MastaHanky

I see a lot of people only travel with carry-on luggage, and I'm assuming at least some of them are bringing a suit along. How do you pack them so they're not wrinkled when you arrive? I always thought garment bags were too big to count as carry-on.


EDIT: Please move to TravelBuzz, I accidentally selected the wrong forum.

edi-traveller

I have a colleague who always packs a suit in this carry on bag and whereas I always look like I have been dragged through a hedge backwards forwards and then backwards again, he always manages to look like he walked straight out of the store with the new suit on.

We all rib him about it but the truth is he just irons the bloody thing.

Skylink USA

There is no easy answer.

1. check it in and risk wrinkles because they throw the luggage and put a ton of other bags on top of yours.

2. carry a garment bag but not have much space for anything else. For me, a garment bag can hold at most 2 days of basic clothes (no extra shoes or sportswear).

3. use a rollerbag that's not very stuff and some suits (depending on the material-thinner suits wrinkle more) don't wrinkle too much. Iron is still needed.

4. wear your suit. Risk others spilling liquid on it. Travelling is potentially sweaty, too.

DavidDTW

Does rolling up a suit work, like I have heard advocated?

dingo

I think this has been discussed several times in TravelBuzz.

Seachain

Hang the suit up on the back of the bathroom door and run the shower as hot as you can for 20 minutes to build up a sauna, then retire to sleep. all things being equal, the wrinkles ought to have vanished by morning. (wrinkles on the suit, that is).

another tip is to pack the suit in your bag, using the thin polythene wrap (that you often get when stuff comes back from the hotel laundry or dry-cleaners). for some reason, that eliminates some wrinkles... don't ask me how.

seat 50J

Rolling helps, but wrinkles still happen.

geckoflyer

ok... so here's the deal.... i've only been on the road for the last year.

I had nothing but problems until I got some advice in the Marriot Marquis in the elevator one day

Throw your suit on a hanger and hang it on the back of the bathroom door when you take your morning shower. Hop out of the shower...and immediately iron your suit.

The steam is just enough to let out the wrinkles - and the iron gives it that "nicely pressed" look. It doesn't get wet like spraying it with a spray bottle does!

If someone comes up with a way to avoid the ironing part...I'm all for it

-Chris

Little Dragon Kitty

LOL. I like your tip, Seachain! Too bad that method only eliminates wrinkles on the suit. Hehe..


As for my answer to your post, MastaHanky, I don't know if there is any short cut way, but I think it's best to just pack your suit (place ontop of all your heavier, bulkier items), and when you get to your hotel or place of stay, immediately take your suit out and iron it and hang on those wooden hangers they usually provide at hotels.

For garment bag, it's not that bad... it puts only one forgiving fold in the middle and you can hang it on the plane to allow the fold to soften!

Or! perhaps if you don't already have one, invest in a suit that's made of 100% wool (The more wool content the better, and richer the suit will look. Polyester also good advantage). They don't wrinkle as much and can hold their shape better.

Finally, if all else fails and you have time to invest in one of these.. look what I found!

http://www.essentials4travel.com/mal...suit%20carrier

Anyway, good luck!

May you have better wrinkle-free suit travels!

lairdb

I've never had to iron a suit. Sometimes a small touchup on a shirt collar. Usually an overnight hang in the closet is sufficient; if I overstuff my bag, the steamy bathroom trick works to coax a few small rumples out.

There is no other material. (Okay, that's not quite true -- shawl collars on a tuxedo must be silk.) Seriously, though, a good suit is worth it. The packing can help a little or hurt a little, but it's all about the material and weave quality. If you can't walk up to the sleeve of the suitcoat in the store, grab it in both hands and wring it like a dishrag, and 30 seconds later all the wrinkles have faded to near invisibility, it's not worth your money.

I use a garment bag that thinks it's a rollaboard and it works well for me, but really; see previous paragraph.

Little Dragon Kitty

I really like this clever trick you added! ^

liquid

lairdb was right on in that it all begins with the fabric of the suit. Half the battle is won or lost right there. Other than that, do not pack your suit until just before you leave home and hang up your suit as soon as you arrive at your destination so as to minimize the time it is in the suitcase. Avoid wire hangers for the jacket and try to hang the trousers by the cuffs using a clip hanger. If you have time, you can always have the suit pressed at your destination.

I will also generally wear a suit on the flight so I can keep it out of the bag. This way I only have to pack one or two other suits max, depending on the duration of the trip.

wideman

Amen.

cawhite

I usually try to save my dry-cleaner bags and put that over my suit (works for dresses & skirts too) -- then use the suiter part of my rollaboard. For whatever reason, the dry-cleaner (thin clear plastic/film) bags do seem to make a slight difference. I then hang up in the closet as soon as I check into my hotel room -- sometimes have to do a quick touch up with an iron, depending on the material used for the suit. Part of it too, is that I've learned through experience which of my suits travel well & which ones don't, and I pack accordingly.

oontiveros

Actually wrinkles are caused by fabric on fabric contact. as posted above, separating fabrics with plastic is the best. i use a tri-fold garment bag that holds 2 suits from swiss army that is really great and small...but at $500 or so its kinda expensive.

the problem i really have is shoes, business shoes are heavy & bulky and for 1 to 3 weeks trips you need at least 2 pairs plus a casual set.

yashan

I don't know about a wet, naked man using a hot iron. That's got disaster written all over it!

Little Dragon Kitty

LOL, I agree!


That's a toughy!

Wear your heaviest shoes when you travel then! Or invest in a pair that can work casual as well as dressy... 2 in 1 perhaps?

Hmmm.. the only other alternative I can think of is to toss all your shoes (do you have big feet? that might not work if you do...) in one smaller suitcase.

And, wow 500$?!? Indeed pricey! but that's a very wise investment for the businessman, politician or professional who travels extensively, and who needs to have an array of suits to wear to entertain the incumbent... hehe..

jwalkabout

The first way to avoid a rumpled wrinkled suit is to buy quality fabric. You buy a cheap $200 suit from Sears or The Mens Warehouse, that is glued together rather than hand stitched then you can expect it to not wear well. A really quality suit will drop wrinkles by being hung properly with nice broad wooden or plastic hangers to support the shoulders and create the proper separation for the pants. When you pack use paper or plastic to layer and fold your suit in.

Now as your suit ages and the fabric wears you may have to coax out wrinkles in the morning with the steam from the shower or a vertical steamer. You should NEVER have to IRON a quality suit! A steamer is all that you need. Rowenta makes excellent irons that can vertically steam if u don't want to invest in a steamer.

You should also invest in at least(and I do mean minimum) 4 suits and rotate them to prolong their lifespan as well as not having to send them to the dry cleaners too often. You would be amazed by how much damage an incompetent dry cleaner can do to good fabric.

Boraxo

I, too, swear by the TravelPro Rollaboard that I bought many years ago. You shouldn't have any wrinkles if you are careful about folding your suit into the top/hanging section, and don't try to stuff too much in there (hint: pack shirts that are pre-boxed by your dry cleaner in the other section). Also, you should not pack the suit until you leave for the airport - and unpack it as soon as you arrive at your hotel.

I find the thicker wool suits rarely wrinkle, but of course those don't work too well in the summer heat.

Middle_Seat

For those who believe in ironing, check out ExtremeIroning.com

For FTers who believe in ironing, here are images at a few thousand feet and at 35,000 ft. and 53,000 ft. (mach 2) and at an unknown altitude