I write this on the eve of flying back from Europe so apologies for its lateness and my lack of posting. It's been a ridiculously whirlwind trip (seven days in London, two in Paris) but I'll tell you what, it leaves me wanting more. I didn't realize just how much I missed England and a more European way of life. New York is such a whirlwind, that it is easy to forget to appreciate the slower side of life sometimes. Obviously seeing friends and making new ones was lovely but I booked the tickets a month ago to see the Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion exhibit. I quickly realized (thanks to the wakeup call of the expensive ticket) that I needed to really fill my visit with more, my bestie Tiffany convinced me to come visit her in Paris too (mad crazy synchronized visits are always fun ideas no?) and I got to see some very good friends too in both cities. However todays post is about my little challenge, plus some lovely visuals.
I challenged my friend Izzy to always post the outfits you wear when you fly. I feel as the new generation we have to bring back style to the skies. I'm not talking about classic beautiful suits and real dressing up for flying a la 1953. I just mean not leaving your sartorial self in the suitcase. Comfortable doesn't have to mean sweatpants and sunglasses (ahem...). I've always tried to look my best (meaning myself) when flying because with each flight I take I can't help but think when will I next fly? Ticket prices rise every year with oil and inflation and frankly until alternative fuels are developed for commercial aviation I struggle to understand where the industry can go. I have always been an aviation freak since I was little (flying the 12 hours Hong Kong-London Cathay service at 3 months old) and now that my passion is no longer aviation, it remains in the back of my mind. Nope I'm not going to bore you with anymore flyertalk, instead: to the outfit!
I always think layering is essential for long haul flying, the aircraft are either insanely warm or utterly frigid... I may have gone a wee bit overboard for this. The count on top is 6 layers, and on the bottom is 3... No excuse for that craziness at all, I'm going to my destination not returning so I should be trying to take less so I can bring back more! Anywho there are a few items I rarely fly without. 1: my Final Home hood, It's like wearing a cocoon and when you want to sleep you turn it round and cover your face!. 2: My ultra worn cotton cashmere gray cardie from Club Monaco (???) I actually ended up changing the buttons on it to these lovely velvet buttons you can barely see in the photo to make it overall even more comfy. 3: easy to take off shoes, in the winter this either means my weird Japanese moonwalker boots with velcro or my all time fave for comfort and ease, the Yohji x Dr Martens I wore. 4: lots o' pockets! I guess the other issue I should address is my fondness for a good old skirt. To put it simply, they're really comfy, and I really love the look on a guy. To me it's exotic. The whole men in skirts thing I will deal with properly in another post but don't think I'm not going to try and give who ever reads this an explanation. Oh and it also allows me to wear my suppper comfy Lanvin pants that alas, on me, leave nothing to the imagination, hence the cover up... In the spirit of the challenge I wore my lovely Airplane brooch I got at the Brooklyn Flea and a Rosa Cha print scarf which says South American Way all over, in the shape of the Americas and reminds me of the 60's jetset, tres important for flying no?
[Final Home hood, Uniqlo short peacoat, Marios Schwab Navy Shearling cropped vest, Issey Miyake A-POC long sweater, Beacons Closet thrifted Print Chairman Mao jacket, Club Monaco altered cardie, No Lost Witches T-shirt, Rosa Cha South America print scarf, Y3 asymetrical skirt, Beacons Closet thrifted Laura Ashley skirt, Lanvin trousers, Yohji Yamamoto x Dr Marten side zip boots and one of my favourite brooches I got at the Brooklyn Flea of what appears to be either a Boeing 707 or Douglas DC-8] Yes that is 13 items, and yes I am a walking suitcase.
Detail shot of the patterns, textures and brooch combo. It sort of looks like a plane flying over a strange land of prints (the shearling is the water, yes I'm cuckoo)
Detail shot of the back of my Issey cutout sweater coat and the layering of the skirts.
In the spirit of enjoying the flight I took many many photos trying to be all artsy and all of the journey and you know what? I think they look rather nice. Obviously I wasn't going to use flash on a redeye flight (or any flight for that matter) so I experimented with my new cameras abilities for long exposure. I'm also thinking of using some of these pictures to create digital prints next semester. We shall see... Anyway enjoy the safety video as we takeoff for Londons Heathrow. Night night.
My Silver Lady for the next 6.5 hours
Had little break from the artsyness with The Social Network. deff. worth a watch people.
As usual with Virgin, the food is surprisingly good!
Ice formed on the windows overnight creating lovely shapes
admiring the light architecture within the Airbus
A few things to keep me going and feeling fresh on arrival: Bon Magazine, I'm a Stranger Here Myself : Bill Bryson, iPod, Burts Bees, CdG Calamus, French Polynesian Hand Butter and some tasty Scottish Shortbread (thanks Amber!). All in all an excellent flight, even if Virgin's become more stingy on its luggage...
Welcome To London readers! Please be careful as items may have shifted mid-flight.
10 comments:
I love these pictures..... :) I love this post!
Are you back in New York?
Not yet, It's 2:30am and I should be sleeping or packing... My flight is at 5pm. I'll be back by 8:00 tomorrow night though.
It always amazes me how many freaking layers/items you manage to squeeze into every single outfit. Love every moment of it, although I don't understand how you manage to be comfortable walking around in at least three (did I count them right?) skirts.
xx
Tiffany
Have fun in England! I love the layered look with skirts included. Especially since you managed to pile on a floral or two.
Tiffany - Actually it was only 2 skirts and a pair of veryyyyyyy comfy pants. The skirts are comfy enough but the pants makes it feel like PJs.
Joy - Thanks! Just got back last night. I think our love of florals will take us to very good places :).
Oh no you didn't. But you look great still, like a walking Dazed editorial, or maybe even Vogue Hommes Japan!
Meanwhile, you should really save those street light photos and make them into digital prints someday so I can have my tailor turn them into clothes.
Izzy - Alright Izz! You do the clothes I'll make the accessories!
6 layers in insane, where can you put them all if you want to take a few off? flying sucks, esp the food but i haven't gone virgin before.
ohh bon, havent picked that up in a while. thanks for popping over by the way
Mat - Virgin are still the best out of the UK airlines but they keep taking away the good stuff which is annoying. I did have to take off most of those layers once on the plane but just put them into a cotton tote I always bring to put stuff I actually use from my handluggage in.
Your blog's pretty cool, always love a good colourful sock combo in the default photos haha!
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