What to Wear on a Summer Flight: The Problem Nobody Packs For

What to Wear on a Summer Flight: The Problem Nobody Packs For

The thing nobody tells you about flying in summer is that the cabin doesn't know it's summer. You walk through a humid jet bridge in shorts and a t-shirt, sit down, and forty minutes later you're shivering under one of those thin synthetic blankets you have to pay for. Five hours after that you step off into ninety-degree heat with everything you brought packed at the bottom of your carry-on.

The cold-flight problem doesn't go away in July. It actually gets worse, because the temperature gap between the cabin and the outside is bigger and most people pack for one end of it.

Here's how to dress for both, without dressing like you're going skiing.

Why summer cabins are colder than winter cabins (sort of)

It's not that the air conditioning in a plane runs colder in summer than the heat runs in winter. The temperature inside a cabin is fairly consistent year-round, usually somewhere between 68 and 72 degrees once you're at cruising altitude.

The problem is that in winter you board wearing a coat and you're acclimated to cold. In summer you board in shorts, your body is set to outdoor heat, and 70 degrees feels like a meat locker. Add in the dehydration from cabin pressure, the wind from the overhead vent you can't quite close, and a five- to ten-hour sit, and the effective temperature against your skin is much colder than the thermostat suggests.

This is why people who fly a lot in summer always have something warm in their personal item. They've learned.

What you actually want on your body

Three things have to be true of your in-flight layer.

It has to be warm enough to handle the cabin without making you sweat in the airport on either side. It has to be thin enough to pack down to almost nothing when you don't need it. And it has to feel comfortable against bare skin, because you're probably wearing it over a t-shirt or a tank top, not over another layer.

This is exactly the problem silk and silk blends are built for.

Silk is the only natural fiber that's genuinely warm in cabin temperatures and genuinely cool in airport heat. The fiber wicks moisture faster than cotton, dries quickly, and doesn't cling when it picks up humidity. A thin silk or silk-blend layer sits comfortably against the skin at 90 degrees and at 68 degrees, which is most of what you need from a travel piece.

A cashmere and silk piece does this even better. The cashmere adds warmth for the cold cabin, the silk handles the humidity and the friction against your other clothes, and the combination packs down to almost nothing. Our Cashmere & Silk collection was designed with exactly this kind of use in mind, and it's the piece I'd put in a summer carry-on first.

What to wear, head to toe

Here's the version I actually pack.

A thin natural-fiber top against the skin. A linen or cotton t-shirt is fine. A silk shell or Tencel or a fine merino tee is better, because they handle the humidity transition between outside and the cabin without getting clammy. Avoid anything synthetic — polyester traps sweat against your skin and you'll feel it within an hour.

A thin warm layer in your personal item, ready to put on once you sit down. This is the piece that matters most. A cashmere-silk crewneck or a silk-cashmere wrap is ideal. Light enough that you forget it's in your bag, warm enough that you don't need anything else on top of it. An angora and silk piece does similar work and runs a touch warmer if you're someone who gets really cold on flights.

Bottoms you can sit in for hours. Linen, a light wool, or a soft cotton that doesn't restrict at the waist. Skip denim if you can — it gets uncomfortable around hour three and doesn't breathe.

Closed shoes, not sandals. This is a small thing that makes a real difference. Floors get cold, your feet swell on long flights, and walking through an airport in sandals after eight hours of sitting is its own form of misery. Light leather loafers or a soft canvas shoe work in any climate at either end.

A pair of thin natural-fiber socks in your bag. Even if you boarded in sandals. Cold feet are the single fastest way to be uncomfortable for the rest of a flight.

What to skip

A hoodie. The classic mistake. A cotton hoodie is too warm for the airport, not warm enough for the cabin, takes up half your personal item, and looks rumpled when you arrive. It's the wrong tool for every part of the trip.

A bulky cardigan. Same problem in a different shape. If it doesn't pack down to the size of a paperback, it's the wrong layer.

Anything synthetic that promises to "regulate temperature." Synthetic fibers don't breathe the way natural fibers do, and on a long flight you'll notice. The temperature regulation that matters comes from natural fibers, especially blends that combine the warmth of one with the moisture-handling of another.

A scarf you also have to manage. A wrap that doubles as a blanket is fine. A scarf you're constantly adjusting is just one more thing.

What to wear on the other end

Whatever you wear on the plane should also work for the first few hours after you land, because you're not going to want to change in an airport bathroom.

This is the argument for thin, breathable natural fibers in summer specifically. A cashmere-silk layer comes off and goes in the bag the moment you're outside, leaving you in your thin top underneath. The bottoms you sat in stay comfortable in summer heat because they were chosen for breathability. The whole outfit transitions from cabin to taxi to hotel without needing a costume change.

That's the test, really. Can you walk off the plane, get to wherever you're going, and feel like yourself? If the answer is yes, you packed it right.

TL;DR

Pack for the cold cabin, not the warm airport. A thin natural-fiber top, a packable warm layer in your personal item (cashmere-silk is the gold standard), breathable bottoms, closed shoes, and a pair of thin socks. Skip the hoodie. Skip the synthetics.

The whole point of dressing well for a flight in summer is that you arrive looking like a person who isn't visibly destroyed by travel. A few good natural-fiber pieces do that. Most of what people pack does the opposite.

Keep reading

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