In this article, Julie Buckingham gives away her favorite tips for building the best travel outfits for long flights. The key to surviving a long plane ride doesn’t involve an aisle seat or in-flight movie, it’s about staying comfortable.
Travel Outfits For Long Flights
I dread long flights. In fact, I try not to travel anywhere for a short period of time if the destination requires a long flight. I would much rather find a way to stay an extra week on my trip or vacation if it includes an eight-hour flight or longer. The reward of course, is an amazing adventure, sandy white beach or visiting a culture in a city you’ve never been to before. Despite our discomfort, it’s worth the time stuck in a seat in the sky.
However, your mood could easily change if you were uncomfortable. Travel outfits for long flights are not just fashionable, their practical and even essential for an extended period of time on a flight. The fabrics you wear, the shoes on your feet are all important decisions in making your long flight tolerable.
In this article, I talk about 5 items to include in your Travel Outfits For Long Flights along with some items of clothing that you should avoid.
1. Premium Socks
There is a massive number of people in the world who have never put on a pair of high-end compression socks. If you’re one of those people… I’m telling you, you’re missing out. We always think about comfy shoes as apart of our travel outfits for long flights, but that’s silly. What’s the first thing you do a few hours into a long flight? You slip off your shoes. While comfy shoes are important as you will be spending a lot of time in the airport and walking throughout your trip, premium socks are the secret weapon.
Compression Socks by Stance
I first heard about Stance after seeing a video done by HypeBeast about the company’s amazing work environment. Many pro athletes, musicians, and even artists are endorsing their products, and after trying on a pair myself, I can see why. These socks are hard to describe, they simply make you rethink what’s in your sock drawer.
Most people buy socks at Costco or Walmart in a big plastic bag by the dozen. They wear out, holes appear and you throw them in the garbage. If you spent just a little more you could completely improve the comfort of your feet and get more longevity out of your purchase.
I have found many of Stance’s socks available at Amazon, which is my recommendation as it includes free shipping. These socks would be perfect for your long flight and I highly recommend them. Stance has different sizes, shapes, and designs, all ranging in price, but I’m confident you should be able to find a pair that’ll make your travel outfit for a long flight.
2. Comfy Pants (Stretchy Jeans, Activewear etc)
You don’t want anything too constrictive. The stretchier, the comfier the pants you can find, the better. I understand you’re excited about your trip and want to plan out all your outfits, but do yourself a favor and relax on travel days. Like I said in the intro, you’re spending hours in a chair in the sky. It doesn’t matter what you’re wearing, as long as you’re comfortable. Stretchy jeans are my go-to, but if you have a pair of something else that fits you great, go for it.
Avoid: Skirts and Dresses. Remember you’re sitting in a seat for a long time. A dress is not the way to go.
3. Quality Hoodie
You need to dress in layers. It can get cold on a plane and you need to be able to bundle up without having to ask for a blanket. Add a high-quality comfy hoodie to your travel outfits for long flights list. I like to pick one with a zipper down the middle to easily put it on while being cramped in my window seat. Hoodies come in all shapes and sizes but the softness is a great sign of quality. You want a thin fitted, warm hoodie on your flight. I have picked out a few that I could recommend below.
4. Running Shoes
They say you should replace your running shoes every six months, but I have a hard time throwing things away. Usually, what I’ll do is downgrade a pair of running shoes to my travel wear. Or what I have done in the past is bought a new pair of running shoes for the gym just specifically to downgrade a pair – lol.
In all fairness, the way their making running shoes nowadays, it takes little time at all to break them in. I recently bought the pair of New Balance running shoes and I love them.
Some recommend sandals as apart of your travel outfits for long flights, but for me, I want to be able to run at a moments notice if I’m late and have to catch a flight. I also don’t want people stepping on my toes when we deboard the plane or if I have to use the airplane bathroom which isn’t always clean.
If you do plan to buy a nice new pair of shoes for your trip or vacation, make sure you spend a day or two wearing them around before your trip. It doesn’t long to break them in, but you should put in a few hours beforehand.
5. Travel Neck Pillow
This item technically doesn’t work with my travel outfits for long flights list, however, I’ve dubbed it my scarf for the sky.
There’s something about a plane engine that just puts me to sleep. The whole take-off process usually starts my flight off with me trying to keep my eyes open. A great neck pillow along with a comfy outfit and I’ll be asleep before the plane reaches its ideal altitude.
I did an article on the best kids travel neck pillow earlier this year. It was a BCOZZY review, and in the article I talked about how this neck pillow is not just for kids, as I have one and use it all the time.
The BCOZZY neck pillow is a perfect blend of being flexible and lightweight. You’ll be getting the much-needed comfort even in sitting positions that seem awkward. The filling is quite durable and it doesn’t lose its elasticity or flexibility even after long periods of use. Although my child complained of some discomfort that comes with wrapping the support around his throat, he felt very comfortable with it as soon as I loosened the strap.
Thanks for reading and enjoy that long plane ride, hopefully, there is someone or somewhere nice waiting for you on the other site.
