Packing Luggage: Expert Advice on How to Pack Suits, Shirts & More
As a professional who wears suits, dress shirts and ties, you place a priority on looking polished when you step out your door. This can be harder to achieve when you're on the road, though. Whether you're driving to see a client or flying to a conference, packing a suit and a few shirts presents a challenge. Shirts are susceptible to wrinkling, and if you don't have a garment bag, transporting your suit may seem impossible. Use this packing advice from JoS. A. Bank to make sure you arrive at your destination looking sharp and ready for business.
1. Use a properly sized suitcase.
A common first mistake when packing luggage is to try to jam your clothes into a small duffel or carry-on bag. Despite your subsequent best packing efforts, if the suitcase is too small, the clothes will wrinkle anyway. To make packing and transporting your suitcase through the airport easy, choose a spacious Pullman suitcase. This well-made case will help protect your clothes.
On the other hand, if you're going for a weekend trip, there is such a thing as too much suitcase. If you haven't filled the suitcase, your clothes will have room to shift and slide, resulting in wrinkles. It can be a difficult calculation, but you want a suitcase that your clothes comfortably fill without having to be squished in when packing.
2. Roll your clothes to reduce wrinkles.
Cotton garments like polo shirts and khaki pants should be rolled up to resist wrinkling. As an added bonus, this will help maximize space in the suitcase. To roll your clothes, fold them in half and gently roll from the smallest part of the garment to the largest. For a shirt, you would start at the folded neck and then roll down to the bottom hem. Polo shirts, roll the shirt up from the bottom, and then flip the collar up. For pants, start at the cuff and then roll up towards the waist.
If your clothes contain synthetic fibers like rayon, polyester or nylon, it's actually better to fold them flat and stack them neatly when you're packing your luggage. Synthetics have the least chance of wrinkling when they are flat.
3. Put the heaviest garments on the bottom.
Place your jeans, khaki pants and sweaters on the bottom. More delicate items like polo shirts, t-shirts and ties should go at the top so they don't get crushed by heavier clothes. It's important to note the actual bottom of your suitcase. For example, if your suitcase stands up and rolls, put the heaviest clothes by the wheels.
4. Pack your suit and dress shirts in a garment bag.
This is by far the best way to transport your suit and dress shirts. Garment bags let your clothes hang as they do in your closet. They also loosely fold in half and snap together which makes them easier to carry without putting a crease in your clothes. When you arrive at your hotel, hang your clothes; you won't have to worry about finding a wrinkled mess.
5. Build a wardrobe of wrinkle-free business clothing.
Help reduce the risk of wrinkles by purchasing Traveler Wrinkle-Free shirts and suits. These JoS. A. Bank exclusives are specially made of comfortable, breathable cotton that resists wrinkling in some of the most trying conditions. When you don these wrinkle-free shirts and pants, you'll look crisp and put together.
