elegant travel
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Guest
I had an awful trip to Romania, every possible mishap and indignty short of a terrorist atack was visited upon me. What are you gentlemen's suggestions for remaining elegant during trans-oceanic air travel?
I wish I could tell you, David.
I've flown a dozen times, perhaps, since "9/11": within the United States, abroad, dressed in jeans, dressed in coat and tie, with no luggage, with carry-on only, with as much luggage as allowed. In all but two or three instances, I've been pulled aside for "special treatment" for my person and my possessions. Why that should happen to a fairly average American (native-born white male, 6'1", 150 lbs., fair-complected, bespectacled, not carrying a copy of the Koran, calm-eyed, without nailfiles and lighters, etc., etc., etc.) I do not know.
As for the ordinary rigors of air travel, pre-"9/11": I try not to have a tight schedule of connections or work awaiting my return, so that I may more easily remain calm with the all-too-common delays; I walk around airports and, if I can, the 'planes themselves; I drink water; and I sleep. If nothing else, all this does seem to eliminate jet-lag.
I've flown a dozen times, perhaps, since "9/11": within the United States, abroad, dressed in jeans, dressed in coat and tie, with no luggage, with carry-on only, with as much luggage as allowed. In all but two or three instances, I've been pulled aside for "special treatment" for my person and my possessions. Why that should happen to a fairly average American (native-born white male, 6'1", 150 lbs., fair-complected, bespectacled, not carrying a copy of the Koran, calm-eyed, without nailfiles and lighters, etc., etc., etc.) I do not know.
As for the ordinary rigors of air travel, pre-"9/11": I try not to have a tight schedule of connections or work awaiting my return, so that I may more easily remain calm with the all-too-common delays; I walk around airports and, if I can, the 'planes themselves; I drink water; and I sleep. If nothing else, all this does seem to eliminate jet-lag.
As regards transcontinental flights the secret is to book a level of service that permits you a place to sleep (First class or Business class.) When you take your seat, put on blinders, insert ear plugs, take a sleeping pill, eat nothing and drink nothing...Sleep! If you are fortunate the hostess will be waking you up upon arrival telling you to put the seat back forward and prepare for landing.
Your question raises an other interesting general topic regarding elegance and travel. It is one that has a great deal of interest for many of the members who travel regularly for business or pleasure.
For this reason we should try to explore the subject in some detail.
The key to elegant travel is to never be in a hurry. To never be in a hurry requires either perfect organization or no organization. More on this later. In either case choose quality experiences over a quantity of experiences. You can jet across Europe in a few hours and yet taking a train is so much more elegant way to travel, as long as you are not in a rush.
(To be continued..)
Your question raises an other interesting general topic regarding elegance and travel. It is one that has a great deal of interest for many of the members who travel regularly for business or pleasure.
For this reason we should try to explore the subject in some detail.
The key to elegant travel is to never be in a hurry. To never be in a hurry requires either perfect organization or no organization. More on this later. In either case choose quality experiences over a quantity of experiences. You can jet across Europe in a few hours and yet taking a train is so much more elegant way to travel, as long as you are not in a rush.
(To be continued..)
