TRAVELING WITH YOUR WARDROBE : PACKING AND CARE THE SECRETS OF WRINKLE-FREE TRAVEL
The basic objective of packing a suitcase is to get as much in as small a space as possible, while managing to arrive at your destination relatively wrinkle-free. An under packed suitcase leaves too much room for clothes to shift and crunch. Conversely, an over packed one produces hard-to-remove creases. When carefully folded and arranged, the contents of a suitcase should snugly fill its interior with its weight distributed equally throughout the bag for easier carrying.
Before making any other packing decisions, you must first choose the sort of luggage, hand or soft, that best fits your traveling requirements. While a hard suitcase offers your clothes greater protection and can be a terrific makeshift seat if there in nothing else available, its inflexibility can be a hindrance if you are forced to squeeze it intro a tight, awkward storage area. If it is bulky as well as heavy, transporting the hard suitcase can also bang your shins to a fare-thee-well. Luggage made along the lines of the old-world-elegant Vuitton or Asprey's steamer trunks look exceptionally stylish, but they will also soon look exceptionally battered after being pummeled about in today's taxi trunks or airport conveyances. Of course, if you travel by limousine to the Concorde or Queen Elizabeth II, such problems will be of little concern. But for those whose mode of transportation to the airport, dock, or train depot usually has a meter in the front seat, the luggage's vulnerability is an issue.
Softer cases give you greater flexibility around their sides; should you acquire anything during your travels, they can accommodate the additions more easily than harder luggage. They are also more manageable in difficult-to-fit spaces, a fact you'll appreciate if one ends up jammed beneath your legs. And your shins are in little danger if you have to carry one across a crowded airport. The softer bags range from the ballistic nylon - lightweight, slash proof, and Prada chic if well-designed and black - to the printed canvas and leather-trimmed bags by Etro, Gucci, or Fendi, which last a lot longer than their soft appearance might suggest.
If you opt for the semi-structured luggage, you should consider whether you will travel with suitcase large enough to accommodate a single-folded coat or a garment bag. The idea that your clothing, especially your suits, should hang in your luggage just as they hang in your closet has made the garment bag a popular choice for many travelers.
Since packing and unpacking the garment bag are easy matters, over packing the garment bag is always a temptation. So, when faced with a choice between the three- of four-suiter, give serious thought to the smaller of the two. Garment bags come with several zippered compartments. Designed to hold specific items such as shoes or toiletries. The better ones come with a "wet" bag for damp exercise clothes or laundry and have compartment that are accessible from the inside as well as the outside. Choose one with mesh or clear vinyl compartments, so you can see whatever you are looking for without having to completely unpack. Also, be sure to find a bag that can utilize different types of hangers, so that you are not stuck if you lose or damage one. Garment bags can be heavy and unwieldy, so make sure yours has a wide, padded shoulder strap. Finally, whether you choose the suitcase or the garment bag, there is a technique to packing both.
PACKING
Packing the suitcase
As a first order you must decide which articles will be packed at the bottom of your bag. Many experts recommend putting trousers in first, leaving the leg out until everything else is in, and then folding them over the top of the pile. I disagree with this on two counts. First, since the trouser would rest against the top and bottom sides of the suitcase, you risk exposing it to any number of hazards, including moisture, that could not ruin the trouser but effectively the entire suit. Second, travelers often arrive at their destination without enough time to fully unpack before having to keep some business appointment or social engagement. Therefore, the last thing to pack is a suit, since it is the first item that you will want to hang up to air out and dewrinkle. The first thins you pack will have to absorb the full weight of the clothes places on top of it. So the garment to place at the bottom of your bag should be some item like a sweater, jogging clothes, jeans, or bulky trousers, anything that can wrinkle or get wet without causing you anxiety.
While packing, place tissue paper or plastic between each layer of clothing. Acid-free, crinkly tissue paper is the butler-approved device, while plastic, which allows your clothes to slide rather than settle and crease, is a close second. As you pack these items, a small moat should form around your island of clothing. This is the place for your footwear. Since packing and unpacking exposes fine leather shoes to scratching, your shoes should be protected by bags. The best shoe bags are made of brushed felt, which shields the shoe's uppers while maintaining their polish. They also prevent the shoes from leaving polish marks on your suitcase or clothes. Plastic bags will not prevent scratches and scuffs and, if the climate is humid, can stick to the shoe, diminishing its luster. Face the soles of the bagged shoes against the walls of the case so that they are provides with the maximum protection while lending structure to the other packed garment.
