The holidays are here, which means many of us will soon be trying to squeeze our best festive attire into airline-approved bags. So how to make sure your precious dresses, suits and heels arrive in tip-top shape? Checking a bag means you’ll have room for a variety of dressy outfits. But if all you need are a few, you can travel light, as many business travelers do. Whether you choose to check or carry-on, here’s how to pack formal wear like the pros so you can spend the season celebrating rather than ironing.
Suits and shirts
Plastic dry cleaning bags are the unsung heroes of packing. “Don’t throw them away,” said Jeremy Wood Beaumont, the founder of Rhodes-Wood, which sells “modern classic” men’s wear in Harrogate, in northern England. Utilizing dry cleaning bags, he said, “stops so much creasing.”
Mr. Beaumont learned that trick when he worked in a clothing factory and, over more than four decades in the business, he’s found that properly folding garments can save time and headaches when you arrive at your destination.
Take, for example, a suit jacket. Mr. Beaumont begins by putting his fists inside the shoulders as if his fists were shoulder pads. Then he takes one shoulder and places it over the other shoulder inside out. (Note: You’re turning the shoulder inside out, but not the sleeves.) He then lifts the collar up, basically folding the jacket in half lengthwise, with the lining on the outside. You can also help keep wrinkles at bay by putting a sheet of tissue paper (which can also substitute for dry cleaning bags) over the jacket and folding it in half. For trousers, keep them unbuttoned and pinch the creases together. Then place tissue paper on top of the pants before folding them into thirds. To make them even smaller, fold the bundle in half. If they are part of a suit, place the trousers on top of the jacket and slide them both into a dry cleaning bag.
Pack dress shirts by buttoning them, then folding the sleeves into the middle of the shirt. Next, fold in the sides and then fold the tail up toward the collar. You can usually pack up to four shirts top-to-tail in one dry cleaning bag, Mr. Beaumont said.
Women’s dresses and skirts
“When it comes to packing dresses and skirts,” said Nyoman Surantara, the director of housekeeping at the Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay, “laying them flat and folding them only once is ideal.” No matter how many folds you make, placing tissue paper or a lightweight scarf between the folds helps prevent creases, he wrote in an email. (When packing a long dress, Mr. Surantara suggests laying it facedown on a flat surface, folding the sleeves inward, and then rolling the dress from the hem toward the neckline. A soft item, like a shawl, can be used to help retain the dress’s shape.)
Coats
Overcoats, like suit jackets, tend to fare best when folded inside out, Mr. Beaumont said. Lift up the collar and make both points of the collar kiss. Then follow that fold down to the bottom of the coat, essentially folding it in half lengthwise. Now lay the coat down and fold it again (lengthwise) so that it looks like a long, narrow piece of fabric. Fold one of the short ends up toward the middle, then fold the other toward the middle over that, which should result in a squarish bundle with the lining outside. Finally, slip it into a dry cleaning bag. If flying with a bulky coat, your best bet is to carry it on.
Layering
Suntaree Sripiyarat, the chief culturist (or butler) at the luxury Capella Bangkok hotel in Thailand, said that the heaviest items should go toward the bottom of your luggage while lighter items should be on top. Inserting tissue paper between garments helps prevent wrinkles, she wrote in an email. (But if you’ve packed each item in a dry cleaning bag, layering with tissue is not essential.)
Planning on shopping for a new holiday ensemble? Keep in mind that certain fabrics travel better than others. Cotton, for instance, creases more than wool does, Mr. Beaumont said. And consider clothes with a higher crimp in the yarn, some elasticity, and those made with performance or crease-resistant fabrics.
Rolling ties, folding scarves, tucking pocket squares
To pack a tie, put the two blades together and roll loosely. It’s best to roll rather than fold or hang silk ties, Mr. Beaumont said, because silk not only gets twisted and elongated, it dries out as well. “A good quality silk,” he added, “cut on the bias will generally hang well when worn, and, if stored, rolled and rested between wearings, will last many years.”
Pocket squares can be left tucked in the pocket of the jacket (learn how to fold a pocket square here.) As for scarves, fold them flat and roll them.
Shoes
To prevent high heels from losing their shape, Jonathan Fambart, the chief culturist at Capella Sydney in Australia, suggests stuffing the toe box with tissue paper or socks before wrapping each shoe in a soft cloth or bag. Ms. Sripiyarat recommends using shoe pouches to corral socks and accessories. Mr. Surantara of the Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay noted that “jewelry, belts and other small accessories are best stored in small boxes, which can be tucked into the corners of the suitcase.”
For oxfords, loafers and men’s dress shoes, consider using lightweight, expandable shoe trees, despite their weight. “If the shoe tree is absorbent, it will draw the moisture after the day’s wear,” Mr. Beaumont said.
Choosing luggage
Mr. Beaumont suggests a suitcase that has a large zippered compartment inside where you can pack your dress clothes. This way, half the case can be zipped shut, helping to keep the weight of everything else off your best clothing.
And don’t break the bank. While Rhodes-Wood sells vintage designer luggage for collection and decoration, “I would never dream of traveling with these,” Mr. Beaumont said. Rather, he spends about 40 to 50 pounds, or about $50 to $63, maximum, on a suitcase. “I mean the way that the airlines treat bags,” he said, “I don’t see the point in spending a lot of money on expensive luggage.”
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