoes on the plane if I think weight will be an issue. Otherwise I try to pick a comfortable pair that works well with multiple outfits — definitely don’t choose a pair that you will only wear once! (Here are my suggestions for comfortable walking shoes for vacation.)
Choose the right fabrics. Don’t even think about linen, be careful on the cottons, and white probably isn’t a good idea. Your travel outfit needs to move with you but not get stretched out and all wrinkly. No matter where you are going, do you really want to show up looking disheveled?
Stay unadorned. I’m always twisting around to get comfortable on the plane so I hate when my seat belt gets caught on buttons, buckles, sequins or hooks. Keep it simple with outfits that don’t have a lot of fuss or bulk that make sitting for a long stretch of time uncomfortable.
Bottom line, the ideal travel outfit will be fashionable, comfortable, travel well (no wrinkles!), be lightweight (good for packing and for washing/drying!), easily layer and go with a variety of footwear.
That’s easy, right??? Well, not necessarily. So when Anatomie Style reached out to see if I would travel test some of their women’s designer travel clothing I thought, sure, I’m always on the look out for something that balances style with comfort.
Anatomie Travel Clothing Review
Anatomie offers designer travel clothing for women using high-performance fabrics and classic styles to appeal to the luxury traveler. Their sportswear is diverse enough to go from safari adventure travel to elegant weekends in the Hamptons. And actually, if you check out their site, they let you shop by itinerary in their “Set to Jet” section with suggestions for everything from NYC business trips to island trips to ski vacations to European holidays. I happen to like this kind of guided shopping experience because sometimes I need help pulling a look together.
Since I like clothes that travel well (light, flexible, comfortable, and wrinkle free), yet suit my style (sophisticated casual??), I opted for clothes that would be multi-purpose in that they make great outfits for travel but yet can transition from a business casual setting to outdoor adventure. Therefore I decided to give the Kate stretch skinny pants in dark grey, Samantha safari style jacket in black, and the Isadora cotton tank also in black to go under it (layering!) Yes, as my husband laments, I love neutrals, but they do travel well and are easily accessorized with pops of color.
Heading to the airport
I am 5’6″ of average/healthy weight so I ordered all three in Medium and all fit perfectly. So let me give you my impressions:
Isadora tank — the fabric on this tank is so soft and smooth, very luxurious. But what I liked best is the fit. I don’t usually wear tanks uncovered because they tend to be too short or too long or bulge in unflattering places. This tank nicely cuts in to help my rectangular shape look a little curvier. It didn’t cling too tightly to make me uncomfortable and looked good from the front and the back.
Kate skinny pants — I first ordered these in a large but the waist was way too big. The medium fit nicely but not too tight in the waist and perfectly in the hips and legs. They seem to run a bit short at the ankle but not quite cropped, so they were fine to wear with flats, sandals or boots. The fabric is ultra-lightweight, flexible and very comfortable. At first I wasn’t sure if the texture of the nylon/lycra fabric would bother me because it felt a bit scratchy but once on it didn’t bother me at all. The pants have a pocket on the side to add some style but not bulk. I found the front pockets very functional, but again, not bulky, they just stretch with your body. The downside is that the pants and jacket couldn’t go in the dryer but they are so light weight that they hang dried in just a couple of hours. I wore these all day including on the plane and they were flexible and comfortable without stretching out or getting wrinkled. Even after hanging to dry, they didn’t need ironing (whew, since that is something I try to avoid.)
Samantha jacket — the jacket fabric was similar to the pants, nice and lightweight but well-suited for the plane, a cool summer evening, or an air conditioned boardroom. While called a safari jacket it didn’t look too “outdoorsy” and could easily work in restaurants, clubs, or casual business meetings. The jacket was a little wrinkled after washing and hang drying but not enough that a little hand smoothing didn’t straighten it out. The jacket has a nice belting/gathering in the back to add shape so it doesn’t look boxy.
The outfit traveled well and I felt comfortable and confident wearing it. I posted a picture of the outfit on Facebook before I left and the positive comments I received were a nice validation that the outfit looked good on me.
PIN ME!
Note: My outfit was provided to me for free in exchange for an honest review. This post contains affiliate links to Anatomie and if you make a purchase after clicking the link I will receive a small commission.
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