I'm new to business travel and let's just say my 1st try at packing a suit - not so good. Can I get some advice on the best way to pack a suit/dress shirts. What is the best kind of bag? Best way to pack it? I would have sent it to be pressed at the hotel but I got in at 11:30pm and my meeting was at 8:00am. Any advice is appreciated.

Try placing your shirt and suit on hangers in the bathroom, run the hot water (shower) for 10 minutes and let them sit. The wrinkles will come out unless you've completely crushed them in packing.

Packing depends on the type of luggage you're using, but I've never had a problem with a standard 22" rollaboard suiter (using the flap for both shirts and suit).

I hate it, but I finally caved and bought a 'real' suitcase, with a foldout section for my suit. It gets a couple of wrinkles, but following runningshoes' instructions should work - I just put the hangar on the door when I have a shower . Some hotel rooms do have trouser presses, but they aren't much good for jackets.

I have actually traveled with my suit in a backpack, but the results were not quite as composed .

Good luck,

Dr. PITUK

I'm wondering how much luck I'll have with the Costco 22 incher............................................ ........................
May it'll work, after all, I wear only a 36 but on the other hand, I need to pack a week's worth of crap.

The best advice I've ever seen is to leave it in the poly bag from the cleaners when you fold it to put it in the suitcase. Same with shirts. It's amazing how well they come out the other end.

If you don't want to get a suitcase designed with suit folding, you can try the Eagle Creek fold-it. I find it works well, although my wife argues (and has proven) that she can fold a suit as well as I can fold it with that thing. But I can't. You'll still want to do the shower thing.

You need a good roller board, with the suit packing piece that clicks or snaps in. You hang your suit and dress shirts in the detachable sleeve, zip them up, and snap that piece into the roller board. I still pull out the iron in the hotel room for a quick 5 minute press, but that's all it takes.

If you are going to be traveling a lot, a good roller board is a must, and will run you $200-$500. Look for large rubber wheels (not hard plastic) and quality stitching. Some of the best come with a lifetime warranty

Briggs and Riley offer a liftime warranty. Great bags. Just got one of mine back today from its free repairs and it looks good for another eight years or so of heavy use. They will repair any damage, no matter what the cause.

Brooks Brothers offers a nice line of wrinkle free suits. They work 90% of the time!

Most mornings I wake up hang my shirt and sport coat (because I hate suits and thank God I don't need suits) in the bathroom and crank the shower all the way to hot for 15min.

The sport coat usually comes out fine, I usually end up ironing the shirt before I walk out the door (because my wife and mother have been telling me it's the right thing to do for year...although, I flew 340,000 miles last year, my Mom flew 16,000 and my wife few 2,200, so who I am I to argue with them?)

LL Bean makes some nice roll-aboards which have neat suit compartments. This set up is great for packing suits and keeping them neat and organized when you arrive. LL Bean has a lifetime garuntee on all thier products, even if the airline totals it they will replace it free of charge!

AlanW has the best suggestion. Dry cleaning bags over suits, shirts, my long dresses, etc. almost insures wrinkle free traveling. Just returned from a cruise. My husband's tuxedo and dress shirts were left on their hangers, stuck in the suitcase and came out practically wrinkle free. His suits WERE wrinkle free. Hung the shirts in the shower and voila, no wrinkles.

I pack my suit pants and wear my jacket onto the plane and have it hung in the closet. No wrinkles

Agreed - fly in the suit if you can. If you have to pack it, here's a cool trick - turn your suit jacket complete inside out and fold it into quarters (once across, and once lengthwise). Then, put it on the top of your rollaboard. Works wonders...