Plane Clothes: My new favorite pants and boots for travel

I’m a big believer in looking put together while you travel—you just feel better about yourself, which of course is always important, especially after a long flight. However, comfort matters too. So when I discovered the Faye pant by Ann Mashburn years ago, they became my go-to plane pants. (I talked about them here.) Then, a couple of weeks ago, Ann told me she wanted me to road-test their new pant, the Lara, which is similar in cut to the Faye (a kick flare pull-on), but in a heavier fabric—they call it a beefy Supima (the best of the best cotton!) plaited with a high elastane yarn that makes it so stretchy and good at bouncing back. Plus they have a front seam that makes them seem polished, like real pants! I decided to try them out on a very tough assignment—consecutive flights from Syracuse to New York to Edinburgh, with layovers in JFK and Amsterdam. I got dressed for the flight at noon EST, and didn’t arrive at my hotel until 21 hours later. I couldn’t believe that they had no sag/bag in the knees—they looked like I’d just put them on. Normally, I take off my plane clothes as soon as I can, and save them for the return flight. But in this case, because they were so comfortable, I decided to keep them on and wear them to our late lunch. I was so into these pants that I wound up wearing them many times on the trip! I did in fact wear them on the flight back to New York, which was just a 7-hour nonstop, and then I wore them out again to a fancy dinner with friends at Caviar Kaspia. So these pants had at least 40+ hours of wear and still looked great—practically bulletproof! I’m finally washing them today, but according to all of the Mashburn team who really put them to the test, they hold up incredibly no matter how many washes. I cannot say the same for the High Sport, which for me, lost their shape after one wash—and they were almost 3x the price. You can order the Lara online, and while they aren’t shipping until late November—now you have a sneak preview, too. 

My other great discovery is the Sanders Chelsea boot that I bought at Dick’s in Edinburgh last week. I’ve been trying to find a good comfortable boot for years—one that can work on a country walk, but can also be polished up and worn with a suit, or with tights and a skirt. I’d never heard of Sanders, although they’ve been making shoes in England since 1873, and were a favorite of Steve McQueen as well as 007! I’ve tried R.M. Williams, Trickers, a no-name Italian pair, and Blundstones, but none of them have worked—either they are too fitted for wearing on a plane (feet swell and then I can’t get them back on!), or they are too casual, or too heavy. As soon as I saw these I had a feeling they were the ones. I loved their polished leather (which makes them so sharp for a more formal event), how lightweight they are, and how they have enough room that I could wear a thicker sock, but also could wear tights. I wore them with my Lara pants, and they were perfect together.