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how to pack dress shirt in suitcase carry on wont wrinkle
how to pack dress shirt in suitcase carry on wont wrinkle
Travel

How To Pack It: The Dress Shirt

February 3rd, 2016
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When you’re packing for travel – whether that’s a weeklong vacation, a weekend getaway, or a quick overnighter – it’s important to make the most of the space you have in your suitcase, carry on, or duffle bag.

And in addition to optimizing space, you also want to do your best to keep your clothing – especially those nice pieces – safe and as wrinkle-free as possible.

Traveling as much as I do every year, I’ve pretty much dialed in a method and routine. And we’re kicking off a brand new How To Pack It series to share those tips with you.

First up: how to fold and pack a dress shirt. Flip through the photos above for the step-by-step play-by-play.

how to pack dress shirt in suitcase carry on wont wrinkle

Step 5 of 10. Halfway done! Use the slideshow for the full monte.

And here are a few common questions answered…

Is it possible to pack a dress shirt so it doesn’t wrinkle?

Unfortunately, no. It doesn’t matter what method you use – folding as illustrated above, another way, or rolling – the hard truth is that when you’re stuffing a piece of clothing in a small space against a bunch of other stuff, it’s going to wrinkle. Your only option is to use the iron at the hotel or to invest in a travel steamer.

How long does this method take?

About one minute.

Is it worth the effort?

Absolutely. I used to lamely fold my dress shirts and waste a ton of space in my luggage as a result. This folding method is extremely compact and saves a ton of space. Plus, it’s extremely symmetrical – the resulting small square is very easy to situate in a suitcase, carry-on, or duffle bag.

Chime in: share your dress shirt folding and packing tips below!

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Stylishly Yours,

Brian Sacawa
He Spoke Style

Photography by Rob McIver Photo

Brian Sacawa

Brian Sacawa is the Founder of He Spoke Style and one of the original men’s style influencers. Since 2013, his goal has remained the same: to provide men the advice and inspiration they need to dress well, develop their personal style, and gain more confidence. Brian’s interest and passion for men’s style and luxury watches has led to his writing for The Robb Report, The Rake, and Sotheby’s and he has been quoted on menswear in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Today.com, Brides Magazine, and the Huffington Post. He lives in the woods north of Baltimore with his wife, Robin, kitties Nick and Nora, and German Shepherd/Collie mix Charlie.

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Unless you're extremely lucky with the fit of off the rack suit jackets or you get all of them made to measure, chances are you're going to need some alterations. The good news is that when it comes to getting a suit jacket tailored, a little work goes a long way in terms dialing in fit.

A quick word on terminology: throughout this post I use the term 'suit jacket.' In the context of suit jacket alterations, you could also substitute 'blazer' or 'sport coat.'