Airport Style Tips

Being a manager of a brand with stores spread across the Middle East, I travel quite often- short trips of course, but twice in a year I have the much dreaded 6 hour flight to London. I know 6 hours is nothing, but I’m petrified of travelling alone and 6 hours is the longest I’ve ever been in the aircraft.

Moving on to the main topic here, I always like to travel light. I hate having to carry more than 1 check in bag- my handbag. My airport style is quite casual and fuss free and I maintain a calm and composed look when I travel alone.  My looks depend on the place I’m flying to and hence I dress according to the occasion and the weather.I usually fly out in the morning and come back in the evening or sometimes spend a day in Dubai. These trips are rather quick and require me to dress appropriately for work.

• Because Trousers crumple easily during the journey and blazers make me feel hot and icky when I’m getting around, I prefer wearing strong, Ponte leggings and an un-tucked georgette blouse or a sturdy pair of dark wash denims with a crisp light-colored shirt tucked in. I refrain from layering unless it’s winter, where I’ll wear a formal jumper over. I never wear heels when travelling, never.  I love my comfy leather ballet flats or a classy loafer. Heels, apart from being a strain during travel, can make you feel uncomfortable and slow you down. It’s better to stick to a comfortable shoe rather than paying a price to come across as stylish. I say this again; simply wearing heels does not make one stylish. Flats can do that too.

• My hair is always left loose when I travel or tied up in a loose pony tail as taut knots and buns tend to give me a headache. I stick to something easy. It’s better to leave your lair loose so that you can put your head back and relax on the flight without shuffling in your seat.
• Make up is simple on short trips and very minimal on longer ones. I stick to loose powder and blush with eyeliner and carry a moisturizing lip balm with me. Longer trips find me with only mascara and lipstick. The lipstick makes up for my otherwise pale and un-colored face. You don’t want to use too much cream or liquid based foundation when travelling, as the skin gets really dry while in the aircraft and the foundation is just going to crack and create creases all over your face. If you really must use them, I suggest using a concealer over imperfections and setting it with loose powder.  Touch up’s can be done every 3 hours.
• I keep jewelry to a minimum as some airports will request that you take them all off before scanning and this can delay you.
• You must own a travel handbag that is big enough and easy to carry all that you need. In my case I use an over-sized leather tote from Mango that is structured well and is my travel companion. I even use this bag for 2 day trips and it even holds a change of clothes along with my laptop and work files. It is an amazing bag and perfect for travel. I highly recommend these styles from Mango.

• Hydrating yourself is very important before flying so make sure you drink lots of water and keep a travel sized moisturizer with you at all times.