This article by Luca Turin published on his blog is of interest:
http://lucaturin.typepad.com/perfume_notes/2005/06/
Small Luxuries
The contents of our luggage say a lot about our skill in the art of living. A thorough customs inspection should not, for example, reveal signs of anxiety: ventilated war-photographer vests with too many pockets, toiletry bags filled with antibiotics. As usual, elegance consists in remaining oneself while being ready for anything. Fitzroy Maclean, the real-life James Bond who died a few years ago, always carried with him on his travels a tube of anchovy paste. He explained that in his experience one could always locate some alcohol and a crust of bread: his tube made it a party. This sort of discernment has much to do with small luxuries: too luxurious and they cease to be fun, too small and they cease to be rare. When it comes to perfume, the choices of the faraway traveller are few. Carrying proper bottles is foolish. They will break when the bag is thrown from the airplane hold, and look ridiculous in a shabby hotel. Decanting the fragrance into plastic sprays is messy. Using a cheap perfumed deodorant sends the wrong message. No, the solution is much simpler: all the great perfume houses make soaps. In domestic use, they are part of a "line", as sad as excessive colour coordination. On the road, they turn out to be surprisingly good company. Like other modestly priced pleasures such as fat paperbacks and short taxi rides, soaps can make one feel irrationally happy. Soap is the very stuff of progress, responsible for more saved lives than penicillin. It is also a wonder of early nanotechnology: no visible moving parts, just teeming billions of clever molecules that broker a peace between the dirt on your hands and the rust-coloured water that comes out of the tap. Luxury soaps come in neat plastic shells that shut tightly when you decide to move on. Which one is best ? If it exists, buy the soap version of whatever you're wearing. My favorite was Guerlain's Mitsouko., Composed in 1919 by Jacques Guerlain in reply to Coty's earlier (and now extinct) Chypre, the fragrance shimmered with the muted glow of candied fruit, a Tiffany lamp made scent. [When experienced in a faraway place, it would touch you like a Brahms concert heard on BBC shortwave]. Guerlain’s new MBA-powered owners “rationalised” the range when they took over, and out went the soaps. Modernising Guerlain is like rewriting La Bohème to take into account medical progress since Puccini. It didn’t work, and the soaps will be back in time for next year’s travels. Mitsouko is the true desert island soap, about as much of the “long nineteenth century” as anyone can carry without running into excess baggage.
http://lucaturin.typepad.com/perfume_notes/2005/06/
Small Luxuries
The contents of our luggage say a lot about our skill in the art of living. A thorough customs inspection should not, for example, reveal signs of anxiety: ventilated war-photographer vests with too many pockets, toiletry bags filled with antibiotics. As usual, elegance consists in remaining oneself while being ready for anything. Fitzroy Maclean, the real-life James Bond who died a few years ago, always carried with him on his travels a tube of anchovy paste. He explained that in his experience one could always locate some alcohol and a crust of bread: his tube made it a party. This sort of discernment has much to do with small luxuries: too luxurious and they cease to be fun, too small and they cease to be rare. When it comes to perfume, the choices of the faraway traveller are few. Carrying proper bottles is foolish. They will break when the bag is thrown from the airplane hold, and look ridiculous in a shabby hotel. Decanting the fragrance into plastic sprays is messy. Using a cheap perfumed deodorant sends the wrong message. No, the solution is much simpler: all the great perfume houses make soaps. In domestic use, they are part of a "line", as sad as excessive colour coordination. On the road, they turn out to be surprisingly good company. Like other modestly priced pleasures such as fat paperbacks and short taxi rides, soaps can make one feel irrationally happy. Soap is the very stuff of progress, responsible for more saved lives than penicillin. It is also a wonder of early nanotechnology: no visible moving parts, just teeming billions of clever molecules that broker a peace between the dirt on your hands and the rust-coloured water that comes out of the tap. Luxury soaps come in neat plastic shells that shut tightly when you decide to move on. Which one is best ? If it exists, buy the soap version of whatever you're wearing. My favorite was Guerlain's Mitsouko., Composed in 1919 by Jacques Guerlain in reply to Coty's earlier (and now extinct) Chypre, the fragrance shimmered with the muted glow of candied fruit, a Tiffany lamp made scent. [When experienced in a faraway place, it would touch you like a Brahms concert heard on BBC shortwave]. Guerlain’s new MBA-powered owners “rationalised” the range when they took over, and out went the soaps. Modernising Guerlain is like rewriting La Bohème to take into account medical progress since Puccini. It didn’t work, and the soaps will be back in time for next year’s travels. Mitsouko is the true desert island soap, about as much of the “long nineteenth century” as anyone can carry without running into excess baggage.
