Airport to arrival, in things that go through security
Accessories chosen for a day of being handled, scanned, and slept in.
Built on: Whatever you can sit in for six hours.
Travel is the one context where accessories have to earn their place functionally, and most do not. Anything that has to come off at security, anything that digs in when you lean back, and anything you would be upset to leave in a seat pocket is the wrong choice for the day.
What passes: a large scarf, which is the single most useful travel object there is — blanket, pillow, cover for a cold plane, and a way of looking put together on arrival when nothing else about you is. Small stud earrings, which can be slept in. A watch, which is more useful than a phone across time zones and does not need charging.
What to leave off: bangles and stacked rings, which are noisy and, in the case of rings, genuinely worth removing on long flights since fingers swell. Anything with a long chain, which tangles in a seatbelt. And the good bag, because overhead lockers are hard on leather.
Arrival is where the head scarf earns its place. Folded and tied at the nape, it covers eight hours of pressurised-cabin hair completely, and it takes about fifteen seconds in a bathroom mirror.
