We Have Lost the War, Now Come the Reparations

[maxalex]

I draw your attention to this recent Washington Post op-ed by David Coggins in which he makes the case for wearing tailored clothing on airplanes:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/tips/airport-plane-dress-code/

It's worth scrolling (trolling?) through the hundreds of comments, most of them oozing bile, to wit:

"You look like a complete moron sitting there in your sport coat."

"Pure snobbery."

"Reeks of elitism."

"What a bizarre and elitist little twit."

Many comments were variations of “nobody cares what you wear”—a common self-justifying trope that is objectively false, since strangers have only a few ways of judging you (and they do), one of them being your attire.[1]

One unwitting reader accused the author of being “overtly classicist,” although Coggins does not identify himself as a scholar of the Parthenon marbles.

I was not surprised by the pushback to wearing tailored clothing on an airplane (or anywhere else these days; I got eyes). What amazed me was the deep vein of anger this rather innocuous column opened. Apparently anyone who wears a sport coat and corduroy trousers is now a soul-crushing elitist conniver bent on world domination, despite that the true elites--corporate CEOs (oligarchs?) whose companies pay essentially no taxes--wear hoodies.

Well. We have entered the end times of...something?

[1] By the same token most people will claim they are “not influenced” by advertising, an assertion which if true would render the global $700 billion advertising industry a colossal waste of corporate resources.

 

[double00]

hm i guess i would ask why strangers-in-passing would need to judge each other at all ?

also - and it seems utterly stupid to point this out but here goes ...

IF you are sitting next to a person on a plane and are not capable of understanding anything else , try - please - to understand this one thing : the circumstances of that other person's life , no matter how seemingly disparate from the circumstances of your life , have nevertheless conspired to place you together , at the same place , and at the same time .

so , there is Some Thing that in fact connects these two lives . whatever it is transcends choice of dress i can promise . this is also true of neighborhoods , workplaces , etc etc .

 

[maxalex]

hm i guess i would ask why strangers-in-passing would need to judge each other at all ?

also - and it seems utterly stupid to point this out but here goes ...

IF you are sitting next to a person on a plane and are not capable of understanding anything else , try - please - to understand this one thing : the circumstances of that other person's life , no matter how seemingly disparate from the circumstances of your life , have nevertheless conspired to place you together , at the same place , and at the same time .

so , there is Some Thing that in fact connects these two lives . whatever it is transcends choice of dress i can promise . this is also true of neighborhoods , workplaces , etc etc .

I appreciate your points and agree that one must always endeavor to be respectful and civil, even empathetic, toward strangers. But for better or worse, strangers do judge other strangers, it's human nature. Part of that is survival instinct and in-group behavior which has been studied and observed forever. Ask any Black man in NYC about trying to hail a taxi after dark while wearing a hoodie, versus wearing a suit and tie. Big difference. It's not right, but there it is.

As for judging "strangers-in-passing," I'm more thinking about strangers you must interact with and how your appearance might affect that interaction--like the Black guy hailing a taxi, or the restaurant hostess who has a choice of seating you by the window, or at a table next to the kitchen door...

 

[FlyingHorker]

I found myself agreeing with the top comments.

"Um, nope, not going to happen. That's only going to happen when seating and hospitality revert to what they were in those days when flying was special. If passengers are treated as cargo, expect cargo pants and worse. If you don't like it, have very dark sunglasses at your ready. I don't dress for you. "

"LOL. Let’s make a trade: Airlines provide a comfortable seat with adequate legroom and side space, and I agree to wear a tux.

Until then, I’ll dress as casually and comfortably as possible in what has become one of the most uncomfortable experiences of modern life."

Amen? Flying sucks. I don't even notice what others are wearing on a plane or airport.

Last time I travelled I wore chinos, derbies, OCBD, and a field jacket with 4 pockets. Worked for me.

 

[maxalex]

I found myself agreeing with the top comments.

"Um, nope, not going to happen. That's only going to happen when seating and hospitality revert to what they were in those days when flying was special. If passengers are treated as cargo, expect cargo pants and worse. If you don't like it, have very dark sunglasses at your ready. I don't dress for you. "

"LOL. Let’s make a trade: Airlines provide a comfortable seat with adequate legroom and side space, and I agree to wear a tux.

Until then, I’ll dress as casually and comfortably as possible in what has become one of the most uncomfortable experiences of modern life."

Amen? Flying sucks. I don't even notice what others are wearing on a plane or airport.

Last time I travelled I wore chinos, derbies, OCBD, and a field jacket with 4 pockets. Worked for me.