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Guest
A few words on jet lag: the advice to drink fluids, avoid alcohol, and eat lightly as well as rest on the plane are all good advice for a variety of reasons. Dehydration, hangovers, and constipation, all uncomfortable in themselves, are all worsened by drinking too little, lots of alcohol, and large meals, for example. But none of them will change your internal clock at all. In fact, no matter what you do, your clock adjusts about 1 hour per day in the new location, both backwards and forwards. Westward travel is more comfortable because "phase-delaying" one's self is a lot more comfortable than "phase-advancing (getting up earlier than necessary rather than getting up later)." The only drug anyone has ever claimed alters the clock is melatonin, and its efficacy is for this purpose is questionable.
I have heard that certain well-heeled travelers send their larger pieces of luggage ahead using FedEx or a similar service. It saves wear and tear on your custom Vuitton since the overnight services wrap the luggage to send it, and it ensures that your bespoke wardrobe makes it to the Connaught without being better-traveled than its owner.
The idea of showing up carrying only a bottle of spring water, my MP3 player and a book in my carry-on sounds delightful to me.
The idea of showing up carrying only a bottle of spring water, my MP3 player and a book in my carry-on sounds delightful to me.
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Will
Sending luggage ahead has merit when the alternative iis unlocked suitcases full of bespoke clothing.
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Guest
Though of course I appreciate every suggestion, travelling first class and sending luggage ahead are just not financially prudent at my income level. I and I think this is probably true for the majority of people in the Lounge.
Practically speaking, elegant, long haul travel wear today means to me wearing all cottons which breathe, do not look terrible when wrinkled and when the wine spills on them, what the hell - throw them in the laundry without tears or regrets.
But to add panache to basically utilitarian travel clothing, wear beautiful loafers, a hat and neckerchief; also, depending on the season, either wear a safari style linen or cotton jacket (the extra jacket pockets on a coat are a god send for travel) or a Barbour, or similar, outcoat.
Get the best luggage you can afford. Accessories announce you, regardless how frazzled and rumpled you may look after your trip. I abhor the plastic wheelies luggage. But hell, I use them too just for their practicality. But I try to minimize wheelies use, preferring a leather carry all; depends on where I am traveling to and the length of stay.
Elegant travel today requires a seasoned balance of comfort , practicality with a nod to a few individual, elegant personal accessories and style notes.
But to add panache to basically utilitarian travel clothing, wear beautiful loafers, a hat and neckerchief; also, depending on the season, either wear a safari style linen or cotton jacket (the extra jacket pockets on a coat are a god send for travel) or a Barbour, or similar, outcoat.
Get the best luggage you can afford. Accessories announce you, regardless how frazzled and rumpled you may look after your trip. I abhor the plastic wheelies luggage. But hell, I use them too just for their practicality. But I try to minimize wheelies use, preferring a leather carry all; depends on where I am traveling to and the length of stay.
Elegant travel today requires a seasoned balance of comfort , practicality with a nod to a few individual, elegant personal accessories and style notes.
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clothesbunny
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Tue May 10, 2005 7:08 pm
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Having just returned from a long trip in Europe, in which I flew Business class on Air France, I have a couple new resolutions and few remaining conundrums. First, staying awake to enjoy the service is a total mistake. Go right to sleep. Get a prescription for Ativan from your doctor--it has no hangover or grogginess the next morning; it is addictive, but only when used very regularly--and go to sleep.
We left New York early in the evening and landed early the next morning. Despite only a couple hours sleep, we stayed up all day and went to sleep at about ten o'clock. I felt like the walking dead for much of the day, but after that first day I felt completely on French time.
Yet I have still not been able to figure out what to wear on the plane. No matter how much care I try to take in my dressing, I have not been able to find any clothing that does not feel gross once it has been slept in. I shared my cabin with Tim Roth on my return and his solution seemed to be to change entirely into pajamas at the beginning of the flight, sleep, and change again right before landing. It's not a terrible idea, and I might try it, but trying to shift one's clothes in the lavatory seems like something that should only be reserved for circus acts (I am similarly baffled by the mile-high club).
