-Dawn McGatney

If the staff was seriously concerned about the outfit, they could have discreetly offered her a blanket on the flight, which she would have used because flights are freezing cold, and all would be fine. Instead, they chose to make an example of her. Lame.

All of this is in the eye of the beholder. If I was thrown off a plane for wearing a V-neck because holier-than-thou jerk caught a glimpse of my cleavage and thus wanted to shame me as a whore in front of the whole plane, I would be just as angry. As they say, it’s all fun and games until it happens to you.

As a poster above said, if they want to market themselves as a family airline, and provide written, obvious dress code rules, that’s their business, but what happened here is just embarassing. For them.

That said, I don’t think her outfit was that bad. I wouldn’t wear it, nor would I let any daughter of mine wear it, but I see MUCH worse on a daily basis. I’m a frequent flyer and the way airplane seats are, between the armrest and the proximity of the back of the seat in front, I don’t see that the skirt would have been a big deal, especially with her legs crossed and a magazine on top. Even if it was, it would be easy to cover with someone handing her a sweater to drape over her knees. The top…I don’t see how that could be a problem. There’s worse cleavage in Disney cartoons, for crying out loud. I’ve seen girls wearing worse going out of the Little Rock airport (rather conservative area- much more so than San Diego) with no one making a fuss. Maybe if her top had been a noodle strap that low and that tight, but even then, I’d see it as a stretch. There was no major exposure. If no dress code is stated, given today’s society, no fuss should be made by the airlines unless it violates the very lax laws we have on that subject.

In my opinion, it’s not weird that she wore that to see a doctor. Likely, it’s what she was wearing all day, and even if not, if that’s a part of her normal wardrobe, there’s no reason she wouldn’t wear it there. Furthermore, I don’t think her attitude or bearing indicated at all that she’s a “slut” type. If she had that kind of bearing, it would make her outfit appear to be more indecent. She did not strike me as the type who is trying to provoke every man she encounters, and I see PLENTY of girls around me every day who wear more but come across as being much more indecent and seductive.

It was also inappropriate for it to be dealt with by a male attendant. It should have been a woman.

Having said that, I read several articles that say they agreed to let her back on the plane after she adjusted sweater and her shirt to cover her stomach.

So what you saw is NOT how she presented herself on the plane. She had her shirt adjusted to show her stomach and her skirt didn’t cover much either.

So picture her in the same outfit with the shirt up revealing her midriff, no bra and her sweater undone. Then you have a better idea of what she looked like. To abate the situation she buttoned her sweater over her breasts to hide her nipples, pulled her shirt down and covered up with a blanket.

Bully for them.

I would like to point out that this woman was wearing underwear. She has on more clothes than most people at beaches do.

I have a problem whoever complained to a flight attendant. If you have a problem with someone, you should approach the person directly unless there is a safety issue, in which you should notify the appropriate authorities. Or the person could have asked someone to switch seats. Or the obvious choice, just get over it. It’s not hurting anyone, and I still like to think that in America we have some freedoms. What is with this weird tattling behavior?

Now as to whether there should be policies like this, I suppose that’s up to the market. If some airline wants to market itself as a family airline and have a dress code, they can certainly try it. Then you send out notification about the dress code the same way you do about what luggage is allowed, etc. Then you enforce it when someone checks in, not after they are already on the plane. You could disallow them from flying, pointing out your no-refund policy. Or you could have extra bathrobe-type things around the way some restaurants have extra ties. Or you could try to get them a seat on another airline.

(In case you’re wondering, I never dress like this and have even been accused of dressing as unsexily as possible. My bias is more along the lines of wanting to maximize people’s freedom in general than in wanting to not be harassed myself for this particular behavior.)

I spent my High School years at a place that dictated modesty to the point of telling us how many inches below our collar bone our necklines could go. It became a bit ridiculous mandating modesty. I’d rather live in a freer society where some people push the edges of propriety than a very controlled society where people are afraid to take a risk in personal expression.

Jane