Comfortable and Stylish on the Airplane? Ladies, It’s Possible

by Pam Mandel on

I’ve been told I can’t wear my jammies on the plane. I’ve done so anyway, though with certain limitations. I wear the penguin flannel pants and a long sleeved t-shirt; I don’t go for the full on two piece set with the pink elephants. I change on the plane — and I change back into my street clothes before we land. I wear jammies on long haul flights only. I bring slippers, too; I toss my shoes up into the overhead bin right when I board. I fly coach, mostly, and it’s damned uncomfortable. Changing in to my jammies helps me relax and enjoy the flight as much as I possibly can given the situation.

But the jammies, they’re still considered a nonstarter by folks who have opinions about what to wear where. A person should dress presentably for flying, “they” say. I fail to see where the sweats with a word on the butt fit in to this scheme, and yes, people are still wearing those, I see them nearly every time I fly. I don’t understand why I can’t wear my jammies, yet the high school tennis team can wear track suits and flip flops. Whatever.

Still, in a play to dress like a grown-up (and to support my failed attempts to charm way into frequent flyer lounges and upgrades), I’ve been on the hunt for clothes that look nice but feel like pajamas. Here are a few items that totally make the cut for looking cute and dressed like an adult but are still perfectly comfortable for slouching in your coach seat while wondering where the hell is transporter travel, already, and what is WITH coach seats, anyway? A-hem.

Horny Toad Traipse Trousers: I want, like, nine pairs of these pants. They’re cut like something between a pair of jeans and a pair of cargo pants without the bulky side pockets. But they’re made out of a cotton knit that’s soft and a little stretchy and feels like your favorite sweats. You totally look like you’re wearing Actual Trousers but ho-ho, you feel like you’re wearing yoga pants. The zip front and snap fly hide the drawstring waist and they’ve got the same five pockets that your jeans have. They’re $95.00 from Horny Toad, they come in two colors, and I wear mine all the damn time now, including on planes.Nau Randygoat Hoody: Yeah, I’m still a sucker for merino, while I’m hearing that alpaca is the Next Big Thing. This hoody from Nau, once you get past the slightly weird name, is a fine substitute for that worn out sweatshirt you’re wearing. It’s got a big shawl collar that doubles as a hood. It’s big and drape-y and soft without being overly bulky. You can absolutely curl up and take a nap in this thing, it’s somewhere between a wooly blanket and that old soft t-shirt, but it doesn’t look like you pulled it off the top of the laundry basket before pulling it on. It’s pricey at $180, but you’ll have it for a good long while. And yes, it washes up just fine, just don’t put it in the dryer.

Icebreaker Maya Skirt: I’m still freaked out by the sight of that guy in boxers wearing a ram’s head at the Icebreaker booth at the Outdoor Retailer show. But not so freaked out that I am prepared to break up with their clothing. The Maya skirt, which I can’t find on their website (but is still available on Amazon) has a wide, flat, waist band and is made from a super fine merino (again with the merino) knit. It’s the one skirt I own that competes with my penguin jammies for comfort and because it’s made from a beautiful material, it looks great. It’s been through the wash lots — again, don’t put it in the dryer — and it’s still got a nice shape. Amazon lists it at up to $75.00, but there are some great clearance prices to be had if you shop around.

Kickass Boots for Fall and Winter Travels

by Pam Mandel on

I’m so not girly when it comes to style and I won’t wear heels, I just won’t. I don’t care how cute they are, I’m not running for a train or to the bus that’s pulling away from the stop while I’m wearing heels. No way. That doesn’t mean I don’t like cute shoes, I do, and I really like it when it comes to fall and I have an excuse for new winter boots.

Here’s the sacrifice I’ll make, given my boot fetish. Boots are heavy and they take up a lot of space in your bag. They’re a hassle in the airport, getting in and out of them in the security line is a drag. But if there’s bad weather — wet or cold conditions — I want my feet to be warm and dry. I’ll wear my boots on the plane or I’ll figure out how to get them in my bag. I can be really resourceful when it comes to packing. And often we’re on bad weather weekend getaways in the Pacific Northwest so I can just toss my boots in the car. That means I can take two pairs, if I’m so inclined.

Here are three styles I like this fall, all from different brands.

I love my Bogs (picked up at hardware store in Forks, Washington). Whenever I wear them, I get compliments. And my feet are wildly happy in them. They’re comfortable, they keep my feet warm and dry, they are great for winter beach walks and stomping around in snow and just dealing with relentlessly wet city days. Adventure cruises often give you boots to use while you’re on board but I love these so much that I packed them for my trip to Antarctica. I was the only person who wasn’t crew that had their own boots. Crazy, maybe, but my cabin mate complained the whole time about her boots while I was at home in mine. It was totally worth the space and the weight. The boots I have list for $100 on the Bogs site, I paid about $75 for mine. They come in a bunch of colors and patterns.