Finally, I think I am going to try the FedExing the luggage thing. It seems odd, but also like it might be the only way to go until I can afford the private jet.
We left New York early in the evening and landed early the next morning. Despite only a couple hours sleep, we stayed up all day and went to sleep at about ten o'clock. I felt like the walking dead for much of the day, but after that first day I felt completely on French time.
Yet I have still not been able to figure out what to wear on the plane. No matter how much care I try to take in my dressing, I have not been able to find any clothing that does not feel gross once it has been slept in. I shared my cabin with Tim Roth on my return and his solution seemed to be to change entirely into pajamas at the beginning of the flight, sleep, and change again right before landing. It's not a terrible idea, and I might try it, but trying to shift one's clothes in the lavatory seems like something that should only be reserved for circus acts (I am similarly baffled by the mile-high club).
Finally, I think I am going to try the FedExing the luggage thing. It seems odd, but also like it might be the only way to go until I can afford the private jet.
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majestatis626
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Mon Jul 11, 2005 10:18 pm
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How much does it cost to FedEx one's clothing overseas? I'd imagine it would be quite expensive, but I am considering for my next trip. Do you think it is safer than checking one's baggage on a plane? As for the issue of elegance while traveling, I must admit that it is quite difficult in this day and age. However, I don't think it is impossible, and I seek casual clothing that is elegant but comfortable. I find a pair of wool trousers, turtleneck, and blazer works quite well, as the jacket can be removed while sleeping, and the turtleneck is both comfortable and warm in the oft frigid airline cabins.
Gentlemen,
First of all, please allow me to introduce myself - this being my first post here. My name is Andrei and I live in Moscow, Russia (mostly, when not out travelling on business and leisure). I am a former boradcaster (though being only 38 and "former" sounds ludicrous
), now I'm in media-consultancy business, which incurs quite an informal environment...
With regard to the topic:
1. I totally agree with uppercase. That's my approach to air travel, though like every regular traveller I do have some small idiosyncrasies, like getting on board with a good bottle of wine, start it at take-off and finish quite early on in order to have time for a good sleep. Also I always take off my shoes once on board and put on some extra socks (slippers tend to be impractical sometimes to extra pack), allowing for feet comfort.
2. I'm not a regular for Transatlantic flights, but quite often to the Siberia, Asia and Far East. From my experience travels "towards the sun" (eastward-bound) are more heavier jet-lag-wise than the reverse. Since most of these flights depart in the evening, Moscow time, and arrive early morning, local time, I developed a formula which works for me: to get there one day in advance, get a good sleep until mid-day, then call it the day like you do it at home - but local time, wake up local morning time and - no jet-lag at all.
First of all, please allow me to introduce myself - this being my first post here. My name is Andrei and I live in Moscow, Russia (mostly, when not out travelling on business and leisure). I am a former boradcaster (though being only 38 and "former" sounds ludicrous
), now I'm in media-consultancy business, which incurs quite an informal environment...With regard to the topic:
1. I totally agree with uppercase. That's my approach to air travel, though like every regular traveller I do have some small idiosyncrasies, like getting on board with a good bottle of wine, start it at take-off and finish quite early on in order to have time for a good sleep. Also I always take off my shoes once on board and put on some extra socks (slippers tend to be impractical sometimes to extra pack), allowing for feet comfort.
2. I'm not a regular for Transatlantic flights, but quite often to the Siberia, Asia and Far East. From my experience travels "towards the sun" (eastward-bound) are more heavier jet-lag-wise than the reverse. Since most of these flights depart in the evening, Moscow time, and arrive early morning, local time, I developed a formula which works for me: to get there one day in advance, get a good sleep until mid-day, then call it the day like you do it at home - but local time, wake up local morning time and - no jet-lag at all.
