Whenever you see someone well-dressed at the airport or during an air travel, you are impressed. More power to them!  But it’s hard to figure out what to pack for your air travel. You probably have a closet full of clothes and can’t decide what to bring. So what should you wear?

Air travel is often an assemblage of disparate micro-climates, from the sweat-inducing sunny tarmac to the arctic air-conditioned cabin during flight. Fight that discomfort with plenty of layers like a washable travel scarf, blanket hybrid that’s a large enough snuggle underneath when it’s particularly chilly. Layers that help you regulate temperature while flying also come in very handy when traveling through various climates.

Layering clothes is the easiest way of dressing appropriately no matter what the weather.  Some clothes that layer well are cotton T-shirts in any style, cotton or merino wool sweaters, leggins, and a lightweight waterproof jacket if there’s rain or if the A/C on the airplane is too cold. Layering means you can peel off a layer when it’s too hot, or add a sweater when it’s cold.

Here are the best comfortable clothes women should wear on air travel

air travel

Jacket and outerwear

Depending on the weather, opt for a lightweight fabric like a cotton trench coat or a chunkier wool fabric. If you’re traveling during fall or winter, a jacket will be a necessity. This outerwear piece is the quickest way to look chic and increase the chances of an airplane upgrade. We advise you to wear a classic long jacket at the airport. This will make it easy to conceal your casual wear underneath while maintaining an elegant look.

Long cardigan or sweatshirt

Sometimes air travels involve long hours of sitting in an airplane cabin. A long cardigan or pullover will give you warmth when the temperature drops in your cabin.  To fill more comfortable, you can opt for a sweatshirt made of lightweight cotton to wear over a T-shirt as a base; or put a sweatshirt hoodie in a larger size over your T- shirt, big enough that it won’t prohibit your movement.

Scarf or pashmina

When it comes to air travel, a maxi scarf or pashmina has a dual function. With the right size, texture and design, it will make you look smart and fend off the chill. The essential accessory you should always bring while traveling is a scarf, and style-wise, the T-shirt and jeans combo will work well with the scarf. For hot weather, wear a lightweight cotton scarf, for winter a cashmere scarf is the only scarf that will do if you want to look stylish.

T-shirt or top

Your tolerance to cold will determine how many tops you layer with. T-shirts, blouses and vests are some of the pieces you can wear underneath your bulkier top or cardigan.

Trousers that stretch

We suggest wearing trousers over shorts or skirts. Trousers ensure bare legs avoid making contact with germs on airport and plane seats. Personal style will dictate which comfortable trousers you wear. The options include leggings, joggers, athletic-inspired trousers. You should always bring jeans with you on your trip because they go with almost everything. But you should not wear skinny or tight jeans while flying. All that time you’re sitting on a plane, especially one that is over ten hours, will make your skinny jeans feel very uncomfortable.

Socks

Socks are the last thing on your mind when you start packing for your air travel. You usually just bring white no-show cotton socks to match your sneakers for day trips. But if you are flying, compression socks are a necessity. Sitting for a long period of time wearing regular socks will swell your legs and also cut off the flow of blood circulation. To avoid deep vein thrombosis always wear compression socks on a flight, which will combat the problem.

Sneakers or comfortable shoes

Again, this boils down to personal preference. For some, comfortable shoes for air travel are sneakers, for others, it’s soft leather flats or ballerinas. It is important to remember that feet tend to swell during long-haul flights. Choose your foot apparel wisely.

Tote bag or backpack

For most women who travel by plane, they often bring along with them a tote bag or a bag with a wide top opening on their flight so that they can easily rummage through their bag for those glasses they need to read while travelling, for example. For a sportier attitude you can opt for a nice-looking and compact backpack, that can be worn on your back or carried by the handles.

Quality headphones

Screaming babies, loud talkers, and a plane’s white noise are no match for a quality pair of over-ear headphones. Not only do they muffle noisy passengers and vessels so that you can enjoy your air travel entertainment in peace, but they look super stylish while doing so.