Friedman explained that there aren’t many hard-and-fast rules for travel day, other than those imposed by airlines (these are often general provisions about wearing clothes that aren’t offensive to others).
But you should consider the reality of being in a shared, public space. “That doesn’t mean you have to look fancy,” she told me over the phone, “but it maybe does mean you don’t wear your pajamas.”
“Airports are unpleasant, and economy sucks,” she said. “If you wear a suit and a suit jacket and high-heeled shoes, you’d end up wrinkled, creased, and miserable. So I would never suggest anything like that, but you want to be a little respectful of other strangers.”
Friedman recommends mining your regular wardrobe for clothes that are stylish but on the “pajama-end of the scale” comfort-wise. You never know what can happen during a trip, so ideally choose pieces that can stand a little abuse—that is, clothes that are wrinkle-resistant and preferably machine-washable.
She often travels in a pair of Collina Strada crushed-velvet cargo pants, which are stylish and—crucially—soft, comfortable, and not too tight around the waist. (Friedman told me that Travis Kelce is also a fan, wearing the same exact style and color as she does. “In what universe is that even possible?” she wondered.)
If you can’t get your hands on a pair of the velvet, Kelce-Friedman crossover pants, Friedman told me that Collina Strada always has cargo pants in its collection (same pant, different material). Although they’re pricey, they’re also often on sale—and Friedman stressed that she finds them well worth the investment.
She said she pairs the pants with a sweater layered over a long-sleeve thermal T-shirt—her go-to tee is Uniqlo’s Heattech innerwear shirt. She also brings a scarf, since airplanes can be cold.
Vanessa Friedman loves these stylish yet comfy pants for travel days. She thinks they’re worth the price—plus, they’re often on sale.
This is Vanessa Friedman’s go-to base layer for staying warm on travel days. She wears it under a sweater.
Friedman said the beauty of this outfit is that once she arrives, she can go straight to work. But comfort-wise, “it’s essentially not that different from wearing a sweatsuit.”
But what about an actual sweatsuit? Will that offend the style gods? “I don’t own one,” Friedman said, “but I think it’s fine.”
