Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
In today's video, we'll discuss how to survive a sartorial emergency.
You probably know how it works, you have this important event and something gets stained,
it gets lost, maybe it doesn't fit anymore.
Not long ago, I flew to Europe with my family and Delta and KLM lost three out of five checked
in pieces of luggage.
Now, that was particularly bad because we were on our way to the wedding of my best
friend and of course, I was the best man.
With my suitcase gone, KLM told us that they found it and that it was with a delivery courier
and we should get it any day.
Turned out it was a lie and something was wrong in their system.
They never located our suitcases even three months afterward.
Unfortunately, we had just a day left, we were in a small town, and I'm a pretty difficult
person to fit off the rack so it was a real challenge to find a suit or an entire ensemble
that I could wear as the best man to the wedding.
Fortunately, I always put on nice clothes when I travel and that turned out to be a
lifesaver.
I had a safari jacket with many pockets because it's practical but a white dress shirt, a
pair of seersucker pants, and a nice pair of dress shoes.
That way, I was able to find a jacket and because it was really hard to find something,
I ended up with a jacket from CNA that originally costs a hundred euros, it was marked down
to 29, it was like a navy simple hopsack blazer and I found a tie with it that was blue and
that was my outfit for the wedding.
If you know me, you know clothing is a big deal for me, at the same time, I got over
it, enjoyed myself, and had a good time.
Of course, that was only until I talked to Delta and KLM again, let me tell you, what
a *****. They really didn't know where our luggage was but they kept telling us "oh it's
in Amsterdam, it's in Frankfurt, we'll deliver it" but at the end of the day, that was all
wrong.
Now we have to go through the claims process which was even worse, they only want to reimburse
us 1500 bucks even though our stuff was worth 10 times that much.
They want you to create detailed lists of all the things that went missing then they
want you to submit receipts, what about gifts?
Nope, they don't accept that.
what about photo and video proof from our videos that I own it?
No, that's not enough.
What about the things that you don't have the receipts anymore, they don't care.
So overall, they lose your stuff, they make you work for it, and then they pay you a very
small amount.
So even if I had my receipts from five years ago, they'd probably be faded by now and illegible.
So at least, if you do online shopping, you can still find your receipt in your inbox
very easily.
If you work for Delta or KLM, let me tell you, the way you treat customers whose luggage
you lose is really really atrocious.
On top of that, I'm a SkyTeam elite member with gold standards.
I wonder what it would be like if I wasn't that, probably even worse!
After this whole experience which ruined our experience for a few days, I reflected a little
bit and came up with a number of tips that can help you to survive such sartorial emergencies.
First, let's talk about how to prevent an emergency in the first place because there
are definitely a few things that I could have done differently.
One, evaluate the risk.
In my case, we went to a wedding, it was on Friday.
We came in on a Wednesday, that didn't leave me much time.
I should probably put up my suit in a carry-on just to be safe.
So for you, that means weigh out the importance of the event that you're going to attend with
the risks that you have when you travel with checked luggage.
Two, always be prepared for common sartorial issues.
For example, a tie can always get stained, that means you should have backup ties maybe
in your car, maybe at your office, or in your carry-on.
It doesn't take much space and if you roll it up, it'll come out and won't be destroyed
but it will save your life in case you need it for an important business meeting or for
a wedding.
It's also great to have some stain removal wipes in your wallet because they are flat,
you can carry them with you and chances are you have your wallet with you at all times.
That being said, if you travel and you have a limited amount of clothes, maybe avoid the
barbecue ribs because chances that you stain your outfits are a lot higher that way.
Also, I suggest to dress a bit more formally because you can always take your tie off but
if you don't have one but you need one, you can not just make one up.
For example, I dress more formally than 99% of the people on that plane.
If I would have worn a hoodie and sweatpants, it would have been a terrible disaster at
the wedding.
Also, it's really important to wear a versatile well-fitting pair of shoes.
Wearing a jacket that doesn't fit well makes you look weird, having shoes that don't fit
well is painful and will cause blisters so instead of traveling with sneakers, I opted
for a burgundy pair of derbies because I knew I could wear it with a suit, I could wear
it with a more casual pair of pants and it would always look good and it would minimize
the number of shoes I had to bring.
The burgundy was also dark enough for a formal event such as a wedding and it really helped
that I wore those pairs of shoes.
Also, when you travel, make some extra considerations for clothes and toiletries that you put into
your carry-on.
If you truly can't live without a particular outfit or a tuxedo, travel with it and carry
it, it may suck at the moment but it's a lot better than being there without it when you
really need it.
If you have an important thing coming up, try to fly in a few days early, that gives
you an extra buffer to deal with issues.
For example, if we would have just come in last minute.
we wouldn't have had that extra day, I would have been probably dirty and really inappropriately
dressed for that very important moment of my best friend.
Also, I suggest to pick out your outfit three weeks in advance.
