Casual Travel Clothes

Part of the reasoning behind this post on versatility and traveling light is because I am traveling. In fact, as you’re reading this, I’m somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, descending towards my ancestral homeland of Ireland to help repopulate the world with redheads (Hey, we all have to do our part).

Traveling is oftentimes a situation where most people opt for comfort over style; function over form. That’s why you see overweight people in sweatpants at the airport. Let me tell you something. Sweatpants are for your house when it’s cold and you’re alone and the rest of your clothes were destroyed in a fire. A man should always look presentable, at the least.

There’s nothing wrong (or uncomfortable) about traveling well-dressed. Here’s some simple and quick tips (because my flight is actually about to leave and I need to go through security still):

Slip-on shoes (try these perhaps?). They’re easy-on, easy-off at security.

Simple jeans and a sport shirt. Casual, comfortable, but still effortlessly cool. 

Sport-coat or blazer. Again, a must-have because of its versatility. It dresses up jeans, but still functions with other trousers (especially chinos, for that Yacht Club look). An unstructured (read, no shoulderpads or canvassing), unlined (no lining, you can see all the insides) jacket will be comfortable temperature wise, it can rumple and wrinkle without worry (so you can toss it in the overhead bin), but it still sets you apart from 90% of the people at your gate. When the airline has an extra first class ticket, who’re they gonna give it to? The slob in the sweatshirt and track pants, or the well-dressed guy in the sport-coat? If you want to nail a stewardess, this is how you do it (Although stewardesses aren’t what they used to be, so good luck with that). 

An example of what I'm talking about, by Modern Amusement, and what I''m wearing right now.

Unstructured, unlined. All you see is the inside of the coat.

This is not any sort of structure or lining, The hemming is just rounded off by a patterned fabric to prevent fraying.

As an added touch of versatility (and a sign of quality), look for something with working cuff buttons, meaning they can be opened. This allows you to roll up your sleeves, should you get hot.

Thanks for reading, and be on the look out for upcoming posts from abroad,

MD

PS- since it's Friday and I feel like it, check out this song. It makes me want to take Ecstasy and go to a rave.