How to Travel with a Suit and Arrive in Style

It's not what you want to see after a long flight: a wrinkled suit. You can't hit the conference looking like you've been crumpled up and thrown away. Knowing how to travel with a suit is a skill that pays off in dividends. You'll always leave the right impression when travelling for business, presenting, and networking. Never let a wrinkled suit crush your confidence. Look polished and refined from the terminal to the podium with our guide on how to travel with a suit.

Folding Your Suit for Travel: Roll, Don't Crease

You can travel with your suit in a high-quality hanging bag and take it as a carry-on. But the cabin's closet space is limited, and the bag could count as your one carry-on. We suggest packing it in a hard suitcase and checking it in with the rest of your clothes. Just don't fold it like the rest of your clothes. Don't fold your suit, but use gentle rolls to minimize fold marks in the jacket. Use this method to fold your suit for travel:

1. Place your suit jacket on a flat surface.
2. Gently roll a shoulder towards the back's midpoint, placing the sleeve flat along the back.
3. Do the same for the other shoulder and sleeves.
4. With the two sleeves parallel down the centre, fold the hem to just below the collar.
5. Flip the folded jacket with the lapels up to face you.

For your trousers, start by folding them at the seams. Fold them in half width-wise so the waistband goes down to the hem. This minimizes the folds while making them suitable for packing. Be sure to place your suit jacket on top of your packed luggage for maximum protection while you travel.

How to Travel with a Suit: Tips When You Arrive

Folding and packing your suit correctly gives you the best shot at avoiding wrinkles. But you should do two more things when you arrive to ensure you look polished, refined and wrinkle-free when you meet, greet, and present your way through a business trip:

1. Take your suit out right when you get in your room and hang it up. High-quality fabrics will return to normal if you give them time and space.
2. A little wrinkling is bound to happen. Give your suit a refreshing steam in the bathroom. Hang your suit on the back of the bathroom door and turn the shower as hot as possible. Keep the shower running with the shower curtain or door open. Let the steam build up, and turn the shower off. Leave the suit hanging, and you're ready by the time the steam clears.

Keep it Crisp: Packing Your Shirt for Travel

We recommend rolling most of your clothes when packing, except dress shirts. We suggest folding shirts in the same manner as stores when they're displayed. It's straightforward and will reduce wrinkles on your journey. Here's how you should fold your shirts before packing them away:

1. Button up the shirt completely.
2. Lay the shirt face down on a hard, flat surface and spread it out with the sleeves to the sides.
3. Fold the sleeves down and across the back so the left cuff lays at the right side and vice versa.
4. Visualize your shirt in thirds and fold each side towards the middle of the shirt.
5. Fold the shirt in half from the bottom up once and again for a tighter fold if you need the space.

Getting jostled during travel may still create a few wrinkles. But you can steam your shirt along with your suit in the bathroom. With your shirt and suit ready to go, let's complete your look with a sharp tie.

Protect and Keep Your Tie Pristine When You Travel

Packing ties in your luggage can harm them. If they're crowded by the clothes you pack, they can get wrinkled, which affects their appearance in the short and long term.

When you roll your tie, you avoid a wrinkled, misshaped tie at meetings and presentations. Start by laying it on a flat surface. Then, fold it in half and tuck the tail into the keeper. Finally, roll it from the folded end. Rolling will relax the creases and folds from the knot so your tie can return to its original shape.

Next, pack your tie in a Canister. Aklasu ties come with one, but if you don't have one, you can order one here. Canisters are also great for storing your tie at the end of the day and ensuring it lasts decades.

If you're packing for your trip right now and don't know what to do with your tie, make sure you roll it up. And avoid packing your suitcase to its gills so you don't overcrowd your suit and tie.

Knowing how to travel with a suit is an invaluable skill. Properly packing it and your shirt and tie ensures you arrive at your destination looking polished and refined—not rough and wrinkled.

First impressions matter. How your suit looks and how you present yourself speaks volumes. Download our Elements of Sophistication ebook for free to assemble timeless and classic outfits for your next business trip.

Arrive in style with refined essentials.