That way, if something doesn't fit anymore or something is stained or a button is missing,
it gives you enough time to get it all fixed before you need it.
That also means you pick out the entire outfit so you can see if there are any shortcomings
or anything that needs changed.
Also when you travel, bring a little bit of laundry detergent powder, it gets you through
the TSA and you can always handwash something in a sink and it can be a lifesaver if you're
just at a hotel for example, and the turnaround time for dry cleaning is too long.
If you fly and you check luggage, try to have as few connections as possible.
In our case, we just had one in Amsterdam but the flight was delayed so I could even
just rented a car in Amsterdam and driven to my final destination, would have gotten
me there earlier.
Now, I didn't want to do that because it was an international flight.
At the end of the day, you have to weigh the pros and the cons but the lesson I learned
from that was that was I go non-stop whenever possible.
Now the entire situation was really stressful and it really affected my mood negatively
and I had to actively let it go, otherwise, it would have been a poor vacation for all.
In order to lessen that pain, I suggest to invest in luggage insurance, it is quite inexpensive
and chances are some of the credit cards you use especially the travel-focused ones, they
already have a luggage insurance built-in.
Unfortunately, the Delta Reserve Amex card that I have does not have luggage insurance
so I was on my own, so check your credit card if it has it or buy it otherwise, it is a
good investment.
Okay, so these are all things you can do before an emergency occurs but what if you actually
experience a sartorial emergency?
First of all, lower your standards.
You're ruining any chance of enjoying yourself if you can't just give yourself a break and
just accept the situation for what it is.
Personally, I was pissed every time I got off the phone with them and they were telling
me a different story but after three days, I just decided "let's stop worrying about
it and enjoy the time with my family, my friends" and it was possibly the best thing I could
have done.
I was there to be the best man and to support my best friend and I had a wonderful time
with the people there.
I also tried to laugh about it or make jokes about it and most people didn't even notice
but it will certainly be a good story to tell in a few years time.
Two, if you're wronged and no one takes responsibility for it, move on.
I mean it's easy to feel sorry for yourself, you didn't do anything wrong and someone else
is taking zero responsibility for it, come on!
Of course, it feels unfair to just let it go but at the end of the day, you're not in
control so rather focus your energy in something positive that you can control,
Three, do the best with what you have and be creative and find an inventive solution.
If your stuff is stained and you cannot clean it, well, maybe you can take it off or hide
it or get a scarf or find a way around it so it looks presentable.
Four, of course, you can also head to your nearest store and tell them exactly what you
need.
The problem is, in other countries, sometimes they have different opening hours and that
may not be an option.
Five, it's really important to understand that you, personally, probably judge yourself
much harsher than other people do.
Some people don't even notice that this was an emergency outfit I was wearing because
they didn't know I really cared about clothes.
In the grand scheme of things, maybe my seersucker pants were a little loud for a wedding in
Germany but I accepted it for what it was.
Six, it's very important to retain your confidence.
Obviously, this was not an ideal outfit for me but I still wore it confidently and people
didn't really notice.
If I would have been sorry for myself, they probably could have seen that and sensed that
and I would have looked off or weird to them.
Seven, if you really look poorly dressed and you can't avoid it, just explain your situation.
People will understand, they know your situation, they will feel sorry for you, and they will
accept you and not look at your clothes in that instance.
Finally last but not least, let a sartorial emergency never ruin your trip or your event
or the thing you worked so hard for because it's simply not worth it.
You're there to enjoy yourselves.
Clothes are a way to express yourselves but sometimes, it's just not meant to be.
Just accept that and be happy.
If you enjoyed this video I trust you know how to subscribe and in today's outfit I'm
wearing a typical travel outfit that I would wear during the colder months of the year
it consists of a tweed jacket and I choose tweed because it doesn't wrinkle very easily
I have a sweater vest in wool because it's warm and sometimes it can get quite cold on
airplanes wearing a tie because if my luggage doesn't make it and it's good to have at least
one tie in my repertoire and I don't have to carry it on my pocket square pick up the
colors of my tie as well as my fair isle sweater vest thus tying everything together the boutonniere
is a special little accessory and here I'm using the Edelweiss flower which is very travel
resistant it doesn't get crushed as easily as let's say a carnation one and because of
that it's great for travel but even if I don't have the pocket square it's always different
it's a conversation starter and just something I want to have when I travel for my trousers
I chose a pair of cotton chinos because they're easy to wash and for my socks I'm wearing
a pair of shadows striped socks in brown and beige that tie together the pants and my shoes
which are monkstrap shoes which I wear because they're very easy to put enough and sometimes
at the airport you just have to take off your shoes so having lace-up boots is not ideal
because it takes more time and is more annoying I also try to travel without cuff links because
sometimes that triggers the metal detector and it takes a while to take them off so instead
I just go with a ring here that's a gold ring with a bloodstone that picks up the red and
green tones from the rest of the outfit