Traveller’s checks: 12 ways to upgrade your flight outfit

Once upon a time, popular thought taught us that to get the job you want, you simply dress for the job you want. Wanna be a high-powered business person? Simply dress like a high-powered business person. Voilà! You’re just one blazer and high waist away from being a high-powered business person.

Sadly, this logic no longer applies to airport upgrade etiquette. Times have changed, and thanks to updated algorithms, plus the cost of flights skyrocketing, manifesting a free upgrade by simply *looking* like a VIP frequent flyer is not going to cut it.

This is good news.

Instead of waking at 4am and trying to get that indeterminable ‘upgrade me to business class’ outfit, the new travel style diktat is rooted firmly in comfort – perfect for short haul, long haul and stuck-in-departure-lounge journeys. Think oversized, borrowed-from-the boys layers that can be peeled off, or piled on, depending on temperature changes, teamed with natural fabrics that don’t need ironing. Soft trousers that flex and aren’t restrictive, which can be incorporated into your main holiday wardrobe, plus comfy trainers – for us, a non-negotiable. Some people swear by travelling in sandals, but trust us, nothing dampens holiday spirits faster than a trip to the in-flight bathroom in open-toed shoes.