Packing Slacks?

Remember when pants or trousers were called slacks? Or perhaps I am showing my age?

One can only wonder why they were called slacks. However we are fortunate enough now that polyester slacks especially in plaid have evolved into something that I do want to wear!

With our summer vacation and cruise on the horizon,( actually we leave next week), the thought of what to pack immediately comes to mind, and a new pair of plaid pants is definitely on the list. I have just bought the below and am wearing them today at work, just to break them in.

I have also bought a few other new items to traipse about the lido deck in, and for the inevitable shore excursions. When shopping I mix it up a lot, and don’t stick to any particular one brand.

I have bought these shorts from H&M in 3 colours, the khaki shown, with a white and a pink pair thrown in for good measure.

Other bottoms will include these Acne green jeans and the most comfortable chino from Uniqlo.

The following sandals purchased from Cole Haan, which were a bargain as they were on sale.
The essential pair of Sperry Topsiders, which will work well with shorts or pants.

A couple of linen shirts in various colours from Uniqlo as they will be cool and go with everything, except I know that they won’t travel well.

Several bowties including my Lanvin from H&M, for evening wear.

Jackets will include this wonderfully easy to wear linen number from Uniqlo along with this cute little windcheater from the H&M Lanvin collection (in Khaki).

The perfect stylish shoulder bag from Marc Jacobs styled like the old Pan Am bags, for when we are out and about exploring northern capitals. Being an airline nut I fell in love with this when they were released a couple of years ago, and have loved it for the last couple of years. This one always travels with me.

Of course there will be some trusty old staples being packed, I just hope that I do not pack too much, or leave something behind!

Savoir Faire on the Top Deck

While we are on the subject of vintage airliners and long before we were all herded onto planes like cattle, there existed a time when travelling First Class, really meant that you were above everyone else.

One of the most unusual features of the Boeing 747 when it was launched in the late 60’s was its unusual “hump” on top of the main fuselage. Known as the upper deck, this hump housed the cockpit and also extra passenger accommodation, adding to its behemoth size.

When the Boeing 747 first came into service in the late 1960’s early 1970’s most airlines reserved the upper deck for the exclusive domain of their First Class passengers. No rows of seats here, but plush lounges and bars where you could relax in comfort whiling away those long flight hours.

Accessed by the all too familiar spiral staircase from the main deck, economy class passengers could only cast an envious eye upwards in the hope that they might be able to catch a glimpse of these sumptuous lounges.

Airlines usually chose to decorate their lounges using themes of their home countries, so before we arrived at our final destination we had a taste of things to come.

Qantas chose to decorate their lounges,with a somewhat colonial theme using Captain Cook as inspiration.

Air India and Iran Air chose local themes with a modern twist and lots of 70’s panache, so you didn’t even feel like you were on a plane.

Aerolineas Argentinas chose quite a masculine vibe, maybe to get us in the mood for some of the machismo we might face in Argentina.

Delta turned the upper deck into the “world’s first flying Penthouse”, which could be sold as a unit to a group travelling together.

Along with the real estate them that was inspiring Delta to call their lounges Penthouses, Braniff chose to give theirs an address.

Pan Am envisaged a restaurant style setting with individual tables that could be booked for a more pleasurable ding experience.

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So next time you are sitting in Row 55 up the back of economy class, know that it was not always this way!

Gold is Sexy!

Think gold body paint and what do we usually come up with? James Bond and Goldfinger! The image of a partially naked, gold painted woman lying face down on a bed inert of all life has been etched on our minds. However the complete opposite is the case of Orlane’s advertising campaign for their masculine Derrick fragrance of the seventies. Here we have a man who was probably good looking without the paint, however dip him in liquid gold, have him laugh and throw his head back and we have an image that is oh so incredibly sexy and creates an impact! I remember this from my formative teenage years and even had it adorn one of my exercise books at school. Now I say, ‘I’ll have whatever he is wearing!”