As is often romanticized, there once was a time when people really dressed up for air travel. These days, though, comfort is the name of the game. Whether that means donning attire that lends itself to sitting in a plane seat for hours on end or something familar and fun, many among us have go-to travel outfits. For example, I have a friend who loves to wear this Peter Pan shirt on airlines simply because it says “I’m So Fly, I Neverland.” Fair enough.
In my case, though, I’ve come to build a travel outfit that combines comfort, function, and practicality. So, without further ado, here are the pieces of my wardrobe I’m sure to wear whenever I fly.
My Personal Travel Outfit Essentials
Jack Archer Jetsetter Pants
I first came across Jack Archer when I was preparing to do a men’s pants comparison and their ads kept popping up in my Instagram feed. Although Lululemon was the actual winner of that article, I’ve been impressed with the Jetsetter pants overall. In fact, true to their name, they’ve become a staple of my travel day outfit.
What I love about them is that they fit well, feel comfortable, and are designed not to hike up in certain areas (if you know what I mean). Plus, the material is water resistant for those times when you accidentally spill a drink on yourself during turbulence… or just becuase you neglected to realize the imortance of of circular indentation found on the tray table.
Uniqlo Full Zip Hoodie
Appropriately enough, the story of my go-to travel hoodie begins on a trip. During one visit to France, my wife and I realized that the weather was a bit colder than we had anticipated when packing. The good news for us is that we were within walking distance of a mall. While there, we stumbled into a Uniqlo store to see what our options were.
In addition to purchasing a few cold-weather accessories, such as beanies and a scarf, I purchased a full zip hoodie without thinking much of it. However, what I came to love about this item was something very specific: the zipping pockets. These have proven to be perfect for air travel as I can secure items such as my passport, boarding pass, and AirPods while also keeping them easily accessible to me. These pockets are also large enough that I’ve often shoved my phone into them while seated on the plane rather than trying to put it in a pants pocket (if I don’t plan on using it for a while, I might also try the seatback pocket, but having it closer is often better).
Since Uniqlo styles change often, I can’t say exactly what model this was or if it’s still available. But, if helpful, I did manage to find an identical one on Poshmark — and it does seem that Uniqlo has at least some hoodies with zipping pockets on their site. Of course, I’m sure you can find a similar feature in items from other brands. The bottom line is that, when it comes to travel, zipping hoodie/jacket pockets feel like a major hack.
Allbirds Runner-Up Mizzles
Moving down to my shoes, as I mentioned in my review of them, the Allbirds Runner-Up Mizzles remain my footwear of choice for flying. That’s because these shoes are comfortable (in my opinion, more comfortable than the low-top version) and water resistent, making them a great choice for travel. Yet, there’s another reason why I choose to wear my Allbirds while en route: my other travel shoe, the Suavs Zilkers, are way easier to pack. So, while the Zilkers go in my suitcase for my trips, the Runner-Up Mizzles go on my feet as I hit the road.
RSVLTS T-Shirt
Lastly, while my shirt layer is the least specific part of my travel attire, I have found that I really like t-shirts from RSVLTS. I’ve previously talked about how much I love their Kunuflex and Borlandflex shirts for travel — and I do — but their delightfully soft T-shirts have become my pick overall. That said, I did just wear a Kunuflex under my Uniqlo hoodie on my flight home from Portland, so I guess those are in play as well.
FWIW, RSVLTS also makes great hoodies that are thin and comfy. Sure enough, these are among my wife’s favorite items to wear on travel days. Alas, for me, the zipping pockets of my Uniqlo hoodie puts it above the RSVLTS ones. But, if I really wanted to mix things up, I could do my Lululemon Surge pants with zip pockets coupled with a RSVLTS hoodie. The possibilities are endless!
If you’re never given much thought to what you wear when you travel, perhaps it’s time to change that. As it turns out, some small changes to your road attire can yield positive results in the forms of conience and comfty — and, when it comes to my beloved zipper pockets, security! So, even if you don’t take me up on any of these travel outfit picks, I would recommend looking into how you can make your flight day attire a little better.