Travel essentials: chic pants for 15-hour flights and beyond.
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the big trip my family is going to take this summer. We’re headed to Tokyo, Kyoto, Paris, and Barcelona. We are so excited! We can hardly wait!
We will be out of the country for 30 days. The last time I took such a long trip, I literally packed 7 pieces of clothing. It was liberating in a slightly crazy kind of way. I’m not doing that this time, but I also don’t want to overpack – so every piece I bring has to do double-duty.
I’m thinking about pants. I want a pair that I can wear on all of our long flights (kind of as pajamas) but are also chic enough to wear around town. They need to be comfortable, loose-fitting, packable, and stylish. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:
Splendid Woven Pull-On Pants
Super chic. I love Splendid. However, at $108, these are not cheap…but I bet I could find them on ebay for a lot less.
Gap Simple Pants
Basic. Awesomely priced at $25.
Loft “Lou and Gray” Stormy Drawstring pants
The only issue that I have with this choice is that these could absolutely get too casual if you let them. Not sure I want to have to think about how to dress them up. Price is manageable – $50.
Irreplaceable B Pant by Joie
Oh, help. These are super-awesome but SO expensive. $200! I am always torn when I find a fabulous item like this: glad because it’s so perfect, but bummed because it’s so much dang money! Another ebay item for sure.
Anyone have any other suggestions? What do you wear on super long flights?
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$200? Are you crazy? (don’t answer that!)
Gene – I know! I can’t buy them, but I want to! I’m going to look on ebay.
I vote for the Gap pants. I think they are more stylish than the first pair and a great price to boot. I do love the cobalt blue Irreplaceable B pants but you’ll be sick to your stomach if anything happens to them at those prices. I wouldn’t even want to curl up in an airplane seat wearing $200 pants.
I wear jeans on planes. I can do/wear anything for five hours crossing the U.S. But for international flights for more comfort I slip into sweat pants once we have taken off, then change back before landing.
.I could never spend $200 on pants and if I ever did, I wouldn’t wear them on a trip. So I, too, vote for the Gap pants.
For myself,I recently found a pair of Nine West cigarette fit skinny leg pants at BJ’s near me (NY suburbs). I actually got my 1st pair somewhere that I don’t remember – think on the internet but cannot find the order. Then I found them at BJs and grabbed 2. They are knit, black and slim and although they say jeans, they don’t look like jeans. Do have the jeans style pockets, but no contrast stitching, and since they are knit, easy to cover with a jacket or top. Comfy, and best of all, inexpensive (about $20 or less). I’m not small like you (size 10 but not your slim & trim type) and short. Hemmed them by turning them up but they shrunk in dryer, so I just released the hem. Know now to air dry.
I can think of pants I have owned that I would gladly pay 200 dollars to have another pair. Get the ones you like and then wear them enough to get your money’s worth
I bought my travel pants from Athleta – a yoga-type pant in a nice sturdy weight.
JJill has a line of knit pants and leggings this year that are pretty great. Have been wearing these for travel. We all have our fav brands, but these were surprisingly comfortable and now quite inexpensive on sale!
http://www.jjill.com/jjillonline/prodnav/filter.aspx?pfid=205&sk=O&h=M
smittytabb – Yes! I just looked at these and agree!!! Thanks 🙂
Anne – The Gap pants are definitely a winner. I love the color of the Irreplaceable pants but they are…irreplaceable…at $200!
Marilyn – Love it when I can find duplicates of something fabulous. Even better that you scored them for such a great price!
smitty06 – I am definitely a fan of CPW (Cost Per Wear), but I also try to find the item on ebay first to see if I can get the number down even more. And I too have had pants that I would have paid a THOUSAND dollars to get another pair (well, maybe I’m exaggerating a little). 😉
AAL – I looked at Athleta. Since we will be traveling in the summer, I am hoping to find something lighter-weight. I keep hoping that Athleta will come out with something like that in time for my trip, but so far no dice.
smittytabb – Thanks for the tip! Will check these out!