After reading many packing lists and refining my own list over and over, I have come up with what I believe can be a pretty universal packing list for most male business or even leisure trips. At least it will be an excellent starting point. I will list first just the pure list with its items. Then I will give an annotated version of it where I give the reasons behind each item.

The packing list is geared toward packing light while keeping a certain redundancy in case you get separated from anything. Depending on which bag you use and how much office/laptop supplies you need to bring you might be able to swing a onebag solution with this list.

Of course, if it is just an overnight trip you will not need as much. This list is to be understood in principle as an indefinite stay list that prepares you for any and all situations.

You will also notice that I left out specific extras that are just too individual. For example if you need special workout clothes or your own alarm clock or a hair drier. Pack at your own discretion but be aware that these little things quickly add up. This is one of the reasons I put swimming trunks in there. They are the most lightweight sports equipment possible, unless you are smart enough to do isometric exercises in your room in your underwear in the evening when the underwear is worn anyway.

Worn:
1 set of short quick dry underwear and socks
1 dress pant or chino, preferably quick dry, machine washable, anti-wrinkle and stain resistant (yes, that exists!), dark blue, grey or brown
1 non-iron long sleeve dress shirt, light color
1 sport coat (Brown or medium to dark gray, no pattern)
1 travel anorak with hood (dark color)
1 pair of black slip-on leather shoes
1 reversible brown/black leather belt


Packed:
2-3 sets of short quick dry underwear (bottoms and tops) and socks (light color except the socks which should be black)
1 set of long thermal underwear (optional for cold climates)
1 suit (dark blue or grey, no pattern)
2-3 non-iron dress shirts (Brooks Brothers highly recommended)
1 pair of extra pants; either chinos or dress pants (Perry Ellis Portfolio highly recommended)
1 light V-neck sweater (add a touch of color here: Bordeaux, Red, Sky Blue, Bottle Green)
2 ties (possibly 3 ties if you stay longer)
1 Polo shirt (again add a touch of color or even pattern)
1 pair of swimming briefs

That’s it!

Annotated List

Worn:
If you wear this ensemble you will be good to go for basically any occasion even if your luggage gets lost. In the winter, don’t pack the sweater but wear it.
All your clothes are easy care and quick dry. So even if your luggage does get lost or stolen, you know they will wash and dry over night without a problem. Theoretically, you could go with just these clothes on your body. And I bet many well-seasoned travelers do just that.

The black slip-ons will go with anything. Choose something with a rubber sole for when things get wet. Your pants should be dressy enough to go for a meeting. That’s why I recommend wearing the dress pants rather than the chinos. A comfort waist is a nice thing to have for long flights. The belt will do service on both sides. In principle, with this list where you only have one pair of black shoes, you could choose a belt that is black on both sides but has two different structures, e.g. textile on one side and smooth leather on the other. This way the belt dresses down or up depending on what’s needed.
Your sport coat will always stay on you and it will carry your papers and travel documents. It will also be where you put your wallet and watch before you go through the detector.
The travel anorak is essential in my eyes. It serves as extra storage and weather protection. It thus eliminates the need for an umbrella (umbrellas occupy hands – not good) and for a daypack. Make sure it is long and wide enough to cover your suit jacket or sport coat when you wear them under it. It should be of a dark color simply because you don’t want to stand out too much and look like the respectable professional you are and not like backpacking globetrotter. For leisure trips, by all means take that orange Patagonia technical shell. ☺

Packed:
Depending on the season you might go with less undershirts. The underwear and dress shirts are what needs to be washed most often. Make sure to choose light colors for all of them so you can wash them in a single act together with the shirts, be it in the machine or bathtub. Socks can be quickly washed in the sink and hung to dry over a doorknob (better aeration). Basically if you bring 4 pairs of underwear (1 worn + 3 packed) you need to wash every 4 days. I think that is acceptable. Reduce for shorter trips. If you are really in a pinch you can use the swimming briefs as underwear. That’s why I advise not to take those bulky swimming shorts but tight briefs. The socks are all black. No possibility to mess up anything in terms of trouser/shoe combination. Also the socks can be washed with the trousers when needed.

The thermal underwear is optional for winter or cold destinations. If you do travel with two bags, it is a good idea to have one set of underwear and one shirt and tie in the briefcase. If you use thermal underwear, use it to cushion your laptop and leave those extra laptop sleeves at home. Or bundle wrap the shirt and tie around a core of a Ziploc with the long underwear.

The suit can be left out if such formal wear is not required. The reason to choose a dark blue or dark grey suit without a pattern is that at least the trousers can easily be worn on their own. Pinstriped or tattersall trousers without the jacket look just like you have been robbed of your jacket. Even the jacket might be combined with other trousers in a pinch if it has no pattern. Make sure the colors fit. This rules out greenish khaki colored chinos. Stay on the safe side with brown and grey for all pants and blue and grey for the suit. There are fast drying chinos out there. Try to avoid the heavy fabric ones and don’t take jeans instead of chinos. Jeans are less versatile, even heavier and take too long to dry.

The shirts should be non-iron. Brooks Brothers makes excellent shirts out of 100% cotton that dry over night on a hanger. Do not starch these shirts! It will ruin the non-iron effect. If you don’t have non-iron shirts a light starch is actually recommended.

I believe a V-neck sweater is the best layering/warmth option. Turtlenecks don’t work well over shirts and polos and might be too warm. Crewnecks can’t really be worn without anything under them; the neckline just looks a bit too naked. But a V-neck can even be worn under a suit or without anything under it. Here it is nice to go for a solid color that stands out a little. Make sure to coordinate this well with your polo shirt, as those two are likely to be worn together. It is a great layering piece. The one I use most is orange cashmere. Quite poppy and gets plenty of compliments.

For ties, take one solid color that can be more vivid and one patterned that can be more subdued. The rule is two have a maximum of two patterns on your torso. So you can do a striped/checkered shirt with a striped tie but then the suit needs to be solid. Your suit is solid anyway, so you can go any which way with ties and shirts. One problem less. Note that with a solid dark blue and dark grey suit some nice bright colored shirts can look great, for example a nice green or salmon color.

Every piece in your wardrobe should go with every other piece thus making them multi-functional. The Polo can be worn with chinos for a round of golf or with the suit when it gets really hot. The shirt and dress pants with a V-neck around the shoulder will be great casual wear. The anorak is always there to protect you from the elements and serve as your daypack when you just stroll around town on your day off (if you get a day off ).

See here for good packing techniques:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...good-22-a.html

And here for how to pack a suit jacket without a garment bag:
http://www.1bag1world.com/blog/2009/...r-folding.html

Bon voyage!

Till

P.S.: Mods feel free to move this to the Travel Products section. I put it in Buzz because I think it goes well in the vein of the 30 Travel Tips thread.