Men have two goals when they pack— the first goal is
to economize space while still having enough clothing to keep up appearances.
The second is to pack in a way that is best for your clothing; essentially,
in a manner that will limit the possibility of creasing, wrinkling, stress
and stains.
Before we get into how to pack your wardrobe, let’s first go over a few
facts that will help you keep your expectations reasonable when packing
and unpacking.
First, packing is not a perfect art, it is impossible to pack, travel
and unpack and not have any creases or wrinkles in any of your clothing.
One of the most important things to do is the make sure things stay in
place. When they are able to shift around a likelihood of creases (and
thus ironing) increases.
Second, not all textiles are created equal. Certain fabrics will crease
more easily than others. For instance, linen will crease just by looking
at it, whereas wool is a bit hardier. Also as part of this, it is
important to realize that heavier weight fabrics crease less easily
than lighter weight ones. For instance, a heavy wool flannel suit will
rarely crease whereas a tropical wool suit will crease relatively easily.
Third, garment bags are a waste of money. You can pack your suit, shoes
and shirts in your normal suitcase and they will emerge in a similar, if
not a better state.
