Lobster in a Bucket

Dressing Up

The cliché is that people always dress up to fly. It’s true too, just visit Unclaimed Baggage in Scottsborough, Alabama. There you’ll find a high proportion of nice clothes, much higher than say a thrift store. As I sit here in another airport (Chicago/Midway this time), I wonder why people decide to dress-up, here’s a couple explanations that spring to mind.

1) The first-time quality or novelty of air-travel inspires people to dress well- This is probably the most obvious explanation, the one that I’ve heard the most. It makes sense too, if you’ve only flown twice in your life. While it’s probably true that everyone dresses up for their first plane ride, just like they probably dressed up for their first date, their first day on the job, their wedding, and their funeral. However while this explanation does a good job explaining why people dress up for their first flight, or their first flight in 15 years. It doesn’t explain the general phenomenon well.
That is, why are their so many people dressed to impress in airports. I find it hard to believe that so many people in these airports really find this travel novel.

2) Airfare is used most by people involved in business- I would believe that it’s true that business travel accounts for the majority of bookings. However, there’s business attire, and then there’s bizness attire. Business attire consists of the company logo button-downs and Oxford style suits. It’s a uniform more than a fashion choice. As a uniform, we don’t usually recognize it, technically nice, but not what one gets at when one states, “what is it about airports and the way they make people dress up?”

3) The idea of Bizness attire on the other hand may be getting at something- Airports are maybe the most multicultural institution in our country. Nothing really focuses persons from widely varying contexts like an airport. So perhaps the perception of dressing-up to fly is actually the perception of different culture.

In all likelyhood all three of these things probably contribute to the cliché. And regardless of why people chose to wear the clothes that they do, airports are second to only maybe theme parks for rich people watching.