Beside being covered, your shoes should be trees. Without travel shoe trees, your footwear may become deformed. Wooden trees are preferable, since they absorb moisture; shoe repair shops sell light plastic ones that will do in a pinch but should otherwise be avoided. If trees, plastic or otherwise, are unavailable, you can provide your shoes with temporary support by stuffing then with socks or underwear. Never separate a pair of shoes; if you pack a left and a right in different container, you double the chances that the pair will not arrive intact. Once the shoes are positioned, soft items such as linen, hosiery, and handkerchiefs should be stuffed in the spaces between them to provide additional cushioning.
Dress shirts can now be added with their collars alternating at each end. A professionally folded dress shirt with collar support in the cleaner's plastic bag is going to emerge from its casing more wearable than the ones you folded your self. Shirts folded off hangers always need more touching up than shirts folded by the cleaner. However, if you insist on folding them yourself, choose the "long" fold, with the shirt folded below the waistline, ensuring within the collar for additional support.
Everything that is now in your case should be firmly set in place. If the moat between the outside wall and your clothing island is well fortified, the contents should move as a unit while the surrounding items can move independently as the weight of the parcel is redistributed during travel. Your trousers, folded in two with each waistband alternating with the other, should be packed next. In between each trouser, place four or five neckties folded once in half. The trousers will keep them flat and any resulting crease in the tie will come at the back of the neck where it is concealed by your collar. A traveling tie case offers an even safer mode of travel for your neckwear, and it can easily be hung in your closet.
Your jacket is the next article to go in Experienced travelers pack the night before, leaving their tailored clothing out until the very last moment to save unnecessary creasing. Fold your jacket lengthwise in half, inside out, taking care to push the shoulders through while making sure the sleeve meet each other inside and hang down without wrinkling. Place plastic inside the coat's vertical fold. If your case is not long enough to accommodate single folding, put a layer of plastic or tissue over the folder jacket and fold it a second time between the button nearest the waistline and the top of the inside pocket. This is one place where a recalcitrant fold will easily come out.
One of the final items for packing is the leak proof dopp kit, which allows for any last-minute additions. This can be used to plug up any gaps on the perimeter created by the stacking of the trousers and jackets. Just as with your first layer, the last thing to be placed over your suit jacket should be a robe, second coat, or even some plastic, anything that will prevent moisture from reaching the garments below.
Packing the Garment Bag
Experiences travelers who favor garment bags use their compartmentalized arrangement to their advantage. They lay out each outfit beforehand with a dress shirt placed under each jacket and several ties hung on top of the slacks. Tissue is placed in the jacket sleeve and between the jacket and trouser. Each ensemble is encased by a plastic dry cleaning bag before it is hung in the garment bag. Folder dress shirts are never left at the bag's bottom where they can be crushed if a hanger falls.
PERMANENT PACKING FOR FREQUENT TRAVELERS
Accoutrements
Small travel jewelry box for space cuff links, collar bar pin, collar stays
Extra shoelaces in black or brown
Sewing kit with two different-sized needles; black, beige; and white thread; and several extra shirt buttons
Safety pins, small Swiss Army knife, and tape in case a cuff comes undone and emergency surgery is required
Travel alarm clock to back up the hotel wake-up call
Extra pair of reading glasses
Suede brush and whisk brush
Six to twelve plastic shirt bags to aid your packing
A word of warning: if you include any bottles in your bag, make sure they are unbreakable. Never place a breakable bottle in your bag unless it is packed in a leak proof container.
We invite you to check out some of our other useful custom tailoring related information:
Have you ever bought a men's bespoke shirt If so then you already know how much better they fit than the pieces you can buy at the local department store This isn't to imply that you can't find a great deal on a shirt that fits you well enough But if you want to look your best you need to get the best And the simple fact is a men's bespoke shirt is by far the best choice you could ever make when it comes to your wardrobe The Problem with Department Store Clothing You might shy away from a men's bespoke shirt because of the cost You also might be lured into your local department store because of the weekly circular you see in the newspaper It's hard to pass up on a Boss shirt that costs less than especially if you're...
To help you understand the importance of a custom suit we will dive in to some of the benefits of wearing a good suit and also some of the great places you can wear your suit too and look smarter than everyone in the room We don rsquo t want to believe it but the simple truth about our society is that people are very superficial Do yourself a favor and don rsquo t limit your chances by not looking your best whenever you can It rsquo s always better to be overdressed than under-dressed for any occasion nbsp For many people out there wearing a suit nbsp on a regular basis nbsp has paid itself off in many ways and we would certainly recommend that you do the same In addition to looking more handsome and sophisticated you rsquo ll...
Thanks . Check your inbox for your log in information. If you don't hear from us in the next few minutes, remember to check your spam, in case our message to you goes into spam instead. Also remember to mark mycustomtailor.com as a safe sender to ensure our communication reaches you in a timely manner.
