How do you dress for work travel?

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How do you dress on the travel portion of a work trip?

I wear what I would normally wear for work that day.
21
30%
I wear more casual clothing than I usually wear for work.
49
69%
I wear more formal clothing than I usually wear for work.
1
1%
 
Total votes: 71

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tim1999
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How do you dress for work travel?

Post by tim1999 »

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Last edited by tim1999 on Sat Feb 27, 2021 5:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
James2
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by James2 »

I can wear jeans in the office, so I tend to wear the same when I travel. I only need to get dressed up when meeting with customers, which occurs at their offices.

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stan1
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by stan1 »

Sometimes people wear business clothes on planes to minimize the size of their carry on bags or to minimize wrinkles (which I think is why you see many sport coats with jeans but I'm not sure folding the coat up and putting it into the overhead is much better than packing it into a suitcase). On short trips I also only take one pair of shoes (black loafers) so I can pack extra light. What I wear on the plane has to go with those shoes (jeans or slacks).
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Aptenodytes
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by Aptenodytes »

Depends on the length of the flight. Less than about 5 hours I don't bother deviating from routine attire. But longer than that I always go for track pants, T-shirt and a light-weight long-sleeve pullover. Also slip-on shoes. I try to hit the efficient frontier balancing comfort and embarrassment avoidance. I have encountered very senior people while dressed like this; in the context of long haul flying it is perfectly acceptable.
NoVa Lurker
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by NoVa Lurker »

I travel a fair amount - usually business class for international, coach in domestic. I wear a suit at work and in meetings / conferences, but I never wear a suit when I travel (unless I'm headed directly to a meeting/office on the ground, which is rare), so I selected your middle option.

However, I usually wear khakis or nice jeans and a polo (untucked) on the plane -- it sounds like that would feel a bit too restrictive for you. I would not feel comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt, especially since I run into acquaintances / colleagues of colleagues surprisingly often in the airline lounges, or right when I arrive at the hotel, etc.

If you're just on your own, I wouldn't see any need to wear anything other than exactly what you want to.
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fizxman
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by fizxman »

I always wear something comfortable. If weather permits, it's usually shorts, otherwise it's jeans. Planes are inherently uncomfortable (at least economy seats are) so I mitigate that as best as possible by dressing as comfortable as possible without looking like a slob.
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Raymond
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by Raymond »

Khakis or jeans, walking shoes, tucked-in long-sleeved cotton shirt (even in hot weather) - minimizing skin exposure to flash burns or melted synthetic fabrics is a plus.

Wedding ring comes off (no, silly, not for that reason :P ) - Google "degloving injuries". [Warning - Intense graphic medical images. --admin LadyGeek]

Of course, I approach this from having been USAF aircrew in the late 80s and early 90s - on the periodic "Safety Days" when they show you pictures of (among other gruesome things) people's fingers with the flesh and tendons yanked off the bone because their rings got caught on the edge of a hatch or a door, you tend to sit up and pay attention.

You also learn to count the number of seat backs to the nearest exit (both in front and behind your row of seats.)

Imagine yourself patting the back of each seat as you pass it on your way to the exit.

Because if the cabin fills with smoke, and you can't see &^%$, it would really suck to miss the exit and die of smoke inhalation :evil:

Here's an example of what it might look like - I went through this same class some 25+ years ago, except I couldn't even see my own hand two inches in front of my face (they use non-irritating glycerin fog to fill the cabin):

FAA Training Academy Cabin Evacuation Exercise - YouTube

They must have reduced the amount of fog, as a solid gray screen wouldn't make for a very interesting video :D
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Retread
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by Retread »

I worked for a firm that asked us to wear a business suit for travel, just as we would to the office. I can't say I always complied, particularly when flying in on a Sunday.
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englishgirl
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by englishgirl »

Noooo! Don't ever google degloving injuries. :x NSFL!

As for me, I'll wear yoga pants on a flight if I can get away with it. I find the air in airplanes to be very cold.

But I don't suppose yoga pants are on your list of acceptable attire...
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Rodc
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by Rodc »

stan1 wrote:Sometimes people wear business clothes on planes to minimize the size of their carry on bags or to minimize wrinkles (which I think is why you see many sport coats with jeans but I'm not sure folding the coat up and putting it into the overhead is much better than packing it into a suitcase). On short trips I also only take one pair of shoes (black loafers) so I can pack extra light. What I wear on the plane has to go with those shoes (jeans or slacks).
This for me on many trips.

But I think there is nothing wrong with traveling in comfy clothes if work clothes for some reason are not going to be comfy enough.

