"We act the way we dress. Neglected and untidy clothes reflect a neglected and untidy mind." -
Author Unknown
Unlike personal travel when you can pack haphazardly at the spur-of-the-moment if need be, business travel involves more consideration. After all, your goal is to look polished and presentable while keeping your luggage light. Follow these procedures to keep your clothes in their best shape so that you look your best:
1.) Pack your Trousers first, on top of your underwear, t-shirts, ties and casual clothing. At this point I have been known to fold and lay a clean towel over these items to create a flat area. This helps in preventing any avoidable creases. Your trousers may simply be folded in half, after aligning the sides. Hold the trousers by the hem and fold along the creases. Continue to match these creases above the knee and fold in half, maintaining the crease while placing in your luggage.
2.) Next come your Dress Shirts. Take as much care in packing them as you did in having them fitted. The most important consideration here is minimizing wrinkles. Lay the shirt out on a flat surface and fold sleeves under at the shoulder. Next, reduce wrinkling by using a long-fold, rather than folding it exactly in half. Fold the shirt below the waist. Doing so will place the crease below the waistband of your pants where it will not be seen. Using plastic bags or tissue paper from the dry cleaner to separate shirts reduces the friction between each shirt helping to prevent wrinkling.
3.) The final item, to be placed on top of your shirts, is your Sport Coat or Suit Jacket. Keep the jacket fresh by first turning one sleeve of the jacket inside out. Slide the other sleeve inside, matching shoulders and gently shaking fabric into place. The jacket can now be folded in half lengthwise. If necessary, the jacket may then be folded widthwise, just above the lowest button. If you have a clean dry cleaning bag, it is always a good idea to then place the folded jacket in the bag and place the bag on top of the shirts.
If you have found a successful technique for packing we can share with other executives, please let me know. Wishing you safe and successful travels. Please let me know what I can do for you.
Travis Giles
Email: [email protected] Direct: 770-309-6597 Web: www.mcmclothing.com
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