Posh in Transit
Comfort? Optional. Drama? Mandatory. Victoria Beckham treats airport dressing as a calculated expression of persona, merging control, excess, and the performance of presence.
Victoria and David Beckham at the airport in 1997, giving us matching with different shades of brown and LV luggage, and styling up the escalator. Photo courtesy of Victoria Beckham and made available through Condé Nast. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Let’s be real: dressing for the airport is a minefield. You want to look effortlessly cool, but you also need to survive TSA, cramped seats, and the sudden temperature drop at 30,000 feet. It’s the ultimate balancing act: chic vs comfort. Most of us just throw on something passable and pray our gate isn’t too far. But for some, the airport is the runway. And no one has mastered this art quite like Victoria Beckham.
Whether she’s stomping through Heathrow in head-to-toe black or casually gliding through LAX in trousers tailored within an inch of their life, Posh Spice treats every terminal like Paris Fashion Week. So, in honor of her domination of jet-set style, we’re rating some of her most iconic airport looks based on the following categories: Chicness (Obviously), Comfort (is she suffering for fashion or breezing through customs?), Functionality (can she actually travel in that fit or is it a fashion stunt?), Wearability (Could those of us who don’t own a private jet actually wear this to the airport?) and an Overall Score at the end.
From sky-high stilettos to sunglasses that scream do not disturb, here’s how Posh Spice turns travel days into fashion moments. Let the boarding pass judgment begin.
Victoria Beckham arrives in New York City wearing Balenciaga pantaboots on Jan 29. 2023. She paired them with an olive army-style jacket featuring a cinched waist, oversized sunglasses, and a black clutch bag. Image courtesy of Backgrid, made available via MarieClaire. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Chicness: 7/10. This counts as a very chic outfit, if we were talking about anyone other than the queen of airport outfit extravaganza. I’ll let it slide because of the originality of the bottoms.
Comfort: 8/10. The pantaboots are made from a stretchy, warm, compact jersey material, which, combined with that beautiful jacket, must be very efficiently protecting her from the cold NYC January weather. I’m deducting two points only because of the insanely thin stiletto on the boots, and because you can’t take them off until you get to your hotel.
Functionality: 7/10. Honestly, it looks realistic enough as a travel outfit. I believe that a celebrity would actually wear this to an airport. It’s like a high-budget version of a regular airport outfit, sans the shoe-pant divide.
Wearability: 3/10. I’d like to see what anyone would do with those pants when you get to the “take off your shoes and put them in the bin” portion of the TSA process.
Overall Score: 6.5/10.
Posh Spice and her husband, David Beckham, wearing matching blazers and jeans at Tokyo airport in 2003. Image courtesy of Kazuhiro Nogi, made available by British Vogue. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Chicness: 5/10. I think I’ve worn this exact outfit to a job interview I didn’t even really want to get, but the accessories lift this look up, David Beckham included.
Comfort: 8/10. Again, this looks incredibly apt for a travel look comfort-wise, only the stilettos and the straight-leg jeans could’ve been flats and something with a little bit more stretch to it.
Functionality: 9/10. I think this look was genuine for Victoria, but I do think that either the blazer was a last-minute addition, or David decided to match her in the nick of time. Either way, looking gorg in their matching outerwear.
Wearability: 9/10. I would absolutely wear this to the airport, and I think none of us would have any problems moving around (or lounging) in this outfit. I’m of course deducting one point because I can’t imagine standing in the luggage dispatch line for an hour in those heels.
Overall Score: 7.5/10
Victoria Beckham wearing an LBD and Louboutins, accompanied by David Beckham, arriving at LAX in 2007. Image courtesy of Chris Wolf, made available by British Vogue. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Chicness: 9/10. Absolutely iconic move to wear an LBD and Louboutins to the airport. That’s all I gotta say.
Comfort: 2/10. It’s well known that most of the time, iconicness does not go hand in hand with comfort. I can’t possibly imagine a more uncomfortable outfit to travel in.
Functionality: 7/10. In all honesty, I don’t think she meant for this to be a fashion stunt. I think this is just what Victoria Beckham wore to the airport in 2007.
Wearability: 2/10. Never in a million years would it cross my mind to casually throw this on before my 6am flight. I just know I would be unpleasant in this outfit going through TSA.
Overall Score: 5/10
Victoria Beckham arriving at JFK on May 16th, 2023, in an all-black outfit made up of a structured black leather jacket with exaggerated shoulders, tailored black flared trousers, oversized square-frame sunglasses, and a black crocodile-embossed handbag. Image courtesy of GoffPhotos.com, made available by British Vogue. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Chicness: 9/10. This look is so timeless. All black, giving business chic, with the oversized sunglasses and the crocodile bag? Incredible.
Comfort: 8/10. The outfit itself looks relatively comfortable, other than the pants nor the jacket having any stretch to them. The silhouette of the bottoms is breathable and allows for freedom of movement.
Functionality: 9/10. This was not a fashion stunt. It’s not risqué enough to call too much attention to her, but it's quintessential Posh. Classic, timeless, monochromatic, and comfortable enough to sit on a plane with.
Wearability: 7/10. If I cared more about the way I looked when I stepped off the plane, I would definitely wear this outfit. It’s sober, monochromatic, and you can’t go wrong with black pants and a leather jacket.
