The Best Comfortable Travel, Flight & Work Clothes That Actually Look the Part

TELLAR FASHION HUB — STYLE ADVICE

By the Tellar Style Team | February 2026

The best travel and work outfits have one thing in common: they're built on pieces that are genuinely comfortable but look polished enough that you'd happily walk straight from the airport or train into a meeting without a second thought. Joggers and oversized hoodies have their place — but there's a whole world of cleverly designed clothing that delivers real comfort and serious style, and once you find it, you'll never go back.

I used to be the person who turned up to long-haul flights in head-to-toe athleisure, landed looking crumpled and half-asleep, and then had to scramble to look vaguely professional. A few years ago I started investing in what I call my "travel uniform" — a handful of specific pieces that pack brilliantly, don't crease, and look intentional. Game. Changed.

The Golden Rules of Travel Dressing

Before we get into the actual pieces, here are the principles that separate a brilliant travel wardrobe from a frustrating one:

Fabric is everything. Look for jersey, ponte, technical weaves, viscose blends, and anything with a small percentage of elastane. These fabrics move with you, don't crease, and recover their shape after hours in a seat.
Avoid anything with a stiff waistband. Tailored trousers with a rigid waist will have you loosening the button by hour two. Elasticated or wide-band waists are your friend on long journeys.
Layers are non-negotiable. Planes are freezing and airports are boiling. A lightweight layer you can throw on and off without looking chaotic is essential.
Think about wrinkle recovery. If you're holding a garment up and it creases easily when scrunched, leave it at home. Travel clothes need to bounce back.
Stick to a neutral palette with one accent piece. It makes mixing and matching effortless and means everything can be worn more than once.

The Best Trousers for Travelling & Working

This is the most important piece of the puzzle. A great travel trouser does the heavy lifting for your entire outfit.

Cos — their jersey-blend tailored trousers are genuinely one of the best things on the high street for travel and work. Clean, minimalist, and they don't crease. The wide-leg and straight-leg silhouettes both work brilliantly.
Jigsaw — excellent for ponte and crepe trousers that look properly smart but feel like you're wearing nothing. Their tailored styles hold their shape all day.
Banana Republic — a brilliant mid-price option for technical-fabric trousers. Their "Sloan" style in particular is a travel wardrobe staple: holds its shape, has a comfortable stretch, looks desk-ready.
Reiss — for premium, their tailored wide-leg trousers in technical crepe are exceptional. Smart enough for client meetings, comfortable enough for a transatlantic flight.
Massimo Dutti — consistently well-cut trousers at a mid-to-premium price. Their jersey-blend styles have become cult pieces for frequent travellers and commuters.

The Best Tops for Long Days

You want tops that look like you made an effort without actually requiring any. Structured jersey, quality modal, and fine-knit fabrics are the sweet spots.

Me&Em — one of the best British brands for travel-ready tops. Their Breton stripe tops, fine-knit turtlenecks and neat jersey shirts look polished all day and pack down to almost nothing. A staple in my travel bag.
White Stuff — brilliant for soft, breathable layering pieces — their long-sleeve jersey tops and relaxed shirts are great for flights and casual work days alike.
Whistles — their silk-feel jersey tops and lightweight blouses are ideal for work travel. Smart enough for the boardroom, comfortable enough for six hours in economy.
Tommy Hilfiger — reliable for quality cotton and jersey basics that wash brilliantly, keep their shape, and look clean and fresh even after a long day.
Hush — an underrated gem for travel basics. Their modal tops and easy jersey pieces are incredibly soft, pack flat, and can be dressed up or down effortlessly.

Layering: The Jacket or Knit That Does Everything

The right outer layer is the piece that pulls a travel outfit together and deals with the inevitable temperature chaos of airports, air conditioning, and European summers.

Barbour — their lightweight quilted jacket is practically the gold standard for travel layers. Smart, packable, handles a cold plane cabin or a chilly morning walk between meetings.
Ted Baker — excellent for lightweight blazers and knit jackets that look dressed-up but don't add bulk or weight in your bag.
Crew Clothing — their merino knits are a travel essential. Merino wool regulates temperature naturally, doesn't wrinkle, and doesn't absorb odour — genuinely ideal for long journeys.
Gant — well-cut, relaxed blazers and structured knitwear that bridges smart casual and business casual with ease. Their travel-ready styles layer perfectly.

