In preparation for our family world trip I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time shopping for clothes lately. In case you think I’m gloating here, you should know that shopping is one of my least favorite chores and the fact that I can spell the word fashion just about sums up my knowledge on that subject. I was shopping for travel clothes for budgetary and logistical reasons. Trust me, there are a myriad other things I’d rather have been doing. After such penance, it’s shocking even to me that I could discern that travel clothing is, by and large, dreadfully frumpy. The shirts, pants and jackets have plenty of excellent features such as hidden pockets and the technical fabrics that can protect from bug-bites and sunburn are technically interesting, but no-one, even me, can honestly describe any of it as stylish.
In the midst of this research I had a fun twitter exchange with MomMostTraveled. She was lamenting as to why everyone and their mother appears to be compelled to dress down to fly. I, flatly stated that I’d rather be comfortable than stylish on a flight and admitted that I can’t remember the last time I wore anything other than my travel uniform of yoga pants, t-shirt and flip-flops on a plane.
That I’m not naturally stylish is, of course, a factor here. Something that’s compounded by the fact that I work in an industry (technology) with a dress standard only slighty above board shorts and flip-flops. I have worn PJs to work. (It was to trouble-shoot a late-night system outage but still, they were PJs). And I live in Seattle. Seattle is great, but Seattlites are not known for their style. The upside of this is that in Seattle you can turn up at some very luxurious events (Opera) or establishments (Fairmont Olympic Hotel) in your sloppy jeans and you won’t look out of place. The downside, for me anyway, is that it exacerbates my natural inclination to dress for comfort rather than style.
Hence, I made a little more effort than normal when dressing for my flight this morning. Then, in the car on the way I heard a description of an up-coming NPR/KUOW program on “Seattle style” and I thought a little pre-show polling would be fun.
So today, I’m wearing:
On the top, is a merino wool top from Ibex which I’ve paired with a sueded Tactel skirt from Athleta and some Chaco flip-flops (gimme a break, I’m on my way to the beach).
As any self-respecting Seattlitle would, I do have an Eddie Bauer fleece sweater in my bag. Old habits die hard.
So, ratings please peeps. Leave a comment below telling me how you’d grade my efforts based on this scale:
1. Fail: Please don’t write about fashion again ever.
2. Miserable Attempt: Ditching the yoga pants does not make you stylish.
3. A Worthy Effort: But not quite ready for NYC, Milan or Paris.
4. Good: If there was a traveler’s catwalk, you’d be on it.
Which do you care about most when you travel? Style or comfort? The data geek in me is fascinated to know. Let me know in your comment and I’ll upate this post in a week with the results of the poll.
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