Traveling Threads – The Champion Newspaper | 404-373-7779 | Georgia

An article on Slate.com, an online magazine that covers culture, politics, and current affairs, that is more than a decade old but still gets posted regularly to Slate’s social media channels and inevitably gets a flurry of comments that devolve into arguments in the comment section.

The article isn’t a political piece or about a divisive topic such as women’s rights to reproductive healthcare – no, this article covers something that everyone has an opinion about: clothing.

I’ve seen the article appear with different click-bait headlines such as “Take a One-Way Trip from Tatty to Natty” and “Stop Dressing Like a Slob When You’re Traveling,” but the message is always the same: put effort into looking nice when on the go, especially on a plane or train when other people are having to look at each other’s ensembles.

Some of author J Bryan Lowder’s reasons for suggesting we all shape up our wardrobes when it comes time to take a trip include that airline staff are likely to treat well-dressed passengers better and Lowder is just sick and tired of seeing people walk around in T-shirts.

While I enjoy dressing up and looking nice for certain occasions, racing through a crowded airport to squeeze into a dingy airplane in economy class is not one of those special times to show off my most expensive shoes.

For starters, it’s not practical to wear a suit or shoes that are not easy to slip on and off because we all have to go through airport security where we strip down, walk into a metal detector or get a wand waved at us, and then collect all of our belongings in a mad scramble as TSA staff scream to keep moving. Sorry, I’m not interested in admiring the fancy Rolex the man in front of me forgot to take off, which then stalled the rest of the line.

Once on the plane, the next puzzle to solve is getting comfortable in a cramped environment. I’ve found that stretchy yoga pants, a sweatshirt that easily slips on and off and sensible shoes are ideal in this scenario.

The walk from the airport into the plane is not a runway show and traveling is not modeling where we’re all competing to see who can look the best. I’ll continue to wear casual clothing that is easy to move around in while I’m on the go.