I get that, planes suck! But your attire of chinos, derbies and an OCBD puts you in the top 10 of airplane dressers. As for not noticing what others wear in flight, I recall a David Sedaris story where he saw a guy in an airport wearing a t-shirt that said "I'm not a gynecologist but I'm happy to take a look."

 

[Mirage-]

I think the comment I don't dress for you is telling. People used to consider dressing up (or even nicely, without necessarily implying formality) as something complimentary toward others and thus worth doing, if not even socially required, just like being polite to strangers. But as society got more and more individualistic, this key reason to dress nicely got lost. So now it's just personal taste, or if they are trying to impress some specific person, which of course is not you.
I do think fast fashion exacerbated the problem. People would look much better if they bought better clothes, no matter their formality level, or even aesthetic, but we have been culturally mind-washed into thinking clothes should be cheap.

While I do wish people made just a small effort to look more presentable in any social situation, airplanes are not on top of my wish list for nice outfits, in truth. The few times I really minded people not making any effort at all are mostly when going to locations where I paid for some experience, such as nice restaurant. If I am indeed dressing up for some occasion, choose a nice place, and then end up surrounded by people in cargo shorts at the tables, the experience does not feel the same. No matter what the maximalists of self-expression love to say, I am not just paying for the meal, but also for the nice location, and that feels ruined. Which is why they used to have dress codes in the past, of course, but nowadays it causes so much backlash, like the examples you bring, that most places just retired them.

So the question is simply, what can we actually do about it? I'm afraid the answer is "not much".
Talking people down for their slovenly dressing is not very nice, since it assumes they had the means and knowledge to make an effort but chose not to (which is generally the case of course, but not always), but also simply never actually works.
So I just keep trying to dress nicely whenever going out, and try to not be bothered by the fact that most others won't.
If even a single person sees me, likes the result and is inspired to do the same, I consider that a win (though of course I will probably never know).

On a side note, I am finding it hard to wear tailoring out during cold seasons though. Most places apparently just expect me to drape some sort of synthetic coat all bunched up over the back of my own chair, like everybody else, and indeed waiters stare at me confused whenever I ask if they have a coat hanger for my overcoat (so that I don't have to clean their floor with it). They nearly always don't, so I end up having to ask for an extra chair to fold the coat on, and then try to find room for it without blocking pathways, which isn't always possible. The whole process is both frustrating for me, and probably makes me look more fastidious than elegant to my companions, which kind of takes the fun out of wearing overcoats, and by extension, tailoring (as I would be forced to wear some sort of casual short outerwear over it anyway).

 

[maxalex]

I think the comment I don't dress for you is telling. People used to consider dressing up as something complimentary toward others and thus worth doing, if not even socially required, just like being polite to strangers. But as society got more and more individualistic, this key reason to dress nicely got lost. So now it's just personal taste, or if they are trying to impress some specific person, which of course is not you.

I do wish people made just a small effort to look more presentable in any social situation, but airplanes are not on top of my wish list for nice outfits, in truth. The few times I really minded people not making any effort at all are mostly when going to locations where I paid for some experience, such as nice restaurant. If I am indeed dressing up for some occasion, choose a nice place, and then end up surrounded by people in cargo shorts at the tables, the experience does not feel the same. No matter what the maximalists of self-expression love to say, I am not just paying for the meal, but also for the nice location, and that feels ruined. Which is why they used to have dress codes in the past, of course, but nowadays it causes so much backlash, like the examples you bring, that most places just retired them.

So the question is simply, what can we actually do about it? I'm afraid the answer is "not much".
Talking people down for their slovenly dressing is not very nice, since it assumes they had the means and knowledge to make an effort but chose not to (which is generally the case of course, but not always), but also simply never actually works.
So I just keep trying to dress nicely whenever going out, and try to not be bothered by the fact that most others won't.
If even a single person sees me, likes the result and is inspired to do the same, I consider that a win (though of course I will probably never know).

I am finding it hard to wear tailoring out during cold seasons though. Most places apparently just expect me to drape some sort of synthetic coat all bunched up over the back of my own chair, like everybody else, and indeed waiters stare at me confused whenever I ask if they have a coat hanger for my overcoat (so that I don't have to clean their floor with it). They nearly always don't, so I end up having to ask for an extra chair to fold the coat on, and then try to find room for it without blocking pathways, which isn't always possible. The whole process is both frustrating for me, and probably makes me look more fastidious than elegant to my companions, which kind of takes the fun out of wearing overcoats, and by extension, tailoring (as I would be forced to wear some sort of casual short outerwear over it anyway).

Yeah, coat infrastructure has become sadly lacking in restaurants these days, despite that even puffy jackets are often long and can't be draped over chairs. How hard is it to put some pegs on the ******* wall? Another pet peeve: bars without coat hooks underneath. It's so simple! Hardware store! Sure, you can't hang an overcoat there, but a leather jacket yes. I could go on about the lack of coat pegs in restroom stalls, but here in Rome the bigger issue there is lack of toilet seats...