Overall Score: 8.5/10
Victoria Beckham at the airport, wearing a zip-up hooded leather jacket with jeans and platform boots. Image courtesy of Ron Asadorian on Splash News. Made available via Vogue. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Chicness: 6/10. I wouldn’t call this outfit particularly chic, per se. I would call it airport-appropriate, and perhaps unpretentious. Not very Posh.
Comfort: 8/10. It’s one of the most comfortable looks we’ve seen her wear at the airport, but I have two minor qualms with it. The skinny jeans for a plane? Bold. The big platform boots? Even bolder. However, I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt because skinny jeans were in back then.
Functionality: 9/10. Again, this was definitely not a fashion stunt. This look blends in. No crazy colors or silhouettes, just a regular jacket and jeans, and even regular-sized sunglasses!
Wearability: 9/10. Perfect airport look. I have actually worn very similar outfits to this in the past, so it gets my Wearability stamp of approval! I’m only taking one point away because of the absurdity of the heel height for an airport, but hey, they are one of her staples.
Overall Score: 7.5/10
Victoria Beckham at a New York airport on September 7th, 2015, wearing a matching hot-pink set from her own 2018 Spring/Summer collection. Image courtesy of Splash News. Made available via Vogue. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Chicness: 10/10. I love this look. I love the monochromatic hot pink, I love the silhouette, and I actually also love the lack of accessories with it.
Comfort: 9/10. This looks incredibly comfortable for the airport. Breathable material, a wider silhouette, and loose-fit. I can see her relaxing in this outfit.
Functionality: 9/10. Again, this might be a fashion stunt to promote her line, but if it is, it’s expertly executed, because if I were to boost a new collection, and it had to be at the airport, this would be exactly the outfit I would choose. It’s comfortable, but still made bold by the color choice.
Wearability: 9/10. I could see many a girl donning this type of silhouette and material at the airport. It calls attention to you, but it doesn’t make it seem like you spent days deciding on what to wear to the airport. It just makes you seem effortlessly chic, and yet super comfortable.
Overall Score: 9.5/10
Victoria Beckham at JFK on February 6th, 2016, wearing sky-high Alaia boots, oversized Cutler and Gross sunglasses, and a tweed set from her own 2016 Fall collection. Image courtesy of Splash News, made available via Vogue. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Chicness: 9/10. This look is timelessly chic. It’s giving editorial, it’s giving businesswoman. The sky-high boots only adds the edge to this incredible look.
Comfort: 7/10. I would say overall the outfit looks pretty comfortable. I’m not sure what the fabric feels like on the skin, or if it has a liner on the inside to stop it from feeling scratchy. The point deductions are because I can’t imagine it to be very comfortable to walk in those shoes for more than 5 minutes at a time.
Functionality: 7/10. I’m rating it a 7 because, even though this look is from her own collection, it still feels very her. I believe that she would still wear something similar if it was made by any other designer.
Wearability: 7/10. Again about the shoes: nightmare fuel for those long lines at the airport.
Overall Score: 7.5
Victoria Beckham at JFK in December 2015, wearing a monochromatic outfit white ensemble featuring a chunky knit turtleneck sweater and an asymmetric midi pencil skirt, both from her own label. She accessorized with leopard-print pumps and oversized black sunglasses by Cutler & Gross. Image courtesy of GQ Images, made available via Vogue. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Chicness: 10/10. This outfit takes the cake for Most Chic. Even though it’s monochromatic, she managed to perfectly match the shade of white in the pencil skirt and the chunky sweater. The texture and fabric of each piece work in perfect balance, and the touch of leopard on the shoes gives it that extra kick (see what I did there) of color.
Comfort: 7/10. The chunky sweater looks incredibly cozy, and the length of the skirt is enough to cover her entire leg in the cold December weather. The only reason I’m deducting points is because skirts might not be the most comfortable option to travel in, in general, and the heels seem like they would be easy to slip out of accidentally.
Functionality: 8/10. This was definitely a fashion stunt. Maybe I’m biased on this one because these pictures definitely make me want to buy and exactly replicate the outfit she’s wearing. I also do fully believe she would be able to travel semi-comfortably in this ensemble.
Wearability: 7/10. The heels are taking me out of it. They look as good as they look uncomfortable, and I feel like wearing a skirt and a turtleneck on top of it all would make me feel overwhelmed during a long flight. However, considering it was in the winter, I can make an exception because it also looks exceptionally cozy.
Overall Score: 8/10
Victoria Beckham arriving at LAX on August 1st, 2015, wearing a dress from her own Spring/Summer 2016 collection with platform sandals. Image courtesy of GQ Images, made available via Vogue. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Chicness: 9/10. The dress is absolutely beautiful as a statement piece. I’m only deducting a point because of the lack of accessories.
Comfort: 6/10. It seems flowy and breathable enough, but the shoulder detail would have me feeling overstimulated the entire journey. At least it has pockets!
Functionality: 8/10. This one was definitely a fashion stunt to promote her new collection. The centerpiece of this outfit is the dress. No accessories other than her signature oversized sunglasses to take the attention away from the central piece.
Wearability: 7/10. This is technically wearable as an airport outfit, not that I think anyone actually would pick this particular dress to wear to an airport. It seems breathable and flowy in a way that allows movement, but it doesn’t scream “regular Jane Doe at the airport on the red-eye”.
Overall Score: 7.5/10
All in all, Victoria Beckham isn’t dressing for practicality, she’s dressing for the runway of it all. And honestly? That’s the point. She may not be clearing TSA in 10 minutes, but she’s reminding us that style doesn’t clock out at the boarding gate. If anything, it takes off.
