Island Suit Wear?

Lets say you were flying to an island (you name it, Tikehau, St. Kitts, Cancun, whatever), which suit would you wear to match the climate and to look your best as you step off of the plane? A white or tan linen blend? Seersucker? Which shoes, shirt and tie combo?

I am curious for input from the sartorial gods as I am going on several such trips later this summer and fall and do not want to look like the frat boy beach bum off of MTV.

Unless you're going on business, I would avoid the suit all together (or at least the tie). You can dress casually and not look like a frat boy.

My personal choice: linen trousers - cotton or silk (but not shiny) campshirt, untucked - Tod's (or some facsimile thereof) driving loafers, no socks - rum drink - relaxed expression.

That's just me - YMMV

Rent the movie "After the Sunset."  I think it will give you some pretty good ideas.

Out of curiosity, what is the logic behind 'dressing up' for a flight (be it a suit or just trousers and a nice shirt)? Is this to save space in one's suitcase? Or is it some kind of common courtesy to look nice on the plane and in the airport?

Well one trip is business related and others are for pure personal enjoyment. As for being dressed nicely, in both all cases I am either meeting business associates or family members and it is appropriate in my eyes to look nice. I suppose I could forgo a tie, but I do feel a jacket is necessary.

Any other thoughts or input?

Well one trip is business related and others are for pure personal enjoyment. As for being dressed nicely, in both all cases I am either meeting business associates or family members and it is appropriate in my eyes to look nice. I suppose I could forgo a tie, but I do feel a jacket is necessary.

Click to expand...

Nonsense... Forgo the jacket and pants... But ties??? NEVAH... PS: We carry extra long so you're safe...

Seems like a hundred years ago, I was vacationing on Paradise Island and saw a bunch of workers dressed in navy sport coat white shirt/tie and matching navy shorts. They were all heading to an IBM facility. The combo looked weird, but I figured......IBM.....

Quote:

Click to expand...

(cloud9eleet @ May 16 2005,15:59) Well one trip is business related and others are for pure personal enjoyment. As for being dressed nicely, in both all cases I am either meeting business associates or family members and it is appropriate in my eyes to look nice. I suppose I could forgo a tie, but I do feel a jacket is necessary.
Nonsense... Forgo the jacket and pants... But ties??? NEVAH... PS: We carry extra long so you're safe...
Hahahaha... Jon, always the comedian Jon.

Out of curiosity, what is the logic behind 'dressing up' for a flight (be it a suit or just trousers and a nice shirt)?  Is this to save space in one's suitcase?  Or is it some kind of common courtesy to look nice on the plane and in the airport?

Click to expand...

Both.

koji

I don't know if you've traveled much in the Caribbean, but most travel means puddle jumper planes and ground transportation consisting of group taxis, sans air conditioning, driven at death defying speeds over horrible roads, dodging goats and other livestock along the way.

I would not worry about the suit so much as finding a good combination of something that is casual elegant and comfortable.

Personally I would wear a nice sport shirt, say something similar to the stuff Brioni puts out, and some lightweight wool or cotton trousers.

Most of the islands I've been to, and I've been to probably about 10, are seriously casual. Puerto Rico is different because it's a pretty big island and very industrialized, so it is more like the U.S. in that respect, but in the English and French-speaking Caribbean, it's casual.

I used to go to the Maldives for business a lot ( a dozen trips or so). the people there are pretty small, until they had tourism nutrition wasn't very good, so most adults seem to be about 5 feet tall, and dark skinned. I would get there in my dark, 150's wool suit, all majestic 250 pounds of pink gringo, and I would look like an alien on the equator.

for the business trip, I would go with what ever you wear in new york or dc in the summer. for your family trips, I would go with linen trousers and coat, and a light weight shirt, no tie. that's me.

I have traveled quite a bit in French Polynesia and in the Caribbean a far bit and I am aware of the small planes, dodgy land transfers, etc. Even though the accommodations at times are less than "excellent", why sacrifice looking good? Like several say on here, you can never be over dressed, right?

White cotton or very light cream linen suit. High-stance 2-button.

Light pink dress shirt, or maybe a very light purple with white stripes.

Light tan loafers.

Either a light tan leather belt, or a nylon belt that matches shirt color, with light tan leather on the ends.

Lets say you were flying to an island (you name it, Tikehau, St. Kitts, Cancun, whatever), which suit would you wear to match the climate and to look your best as you step off of the plane? A white or tan linen blend? Seersucker? Which shoes, shirt and tie combo? I am curious for input from the sartorial gods as I am going on several such trips later this summer and fall and do not want to look like the frat boy beach bum off of MTV.

Click to expand...

How about a swimsuit?

Having only passed through Barbados, etc on the way to Guyana, where I've travelled for work several times, I can't speak for island dress in general. It did look fairly casual to me. But I can speak to moving through the cities and less-touristed areas in the developing world (and lots of the islands are just that, at least outside the tourist spots).

My advice in that context is to underdress - at least until you reach your destination. By underdress I don't mean jeans and a tee shirt, which also screams 'tourist', but rather a very simple pair of trousers and a respectable dress shirt. That look says 'I am here to get around and see things, not to flaunt my money'.

As globetrotter said, you're likely to stand out enough as it is, and be seen as rich and foreign. And assuming you do leave the confines of the resorts (which is usually a lot more interesting than only sipping mai tais poolside), you'll likely be moving through areas that are far from wealthy.

If you are mainly going to the ultra-expensive 'vacation islands' and/or only hanging out in the resorts, please feel free to ignore the above.