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tteplitzmd
I would like to comment on the comments: My travel schedule in the last two months has included, Los Angeles (Hotel Bel Air, Business Class, with family), London (the Connaught, Business Class), Italy/Switzerland (Business Class, Hotel Brufani, Perugia, Badrutt's Palace, St. Moritz, Baur au Lac, Zurich).
Notwithstanding the beautiful hotels, etc.,, the scheming and planning to procure business class seats on United, etc., it has become so arduous that I told my wife, perhaps next year we will skip Europe. Business class affords you only the luxury of some distance from your peers, no semblance of service or sustenance.
Frankfurt airport for layovers has the ambience of a transit camp, Italian railroads the punctuality of ....etc. Traffic outside of Malpensa precludes a timely dirve to Switzerland, etc. The Connaught couldn't locate my Alden cap without considerable effort, in short things are not what they used to be.
Were it not irresponsible, I would support strong sedatives in any class of airline, to ease the misery, but you will almost certainly risk hangover, anterograde amnesia, and other arcane psychopharmacologic occurances as the price of your respite in the air.
I guess what I have found of late, is that any price, long haul travel, unless it is non stop has become very arduous. Unless you are retired with independent wealth, I don't know how anyone can really do it anymore. I can sort of do this on my own, but with my wife and son, it is very difficult. I even experienced in June United simply cancelling my flight to London because of a problem in the plane---they said simply come back in 24 hours, and I forfitted one night's cost of lodging at the Connaught because of this. That was with a business class ticket! ? At some point they break your will.
Notwithstanding the beautiful hotels, etc.,, the scheming and planning to procure business class seats on United, etc., it has become so arduous that I told my wife, perhaps next year we will skip Europe. Business class affords you only the luxury of some distance from your peers, no semblance of service or sustenance.
Frankfurt airport for layovers has the ambience of a transit camp, Italian railroads the punctuality of ....etc. Traffic outside of Malpensa precludes a timely dirve to Switzerland, etc. The Connaught couldn't locate my Alden cap without considerable effort, in short things are not what they used to be.
Were it not irresponsible, I would support strong sedatives in any class of airline, to ease the misery, but you will almost certainly risk hangover, anterograde amnesia, and other arcane psychopharmacologic occurances as the price of your respite in the air.
I guess what I have found of late, is that any price, long haul travel, unless it is non stop has become very arduous. Unless you are retired with independent wealth, I don't know how anyone can really do it anymore. I can sort of do this on my own, but with my wife and son, it is very difficult. I even experienced in June United simply cancelling my flight to London because of a problem in the plane---they said simply come back in 24 hours, and I forfitted one night's cost of lodging at the Connaught because of this. That was with a business class ticket! ? At some point they break your will.
I simply couldn't agree more with some of the tougher comments in this thread. Air travel these days, short of Singapore Airlines and Virgin Upper Class, just blows out loud. My wife is a high-end product, and the poor kid literally refused to leave her seat even once during our last flight from Copenhagen to Seattle--she got stubborn about visiting the "wretched lavatories" and determined to suffer in place rather than ford the unsanitary cordon that permanently blocked entry to the place. And this was in business class, where the average traveler has yet to discover man's latest triumph: the sock.
Gentlemen, firstly allow me to introduce myself in my second post to this forum. My name is Anthony, of Hampshire and London. My work is in the area of strategic marketing and business planning.clothesbunny wrote:I shared my cabin with Tim Roth on my return and his solution seemed to be to change entirely into pajamas at the beginning of the flight, sleep, and change again right before landing. It's not a terrible idea, and I might try it, but trying to shift one's clothes in the lavatory seems like something that should only be reserved for circus acts
Recently I had occasion to fly to New York, availing myself for the first time of the excellent Virgin Upper Class. Amongst a myriad of small pleasures, I was delighted to be given a pair of black pyjamas to wear for the duration of the flight.
Despite one or two reservations I successfully donned the pyjamas in the lavatory closet and had a comfortable journey, arriving crisp and fresh.
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