Dresses That Travel Beautifully

A jersey wrap dress or a shirt dress in a crease-resistant fabric is arguably the single most efficient travel piece you can own — it's one item that does the job of two. I've worn the same wrap dress on a flight, straight into dinner, and again for a morning meeting the next day. Worth every penny.

Phase Eight — brilliant for jersey wrap and shirt dresses that pack flat, don't crease, and look polished from airport to office.
Hobbs — their ponte shift dresses are a long-time stylist favourite for business travel: structured enough to look smart, comfortable enough to survive a day of meetings.
M&S — honest, this is one area where M&S really delivers. Their jersey wrap dresses and ponte shirt dresses are reliable, affordable, and genuinely travel-friendly.

Shoes: Comfortable But Never Sloppy

Wear your bulkiest shoes on the plane rather than packing them, and invest in footwear that works for walking, standing in queues, and walking into a meeting without changing. A clean white trainer, a leather loafer, or a low block heel all bridge that gap brilliantly. LK Bennett does exceptional low-heeled court shoes that are far more comfortable than they look. Boden is worth checking for leather loafers that can take you from travel to desk without a wobble.

Two Independent Brands You Should Know

Asquith London — a small British brand doing genuinely luxurious bamboo and organic cotton activewear-meets-casualwear. Their jogger-style tailored trousers and long-line tops are perfectly pitched for long-haul travel: breathable, buttery soft, and smarter-looking than standard athleisure.
Baukjen — a sustainable British womenswear brand whose jersey midi dresses and relaxed separates are practically designed for travel. Minimal, well-cut, and made to last — their pieces fold into a corner of your bag and come out looking freshly ironed.

A Quick Note on Accessories

A cashmere or merino travel wrap doubles as a blanket on the plane and a smart layer for cooler offices. The White Company does beautiful cashmere and merino wraps that are worth the investment — I've had mine for years. A structured tote or All Saints leather holdall keeps the whole look intentional rather than chaotic. And never underestimate the power of a good silk scarf for travel: it can double as a neck pillow cover, a belt, or just a quick way to make a simple outfit feel finished.

Stop Guessing Your Size Across Brands — Tellar Has You Covered

One of the most frustrating things about building a travel wardrobe is that sizing varies so wildly between brands. You're a 12 in M&S, a 10 in Reiss, a 14 in Banana Republic — and suddenly you've ordered three pairs of trousers that don't fit and you're making three trips to the post office. Sound familiar?

Tellar.co.uk fixes this completely. It's the UK's leading free sizing tool — no downloads, no subscriptions — and it matches your measurements to 1,500+ brands instantly. Measure once, get your precise size in any brand you're shopping. Done.

Measure once — bust, waist, hips, or just use a size you already know fits in a brand you trust.
Use the Store Size Lookup tool — instantly find your size in Reiss, COS, Whistles, Jigsaw, M&S, Banana Republic and 1,500+ more.
Always free — no catches, no logins required. Just your correct size, immediately.

The Tellar Fashion Hub is also home to hundreds of free, honest styling guides from our team — completely independent, never influenced by brands or advertising. Just the real advice you actually need.

More from the Tellar Fashion Hub you might find useful:

The Ultimate Clothing Sizing Guide — your complete guide to navigating sizing across UK and international brands
The Best Jeans Trends for 2025 & 2026
The Ultimate Guide to Jackets: Styles, Body Shapes & Best Buys
The Ultimate Guide to Dresses: Styles, Body Shapes & Where to Shop

The best travel and work wardrobe isn't about spending a fortune — it's about being strategic with the pieces you choose. A handful of the right fabrics, the right cuts, and the right layers will take you further (literally and figuratively) than a suitcase full of outfits that look great on a hanger and feel awful by hour three. Invest in the pieces above, know your size across the brands you love via Tellar, and you'll never dread packing again.