I recently started to travel more for work. Can you give me a few packing tips so that my clothes look professional in the hotel too?
A Your first concern should be that your clothes actually get to the hotel. The longer your trip, the more important the items you take with you. Your checked suitcase could end up in Dallas, but that may not be your destination and your hand will be stuck on your carry-on bag when you get off in Houston. Business trips are stressful enough without worrying about lost luggage.
My advice to avoid fear is to emulate the men with the most frequent flyer miles: Experienced travelers refrain from checking their bags. If possible, try to use only a wheeled carry-on suitcase. If that’s not practical, wear (or at least carry with you) a good-looking, acceptable business outfit, and put in your small carry-on bag a shirt and two ties that go with that shirt or the one you’re wearing. After that, the rest is frosting.
In terms of the packaging itself, for the slightest wrinkle, here are some simple but important steps. Put freshly cleaned clothes in your bag that are still hanging on their hangers and in their plastic bags. If a jacket hasn’t just been cleaned, hang a plastic bag on a hanger, then your jacket, and then another plastic bag over it. The plastic prevents wrinkling. Pack unbuttoned jackets; and ties need to be kept sleek (which can include rolls if you prefer). Even if you hate lugging too many clothes, don’t travel with a suitcase that is too big. Garments with too much space tend to slide around and wrinkle.
Shirts are best folded up when they come out of the laundry and stacked in a zippered mesh bag. A plain white shirt and a plain light blue shirt are ideal for your lightest packages. If you need more than two shirts, do the third one with a bit of color and pattern that can also be worn more casually.
Socks and underwear are great as padding. Place them in folds of clothing and in shoulder curves to minimize wrinkles. Fold clothes along natural folds and seams. If you’re packing more than one pair of pants, the following trick works: fold them in half, then fold the two pairs together.
The most useful and clever packaging product I’ve discovered is a lightweight 3-shelf hanging device that folds up to fit in most travel bags. “Takeout Shelves!” are collapsible mesh shelves that lift out to hang on the closet rod without unpacking or refolding your clothes. This creates a wardrobe in your hotel in a matter of seconds. When it’s time to go, put the entire system back in your suitcase and you’re good to go. It eliminates the need to put your belongings in questionable hotel drawers and minimizes the chance of things being left behind.
Pack shoes at the bottom of your bag (in cloth shoe bags so they don’t stain your clothes) or put them in the pockets provided on the sides of well-designed luggage. If it’s a style that can be damaged by squeezing, use socks or other small items stuffed in them to keep their shape. Did you know that nowadays some better hotels will provide you with sneakers for your workout during your stay?
Almost as important as all of this, and often forgotten because of travel fatigue, is unpacking. When you get to your hotel room, immediately open your bag and hang the hangers, even if you’re not quite ready to fully unpack them. When all else fails, you can use the old trick: lightly wrinkled woolen clothing “steams out” and loses its wrinkles in a bathroom made damp by a hot shower.
Please send your questions about men’s clothing and care to MALE CALL:
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