Well, I didn't think it would take as long as that. I'd got as far as the departure lounge before anyone reacted.
It was 19th February 2000, and I was on my first trip to the US to see my fiancée - but this story really begins three weeks earlier. I'd been booked to play the keyboards in two concerts with one of my theatre groups at the end of January; after a last-minute decision from the management committee, the usually-specified orchestra attire of a black shirt and black trousers had been replaced by a DJ - black jacket, white shirt and bow tie. At the time, I didn't have too much of a problem with informal theatre wear, but had I known that a DJ would be required, I'd probably have declined the contract. I hate DJs! However, it was too late then, so I did the two performances as best I could, despite feeling both emotionally and physically uncomfortable.
The following day, I felt I'd betrayed my principles by agreeing to wear such an ugly outfit, and I responded by dressing up in a ludicrously-short flirty kilt to do a choral rehearsal for a different group - I felt the need to purge the bad feelings of the previous two evenings. But that didn't make me feel much better, so I wore smart skirts to work for the whole of the next week, then painted my bedroom sky-blue at the weekend wearing an old red dress. Now that was a wonderful juxtaposition of colours! The next week saw me wearing a skirt to work every day again, and a hippie-style black wrap at the weekend for a two-day Reiki course. By this time, I was having some difficulty with the concept of ever going back to trousers, so it was back to work in a skirt for the third week in succession! Then it was Saturday 19th February, and I was packed to go to the US, though still unsure of what to wear for the journey. I'd have liked to have travelled in a skirt - but did I have the courage? Well, in the end, I couldn't bring myself to wear trousers, so I opted for a long side-slit black skirt, semi-opaque black tights, and a pair of trainers - just what every well-dressed woman might wear to travel in! But I also took the precaution of packing a pair of jeans in my hand luggage, just in case ......
I arrived at Heathrow airport with nearly six hours to spare (I'm paranoid about being stuck in traffic), parked in the long-stay car park, and caught the courtesy bus for the twenty-minute ride to Terminal 3. I left my suitcase at the check-in desk, picked up my boarding pass, had a look around the shops, then decided to go straight through to the departure lounge. By now, I was feeling very confident - my concerns about wearing a skirt in so public a place had obviously been unfounded. However, the first real test was coming up - I was expecting my heavy silver jewellery to set off the metal detector, and it did! One of the security guards came over, frisked me gently, then let me pass - no problem! As I still had four hours to go before my flight, I decided to have a bite to eat, then to check out the duty-free goods, where I bought a bottle of wine to share with my fiancée when I got to the US. This done, I was about to sit down and take the weight off my feet, when an elderly american guy sitting nearby gave me the filthiest sneer I've ever seen - he looked me up and down but didn't say anything, although I knew exactly what he was thinking. Well, in a crowded airport lounge with people of all sizes, shapes, colours and nationalities, wearing everything from a smart business suit to a Buddhist wrap, this guy was very much in a minority, so I just smiled back at him and got out something to do. While rummaging through my bag, I came across my jeans, but decided not to change into them - it would've been too obvious. Anyway, I didn't need to!
The flight itself was uneventful, and landed on time at JFK airport. I left the plane, and was eager to be one of the first in the queue at immigration control - I know from past experience how long this process can take in the US. This was the moment I'd been most worried about, because if anyone were to act on their suspicions about why I might be dressed the way I was, this is where they'd do it. But to my pleasant surprise, no questions were asked and no comments were made, and I cleared immigration in a matter of minutes. I then collected my suitcase, walked through customs unhindered, and out to meet my fiancée.
From personal notes.