Keen makes those bumper toed sandals that I’m not crazy about, style wise, but they make a lot of other stuff too. I tried to fight it, but I’m becoming a convert to their shoes because they keep my feet happy. I’m wearing Keen’s Silverton for stomping around my city this fall. They’re insulated and waterproof. I can vouch for how warm they are, but I haven’t yet had a chance to see how dry they keep my feet. My sense is that they run just a little small — I wish I’d got a half size bigger, but after just a few wearings, they’re relaxing nicely and are fast becoming my favorites for the season. The styling is a bit like a clog meets a wellie, chunky and solid, but I like that look. They’re built to walk in, too, and that matters a lot in a shoe you’re packing for travel. They retail for $170, they come in brown and black.

Teva is probably best known for their sport sandals but they’ve got a full line of hikers and casual shoes as well. I’m totally digging their new Vero boot. It’s a little bit like a Converse high top fell in love with a pair of Sorels and they had a love child. They’ve got that “I’m off to harness the dogsled” look about them, but they’re nowhere close to the weight of a pair of Sorels. (I have a pair of those and trust me, that is more boot than you want to drag across the planet. I’ve done it.) The Vero is insulated and waterproof and ready for snow. And I think they’re cute as all get out, great for hanging out at the lodge after that day on the slopes, but also, for swanning about the city doing holiday shopping on those biting cold days.The Vero retails for $180 and comes in five different colors.

Photo: Fall by Istelleinad via Flickr (Creative Commons).

How the Barbary Coast and the Gold Rush Changed Fashion

by David Farley on
About a month ago, a building in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood was torn down, revealing on an adjacent structure an advertisement painted on the wall. The ad, from 1921, was for Boss of the Road overalls and work shirts. Boss of the Road, which went out of business around World War II, was a main competitor of Levi Strauss & Co.

Long before the world obsession with blue jeans (and before people were paying hundreds–or, in some cases, thousands) of dollars for a pair of denim, Levi Strauss was the outfitter of Gold Rush minors. And in (accidentally) doing so, he changed fashion forever.


And it happened more or less by accident. Levi Strauss had come to San Francisco with rolls of canvas and bolts he hoped to sell on the Barbary Coast to miners to cover their wagons as they headed out to gold country. But, as Daniel Bacon writes in his book “Walking San Francisco on the Barbary Coast Trail,” “[w]hen he found sturdy trousers in demand, Strauss cut a few bolts into pants and sold them to miners.”

When Strauss ran out of tan canvas, he began using a blue cloth imported from France called “serge de Nimes,” later called “denim.” Once fashioned into pants, the denim looked a lot the trousers worn by sailors from Genoa, which the French called “genes.” You can see where this is going.
And with that, a new fashion was born. Interestingly, as C.W. Nevius wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle recently, it was the Japanese that made these jeans into the uber-popular fashion we know and love today.

Quoting Levi’s historian Lynn Downey, he writes:


“‘Young Japanese men with lots of discretionary income went through World War II seeing American servicemen with jeans, bomber jackets and Zippo lighters,’ she said. ‘They wanted those for themselves.’ Speculators from Japan came to the United States and bought up jeans in bulk, driving up demand. That coincided with a youth boom in jeans, which eventually made them so mainstream that versions now sell for hundreds of dollars.”

To see the most expensive pair of jeans in the world, stop by the Levi Strauss & Co. museum. The jeans date from 1873-1890 and are valued at $150,000.

Nine groovy retro flight attendant uniforms

by Laurel Miller on

Good looks never go out of style, but (thankfully, in some instances) “air hostess” uniforms do. The Los Angeles Times travel section has published this great photo gallery of swinging stews from the “Style in the Aisle” exhibit at Seattle’s Museum of Flight.

The exhibit, which runs through May 30th, features flight attendant uniforms from the 1930’s through the ’70’s. Couture designers of the day, including Emilio Pucci, helped put fashion forward in the airline industry. Because no one should ever have to serve pretzels without the sartorial security of Go-go boots and a cape.

[Photo credit: The Museum of Flight Collection]

Fashion TV network to open branded hotel in Dubai

by Melanie Nayer on

Armani helped design his namesake hotel in the Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. Diane Von Furstenberg has her own designed suites at Claridge’s in London. Missoni opened two hotels – Edinburgh and Kuwait – to help promote the line’s home decor. The Verscace legend lives in on at his mansion, now the Villa by Barton G, in Miami Beach. So it was only a matter of time before fashion took over the hospitality industry (or at least took over one hotel).

News from the Middle East is that global satellite network Fashion TV signed a deal with Al Habtoor Group to open the world’s first Fashion Hotel in Dubai. Al Habtoor will own and operate the 5-star, 200-room hotel, which will feature a 100-m (328-foot) LED screen on the exterior of the 30-story building broadcasting the latest Fashion TV highlights from around the globe.

Inside the hotel, all 30 of the Fashion TV network’s channels will be broadcast in guestrooms, and guests will also have access to a library of 50,000 DVDs related to the history of fashion. There are plans to open restaurants, bars, lounges, nightclubs, spas and cinemas inside the hotel, although details haven’t been leaked on what the concepts will be.

What we do know: This won’t be the only Fashion Hotel. Al Habtoor Group and Fashion TV said in an interview that plans are to open other Fashion Hotels in high-style locations around the world. We have our bets on Paris, Shanghai, New York, and Milan.

[Source: HOTELSMag.com]