If you're about to start at an airline, or you're a cadet trying to work out what to buy, the uniform can feel like a set of unwritten rules. Some of it the company gives you. Some of it you buy. Some of it nobody mentions until you get it wrong.

Here's the whole thing, piece by piece.

The short version

• Shirt — white, usually short or long sleeve, with epaulet eyelets on the shoulders
• Epaulets — shoulder boards with stripes showing rank
• Wings — the metal badge above the left breast pocket
• Tie — usually black or navy, per the airline's standard
• Trousers — black or charcoal, plain front or pleated depending on the carrier
• Belt — black, plain buckle
• Shoes — black, polishable, low heel
• Jacket or blazer — airline issued, worn per policy
• Hat — still required at some carriers, gone at many

Your airline's uniform standard is the authority, and standards vary more than people expect. What follows is the general shape and the parts that actually matter day to day.

Epaulets and what the stripes mean

The bars on your shoulder boards signal rank. The most common convention:

• Four bars — captain
• Three bars — first officer
• Two bars — second officer or cadet, where the role exists

Epaulets slide onto loops sewn at the shoulder of the shirt. Those loops are why pilot shirts have eyelets — small reinforced holes the epaulet button passes through. It's the single detail that separates a pilot shirt from an ordinary white dress shirt.

Not every carrier uses them. Some airlines have moved to a cleaner look with no shoulder boards at all, which is why clean-front pilot shirts without eyelets exist and are increasingly common.

The shirt: what the airline gives you, and what you end up buying

Most airlines issue a starter set of shirts. Almost every pilot then buys more, for one of three reasons:

1. The issued shirts run out of rotation. A four-day trip needs more shirts than a two-day, and laundry on the road is unpredictable.
2. The fabric doesn't hold up. Standard poly-cotton uniform shirts wrinkle in a suitcase, hold heat, and show sweat on a hot flight deck with the sun through the window.
3. The fit is generic. Issued shirts are cut wide. If you've got shoulders, or you don't, neither works well.

What actually matters in a pilot shirt:

• Stretch. You reach overhead constantly. A shirt with no give pulls at the shoulders and rides up every time you touch the overhead panel.
• Heat management. A flight deck in direct sun is a greenhouse. Moisture-wicking fabric is the difference between arriving presentable and arriving damp.
• Wrinkle recovery. Your shirt lives in a bag. If it needs an iron, you'll be looking for one in a hotel room at 5am.
• Opacity. White shirts vary. Undershirts exist for a reason.
• Eyelets or not — match your airline. Buying the wrong one is the most common ordering mistake we see.

Trousers

Usually black or charcoal, and usually specified fairly tightly by the airline. The practical considerations are the same as the shirt: stretch matters because you're seated for hours, and wrinkle resistance matters because of the bag.

One thing worth knowing: uniform trousers wear out at the seat and the back of the hem long before they look worn anywhere else. Buying two pairs and rotating them roughly doubles the life of both.

Tie, belt, shoes

Tie. Black or navy at most carriers. It sits directly under whatever you eat at cruise, so stain resistance and washability are worth more than they sound.

Belt. Plain black. A ratchet buckle is worth considering — it adjusts in much smaller increments than holes do, which matters when you're seated for eight hours and then standing through a terminal.

Shoes. Black, polishable, comfortable enough for a long walk through a hub. Two pairs if you can, so one can rest and dry.

The things nobody tells you

• Collar stays disappear. Buy metal ones and buy spares. A curling collar under epaulets looks worse than you'd think.
• Undershirts are not optional in summer. They protect the shirt from sweat and keep white white for longer.
• Pack one more shirt than the trip needs. Delays happen. Coffee happens.
• Hotel irons are a myth. Plan your fabric around this rather than around the hotel.

Common questions

What do the stripes on a pilot's shoulder mean?

Rank. Four bars is typically a captain, three a first officer, two a second officer or cadet where that role exists. Conventions vary slightly by airline.

What are the eyelets on a pilot shirt for?

They hold the epaulets — the shoulder boards carrying the rank stripes. Airlines that don't use shoulder boards use clean-front shirts with no eyelets.

Do airlines provide pilot uniforms?

Most issue a starter set and replace items on a cycle. Most pilots buy additional shirts themselves, because the issued rotation isn't deep enough for longer trips.

Can pilots wear short sleeve shirts?

At most airlines, yes, though some require long sleeve with the jacket. Check your carrier's uniform standard.

What colour trousers do pilots wear?

Black or charcoal at most carriers, occasionally navy. This is one of the more tightly specified items.

What Flight makes

We make pilot uniform shirts in performance fabric — athletic stretch, moisture-wicking, wrinkle-resistant and machine washable — with epaulet eyelets or a clean front, in men's, women's and tall. Shirts are $49.99, with a cloud cotton option at $34.99. We also make uniform trousers, a black tie, performance dress socks, the Glide ratchet belt and magnetic collar stays.

If your airline's standard differs from anything above, follow the standard. It wins.