First, I cooked and ate some chicken thighs last week, and you should maybe think about trying this recipe (with the obvious modifications in the first few reviews, such as the addition of bread crumbs and many, many herbs and spices). Cook it uncovered and the instant mashed potatoes crisp up nicely while clinging to the chicken. Very good.

Second, I was just reading a blog I like called A Dress A Day, which I read because of the delightful vintage-clothing pictures and the quality, error-free writing,* and not out of any particular interest in dresses. In fact, aside from the desire for pockets, I don’t believe my tastes intersect with Erin’s in any measurable way. The last time I wore a dress, as you all know, was for my brother’s wedding.

*Seriously, on that. Erin’s a dictionary editor, and she does not make mistakes† in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. I do not believe there is another blogger who can say that, except, of course, Bill Walsh or others who write about writing or editing, and that’s not the same thing. When you’re a blogger, you have to be your own editor and your own proofreader, and too many simply don’t bother. Professional writers who don’t know the difference between its and it’s should not exist, and every time I see “sneak peak” I die a little inside.)

†I feel I should point out that in this post she says “rest of” where it should be “rest of us.” I’m not blind to the occasional mistake. But that’s not a mistake so much as a typo. I can forgive that.

The recent post I was reading was about packing, and I came away from it with a couple of useful shopping-list items, among them packing cubes and anti-blister roll-on. Much of it (four pairs of shoes? for one trip? I’m not sure I have four pairs that fit me) wasn’t for me, but much of it was sensible and fun to read, and that’s all completely in keeping with the value to me of A Dress A Day.

This “packing” post linked to a post of hers from a year ago about dressing for travel. I remember reading that post at the time and thinking how completely detached it was from my reality, but I never left a comment. Rereading it today, I read through a year’s worth of comments and was surprised at the hugely uneven split between “yes, I agree, you should fly in skirts and business casual, the nicest of what fits your personal style” (the majority) and “no, I’m sorry, there’s no reason to dress up to fly” (five people, by my quick count).

I obviously fall on the latter side of that spectrum, but not one person in 103 comments had the same reason I do, which is simply that skirts aren’t comfortable in the first place. Surely I can’t be the only woman in the world who holds this opinion!

So I wrote and posted a longish comment, which I reproduce here.

Thanks to the link from the recent packing entry, I just reread this post for the first time since its publication, and I just had to add my comment to the tiny minority of us who don’t “dress up” to fly.

Flying may have required dressing up in days past, but those days are gone. I see no more societal call to dress up for a flight than to “dress for dinner” at home. If they’re going to stop giving out pretzels because the three cents a serving is breaking them, and charge me fifteen bucks to check a bag, I see no economic call to make a good impression.

But mainly, like the reader Risa who commented a year ago, I love the blog, especially the vintage pictures, but I “come from a different world.”

I’ve come to realize that I don’t have any reason or inclination to dress “cute,” so I stopped trying. I’ve never worn a size smaller than 14, and comfort is by far my number-one criterion in choosing clothes. I never buy shoes with heels. Nothing I own has lace or cap sleeves or a side zipper. Everything has pockets, and I never even have to check for them.

In my world there are no skirts or dresses at all, and I am baffled by the near-universal opinion that they are comfortable.

I had a yard sale this morning and sold my last four dresses. I now own zero, and I can’t imagine (aside from bridesmaiding and the small possibility [I’m 34] of getting married myself) ever buying another one. The only skirts I buy are those that have shorts underneath.

There’s a simple reason for this: my thighs stick together. I cannot imagine any garment less comfortable than a skirt or dress. If there’s no fabric between my thighs I am miserable.

And an airplane, where I’ve already been made miserable by ridiculous fake security preceded immediately by nickel-and-diming, is the last place I want to be made even more miserable by my own mistakes.

As a final note, the last time I was on an airplane (technically, the last four times) it was in first class. I did not feel out of place in jeans and a tshirt. I did feel out of place the time someone bumped me while I was turning to get into my seat and I spilled 32 ounces of soda and ice on the floor, but that would have happened no matter what I was wearing.

I demonstrated my long experience flying through predictable, respectful, and appropriate behavior. I got the hell out of the aisle to let others by, and put my bags and purse in the right places. I got out what I knew I’d need before the seat-belt sign went on, and packed it all away well before we arrived at the gate. Your sweatpants- and pajama-wearing folks don’t do that, because they probably don’t realize they’re supposed to.

I treated the flight attendants with polite respect, and smiled broadly, and said “please” and “thank you,” and I was treated well in kind. Your sweatpants- and pajama-wearing folks don’t do that, because they probably don’t realize they’re supposed to.

How you treat people goes a lot farther than what you wear in front of them.