Interesting about the wedding ring. I take mine off for that reason when rock climbing or certain things like climbing a metal ladder or using certain types of tools. I imagine degloving yourself walking on to a standard commercial passenger aircraft has to be extraordinarily rare. I would hope so anyway! Yikes.
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Raymond
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by Raymond »

Rodc wrote:...Interesting about the wedding ring. I take mine off for that reason when rock climbing or certain things like climbing a metal ladder or using certain types of tools. I imagine degloving yourself walking on to a standard commercial passenger aircraft has to be extraordinarily rare. I would hope so anyway! Yikes.
Not so much getting on the plane, as having to evacuate it in an emergency situation (which is also hopefully rare.)

I had to evacuate a plane once while in the Air Force (hot brakes with fire after landing).

Fortunately no one was injured, the damage to the plane was minor, no earth-shattering kabooms.

But it was... exciting :twisted:
"Ritter, Tod und Teufel"
Ricola
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by Ricola »

So say to avoid synthetics and rubber materials as they will melt easily with heat, best to wear a leather jacket and leather shoes.
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Kosmo
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by Kosmo »

I generally wear the most comfortable clothes for the trip. The principal players in that decision are the weather in the destination and arrival cities and the time of the flight. On short duration trips I'll forgo the travel clothes and wear work appropriate clothes to economize the luggage. The majority of the time it ends up being warm up pants or cargo shorts, tee shirt, and possibly a sweatshirt.

Regarding the appropriate safety procedures...I work with military pilots and have heard a few stories of things gone wrong, but the chances of that happening on a commercial flight are not worth worrying about.
investingdad
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by investingdad »

Jeans and a button down shirt, untucked. I avoid synthetics on a plane.
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XtremeSki2001
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by XtremeSki2001 »

It depends. If I have a same day meeting I'll dress the way I normally dress for work. Sometimes I'll change for the flight home if I have time. If I fly in the night before I'll travel in casual clothes.
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6miths
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by 6miths »

Let's see... I wear greens at work and I wear 501 jeans and a T-shirt with a fleece when I travel. Not sure which is more casual but I put down more casual than what I wear at work. Technically though, I think that jeans are more formal than pajamas. :happy
Last edited by 6miths on Wed May 28, 2014 12:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
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carorun
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by carorun »

If it's a morning flight and I'm going to work directly after, I dress how I would for work with slight modifications. For example, this time of year I typically wear skirts to work. I wore pants on my four hour flight this morning so I wouldn't be cold. I also don't typically wear a blazer every day, but I do on planes to keep warm. Also, silk never looks good after sleeping on a plane.

Night flights? Who cares. I may change into jeans after work, or keep biz clothes on if they are comfortable.
LeeMKE
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by LeeMKE »

I answered your poll and then saw what you suggest as appropriate travel attire.

Shorts and a t shirt (what no flip flops!?!) seem way inappropriate for a grownup traveling. And though I never met with clients when I worked for engineering firms, as we were pretty casual at our office, travel meant we were representing our firm, and more times than not, our firm name came up while enroute. I wouldn't want to be snapped in shorts by a competitor (unless you are REALLY cute in shorts).

Casual slacks, and even a ventilated shirt, would be fine without looking too inappropriate IMHO.

I wouldn't want to be the person sitting in your seat after sweating all over the upholstery on the previous flight.
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wander
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by wander »

If I have to attend the meeting right after the flight, then I will dress as when I go to work or more formal if the meeting is important. If the meeting will be on the day after the travel day, then I will dress more casual. Generally, it depends.
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

Cargo shorts (lotsa pockets), hawaiian shirt with pockets (more pockets), sneakers, baseball hat, backpack. If it's cold, jeans, hawaiian shirt (pockets), baseball hat, backpack.

The backpack holds enough to go 3 days, which is the max I'll pack for. I can do laundry within 3 days anywhere in the world for however long I'm there. And ya.....I've traveled enough to be ready to change plans in seconds, have everything with me and divert to a plane that's actually leaving.
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skylar
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by skylar »

I wear the same clothes I wear to work - t-shirt and jeans, plus a sweatshirt in case I get cold. It's the joy of working for a university. :)
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GerryL
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Re: How do you dress for work travel?

Post by GerryL »

Since my work clothes have long been jeans and a shirt or cotton sweater/sweatshirt (yea Eddie Bauer!) I could say I wear the same on the plane as I do for work. Of course, this is now academic since I won't be doing any more traveling for business before I formally retire in July (Class of 2014).

In the recent past I felt I had to spiff up my wardrobe to attend some events & tradeshows on the East Coast. Went out and bought a few dresses. But I felt so uncomfortable wearing serious clothes and real shoes (instead of sneakers) that the last event I went to I just added a blazer to my jeans outfit. Felt more comfortable and confident.
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