Airport style is officially a thing. It all started with Victoria Beckham and the Kardashians who paraded through the airports of the world looking like they’d walked off a magazine cover. It caught on with celebs and models alike strutting through terminals in designer duds, and now it’s filtered down to us mere mortals. With summer and the hols here, we not only have to figure out what to pack, we must also decide what to wear to travel in. As a relatively seasoned traveller - heaven knows I’ve travelled enough! - I know how difficult it is to find the right balance of comfort and style. Here are my suggestions and tips on how to ace airport style.
First, a note: Don’t aspire to look like your fave actress as she exits from the airport, unless you also possess her bank balance. I’m not referring to the designer labels she’s sporting, but the fact that she looks well rested and her clothes are crease-free. The advantages of flying first or business are many. There are the complimentary toiletries, should you forget to lug your own. The fact that you can lie down and sleep. Four toilets shared among twenty-odd passengers means no waiting in lines, and you can take your time with your face routines. But the biggest one is that you can hand your clothes over to your friendly air hostess while you change into your pjs (either airline provided or your own), and she will hang them up to ensure that they remain pristine until it’s time to change back into them just before you begin the descent. It’s small wonder why I refuse to fly long-haul unless it’s business or first.
In Economy however, you have to be practical. (And yes, I do fly Economy too) For a shorter flight, I advise either skinny jeans or tracks that are made of a thinner material with a tank top or two layered and a long coat or jacket should you feel the chill of the air conditioning. I’d just come off a flight to Singapore in this pic. My top is from Promod. The tracks are from Matalan - which is a UK brand - but you can find very similar ones in Forever 21 and Indian stores like Shopper’s Stop and Pantaloons. My shoes are from Zara. I always advocate a good slip-on for flights. You want your feet covered up from all the gunk on the floor, but you also want to be able to remove them easily to feel comfortable. If you’re curious about the bag, it’s from Furla. It’s my in-flight bag, and it was worth every penny. That said, you can get great totes from Rs 1500 onwards in any mall.
Maybe the place that you’re headed to isn’t on the airport list, and you’re looking at a train or bus journey. The rules remain more or less the same, with slight adjustments. I’d recommend leggings for a train journey and a cloth bag to hold your essentials. Our trains are not the cleanest in the world, and you really don’t want to have to rinse the hems of your jeans if they trail along the toilet floor. Likewise a bag that is easily cleaned and washed is a necessity. Once again I’d suggest a tank top and a longish coat for a cover up. For my very first train journey to Delhi, the leggings I’m wearing are from Forever 21. The coat is from Forever New. The top was bought on Hill Road, and the bag at one of those charity sales.
For this bus journey in Jordan, I opted to wear lightweight skinny jeans in a bright red. (They were bought in 2013 at H&M in the UK) The blouse was tailored. I love it cos it’s one of those fabrics that rarely crease and don’t show when they do. My bag is from Nine West, and the shoes are slip-ons from Bata. The hat is from Acessorize - I buy pretty much all my hats from there - and I can’t remember where I picked up the sunglasses.
You could also layer tank tops. These two - black inside and green outside - were from Globus.
The one thing I would never advise anyone to wear is anything with a hemline that drags along the floor, or trousers that are baggy. You should make sure that your jeans are skinny and that your tracks end with an elasticated cuff. Sadly one can never count on the cleanliness of public toilets. Should you have to use one (and of course you will while travelling to your destination) you want to make sure that no piece of your clothing has the chance to trail along such floors.
My vacation is going to be a return to Mumbai - as I’ve been travelling all this while. I wish you happy summer hols, with amazing experiences.
Till next time,
MumbaiGirl.
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