What to Wear on a Long-Haul Flight
What to Wear on a Long-Haul Flight
Hint: It's not denim
💌 This issue is long, so may have you click “view entire message“ to read the full letter in your email inbox 💌
I’d like to start off today’s newsletter to say hi and thank you to all the new subscribers who have found their way to Fashionably Late since my last letter. I’m so happy you are here. ❤️
I’m writing this newsletter to you from 38,999 feet above the Atlantic Ocean as I’m on my way back to New York. While I’ve been sitting up here, I’ve had some time to think about this whole idea of flying back and forth between two continents as often as I’m doing right now. With so many new faces here, I think now is a good time to provide some context:
I’m a Journalism grad student from Denmark. I met my boyfriend on a three-month solo trip to New York I did as a part of my program. He’s from New York and I’m from Denmark. Since we met, we have been flying back and forth between the two places to visit each other every chance we get.
My graduate program gives me a flexible schedule. Because of that, I’m often the one taking the trip across the pond, which is what I’m doing as we speak. That also means, I spend practically half my time in Denmark and the other half in New York City. It’s a blessing and a curse at the same time.
It also means that I spend a lot of time thinking about what to wear on my flights. As any fashion aficionado in this day and age, I have a soft spot for 1990s airport fashion.
Light wash jeans and black leather coats look great—especially when paired together. It was also a pretty common outfit combo at the arrival hall in the ‘90s. What I have learned, however, is that wearing jeans and leather on an 8 hour flight freaking SUCKS.
But, if we dive a little bit deeper into the ‘90s celebrity outfits archive, we’ll notice a bunch of more long-flight-appropriate style cues to take note of (Like Sharon Stone’s silk co-ord, or Cindy Crawford’s oversized pantsuit pictured above). I’ve listed some of my favorite below. 👇
STYLE CUES
Silk loungewear
For long-haul flights during summer, my number one tip is to wrap yourself in anything silk.
That Louis Vuitton bag
Apparently, Louis Vuitton started as a luxury luggage brand. Maybe that’s why everyone at the airport in 90s was sporting that one duffel bag? Above is a selection of various LV travel bags, but I believe the ‘standard’ bag was the Keepall duffel bag. Anyways, if they’re vintage, I think LV bags go hard.
Oversized suits
Suits may not be ideal on an overnight flight, but as long as they’re oversized, I definitely think they could work for an overseas flight.
Leopard print coats
I LOVE a good leopard print coat. They’re expensive, but I do think that a leopard coat is a timeless statement piece (unless, of course, you’re on the TikTok trend train).
OUTFIT INSPO
With all that in mind, here’s a few looks, I put together, that you can draw inspiration from for your next long-haul flight:
That’s all I have for today, friends. Again, thank you so much for being here. I’d love to hear what you would like to see on more of on this newsletter. Feel free to comment below this post on Substack, or by sending me a direct message right here:
Talk soon,
Emma xx
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Love the idea of a silk scarf to elevate your travel look!
I think you read my mind! My number one search term on Pinterest is "90s airport fashion" but when I see the results, I always wonder how people sit on a plane with jeans for so long. I do it occasionally when flying across Europe because the flights are generally short but long haul?! No, thank you haha. I often opt for pants made from a silky material. And a sweater that is warm but not thick is key for me. The reason for the "not thick" is that I want to be able to stuff it in my bad if need be without the bag overflowing.