What do I do with my suit?

August 12, 2005 12:44 PM

How do you travel with your suit?

I'm flying cross country for a wedding for a very short period of time (get in Saturday morning, leave Sunday evening). I've yet to fly with a suit in such a circumstance. I don't want any checked baggage, so how do I take on both my suit and my carry-on bag without rolling the suit up? Or do I have to roll it up? (I'm flying Northwest and they claim to only allow one carry-on object)

posted by billysumday to Travel & Transportation (19 answers total)

number: max. of 1 carry-on
size: 9" x 14" x 22"
weight: 40 lbs. max total
notes: purses, briefcases and laptop computers don't count
Use a garment bag for all your stuff.
posted by thomcatspike at 12:52 PM on August 12, 2005

or you roll your suit up, and have it pressed when you arrive at your destination.
posted by thomcatspike at 12:54 PM on August 12, 2005

Yeah. Get a large garment bag, like the ones that LL Bean sells. Put ALL your stuff in it (and pack light). It folds in half and clips, creating a nice suitcase. Travel. Enjoy.
posted by selfnoise at 12:54 PM on August 12, 2005

Hey, wow, they make one that rolls now.

On the plus side, it's exactly the right dimensions.

On the minus side, it's hella expensive. But I'm sure you can find them cheaper.
posted by selfnoise at 12:57 PM on August 12, 2005

Whichever type of luggage you use, put the suit in one of those plastic bags you get from the dry cleaners. The suit should be fine in a garment bag or suitcase with a suit feature. Shirts are harder. Put each one in its own plastic dry cleaning bag as well.
posted by caddis at 1:08 PM on August 12, 2005

I got a sweet garment bag at Sears for about $20 when I needed it for exactly the same reasons. And it's not the flimsy sort, either; I've since taken it with me a number of times, and it's held up quite well. I don't see it online, but such luggage does exist.
posted by uncleozzy at 1:10 PM on August 12, 2005

Um, or you can wear the suit on the plane and just take the jacket off and put in the overhead. I see businessmen do this all the time.
posted by FlamingBore at 1:13 PM on August 12, 2005

Eagle Creek has made a real name for themselves with these pack it cubes. They also have this weird thing that you can your dress shirts into. The basic gist is: fold your shirt somewhat tightly around a piece of cardboard [sort of like you buy them in the store] then put that shirt into a sleeve that itself can be closed tightly. If you're not a big shopper, I bet you could mimic this no-muss effect with your own piece of cardboard and a fedex envelope.
posted by jessamyn at 1:19 PM on August 12, 2005

If you wear it on a long plane ride the trousers will likely get wrinkled. Also, if you use the Eagle Creek shirt pack-it or get your shirts boxed at the cleaners you will have some fold lines, which of course are not a problem when your jacket is on. By the time you take it off to dance who cares - you will probably already be hot, sweaty and perhaps drunk.
posted by caddis at 1:35 PM on August 12, 2005

I've travelled with dress shirts in the Eagle Creek pack-it folders that jessamyn mentions *. They work pretty well, but the shirts definitely get creased where you fold them. That's fine for my purposes, but might be a little less than wedding-presentable.

I'd second the suggestion to wear the suit onto the plane and either put jacket into the overhead bin or ask the flight crew to hang it for you.

You won't have access to an iron when you arrive, I take it?
posted by aneel at 1:36 PM on August 12, 2005

Wear the jacket, pack the trousers. If the suit is made from wool (as any decent suit should be), just steam it in the shower for 15 minutes or so and it will turn out wrinkle-free. No ironing necessary.
posted by randomstriker at 2:15 PM on August 12, 2005

You could buy a new suit once you reach your destination.
posted by quadog at 2:15 PM on August 12, 2005

On a few planes, if you ask the stewardess, they have hangers in the front or the back of the plane where you can hang things. (In the front, if I recall, it's on the right-hand side as soon as you enter the plane.) Just remember it on the way out (probably getting off the plane near the end, as to not disrupt the flow of traffic), and get a garment bag cover for it.
posted by itchie at 2:20 PM on August 12, 2005

Reviewing above... the plastic dry cleaner bag trick helps but I have found it to be not really necessary.

Before you go, take your shirt and have it laundered and pressed. No starch. Hanger. (Sounds like this might be a last minute question though... if so, press the shirt before you pack it.)

If the suit is going into a bag where the sleeves will not hang free, pull the sleeves of your suit jacket inside the body of the jacket (the sleeves will be inside out).

Hang the suit right when you arrive -- in the shower is best or in the air outside if you're traveling to say... Washington, DC.

Wearing the suit on the plane is also a good idea (which I often do when flying with a suit), especially if it means one less grown man wearing shorts and flip-flops in public. Ack.

I use a Tumi carry-on and the suit folds onto a hanger. Looks great every time. No pressing necessary.
posted by Dick Paris at 3:10 PM on August 12, 2005

Men's Wearhouse offers this advice
posted by stevil at 4:10 PM on August 12, 2005

Response by poster: Thanks everyone.
posted by billysumday at 4:28 PM on August 12, 2005

Pretty much ditto what Dick Paris said. I've packed suits in a suitcase, and the inside-out trick seems to work. Any wrinkles that remain can be taken out by hanging them in a steamy bathroom for a few minutes. Shirts I touch up with an iron - most hotels have them for your use.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 9:05 PM on August 12, 2005

This isn't helpful if you're looking to cram a suit into an overhead compartment; but to answer your question, this is how I travel with my suits. There is also a smaller version.
posted by cribcage at 10:31 PM on August 12, 2005

I 'make my own' garment bag: I hang the shirt inside the suit, turn the sleeves inside out, put the whole thing inside a suit bag (the kind of bag they give you to take a suit home in when you buy one), fold it over around some other stuff (like socks and underwear) and pack it. It always works, since it uses the same principle as the garment bag. Easy.
posted by josh at 6:15 AM on August 13, 2005