 

[Mirage-]

Yeah, coat infrastructure has become sadly lacking in restaurants these days, despite that even puffy jackets are often long and can't be draped over chairs. How hard is it to put some pegs on the ******* wall? Another pet peeve: bars without coat hooks underneath. It's so simple! Hardware store! Sure, you can't hang an overcoat there, but a leather jacket yes. I could go on about the lack of coat pegs in restroom stalls, but here in Rome the bigger issue there is lack of toilet seats...

I am so relieved to see I'm not truly the only person who is strongly opinionated on Rome's lack of "coat infrastructure" (as you aptly named the problem).

 

[maxalex]

I am so relieved to see I'm not truly the only person who is strongly opinionated on Rome's lack of "coat infrastructure" (as you aptly named the problem).

I think it's a universal problem in the West. The lack of toilet seats is distinctly Italian. Mostly I feel bad for the ladies...

 

[mak1277]

I respect Coggins’ points of view on jeans, sweats and shorts. I love that he dresses up in planes, and at golf tournaments. I love that he wears chinos and button up shirts when he fishes.

but just because I love it, and personally do many of the same things, doesn’t mean he’s not tilting at windmills.

 

[celery]

Not surprised at the comments. You can put out just about any piece of content about anything on the internet and you'll get a bunch of contrarian takes (sometimes even anger).

There's also no point in trying to convince people to dress in a way you prefer. Comfort is variable and some people can't imagine being comfortable in anything other than sweats.

 

[wumpyfish]

Unless I have something immediate upon landing I am in jeans and a Tee, especially on longer flights.
From a years back, one of my favorite ok boomer rants

For the love of God, stop dressing like crap

Kylie Jenner may have been wearing a classy “Eat Me Out” T-shirt, but at least she wasn’t at the theater. Small blessings, right? Tell that to the slobs who turn up at Broadway shows dressed as tho…

nypost.com

 

[FlyingMonkey]

Sorry, but he does come across as a snob and it should probably give people here some pause, because that's how many of us sound. He's also dangerously wrong about elasticated waistbands etc. These are actually amongst the best things to wear for preventing 'economy class syndrome' (AKA Deep Vein Thrombosis) which is now far common than it used to be due to the airlines packing passengers in to smaller and more uncomfortable seats. There's no point in playing some dress-up game – and that is exactly what it is in this context: pretending that flying is actually a pleasure, and in denial of all reality, you are a celebrity flying in the 1950s. So, in fact, for my one return flight a year*, I will certainly wear looser, more comfortable clothes. Obviously they will still look good – I don't have anything that doesn't look good. But I'm not cosplaying mid-century air travel.

*We do all realise that in an era of climate crisis, we shouldn't be travelling by air anyway, if we can avoid it – right?

 

[maxalex]

Sorry, but he does come across as a snob and it should probably give people here some pause, because that's how many of us sound. He's also dangerously wrong about elasticated waistbands etc. These are actually amongst the best things to wear for preventing 'economy class syndrome' (AKA Deep Vein Thrombosis) which is now far common than it used to be due to the airlines packing passengers in to smaller and more uncomfortable seats. There's not point in playing some dress-up game – and that is exactly what it is in this context: pretending that flying is actually a pleasure, and in denial of all reality, you are a celebrity flying in the 1950s. So, in fact, for my one return flight a year*, I will certainly wear looser, more comfortable clothes. Obviously they will still look good – I don't have anything that doesn't look good. But I'm not cosplaying mid-century air travel.

*We do all realise that in an era of climate crisis, we shouldn't be travelling by air anyway, if we can avoid it – right?

When did a jacket and tie become cosplay? We’re not talking leggings and powdered wigs! I rarely fly but do take trains often between Rome and Milan, sometimes even the overnight to Sicily. I’d say maybe half the men in every car are wearing suits or jackets, and maybe half of those wear ties. (The proportion is higher in first class which I only take if a client is paying.)

Granted the seating is a bit more capacious than a plane (but not that much, and train seats in Italy don’t recline), and you don’t have security theater and strip searches. But you still need to schlep bags and wear masks and deal with all the other people.

Yes, the trains are also packed with tourists in cargo shorts and Crocs. But nobody looks at a guy in a coat and tie, hunched over his laptop on the way to a meeting in Bergamo, and thinks he’s channeling Louis XIV, or even Cary Grant.

 

[notdos]

Waited years to say this.
It’s way past time to accept, being “better”, doesn’t require an apology. Those that care more about comfort, than apperance, are welcome to do so.

Phillip