Traveling light is the ultimate goal for any quick business trip. Avoiding the baggage claim saves you an immense amount of time. But if you have an important corporate meeting or an NGO event to attend, pulling a crushed, wrinkled suit out of a stuffed backpack is a nightmare.
You don’t need a bulky garment bag to travel with a suit. Here is the secret “Inside-Out Core Fold” method that keeps your blazer pristine inside a backpack:
- Step 1: The Inside-Out Shoulder Tuck
Lay your suit jacket flat on a bed. Take the left shoulder and turn it completely inside out. Leave the right shoulder exactly as it is. Now, take the right shoulder and tuck it inside the left shoulder. The jacket is now folded in half, inside-out, protecting the delicate outer fabric from any friction or dirt.
- Step 2: Fold the Trousers
Take your suit trousers and fold them exactly along their natural crease (so the legs lay perfectly flat against each other). Lay the trousers out flat on the bed.
- Step 3: Create the “Core”
Hard folds cause wrinkles. To avoid this, you need a soft core. Take a couple of soft t-shirts, your undergarments, or a rolled-up sweater and place them in the middle of your trousers. Fold the bottom half of the trousers over this soft core, and then fold the top half over. You now have a soft pants-bundle.
- Step 4: Roll the Jacket
Place the folded jacket horizontally. Put the soft pants-bundle at one end of the jacket, and gently roll the jacket around it. The soft core prevents any sharp creases from forming in the suit fabric.
- Step 5: The Plastic Bag Trick
Place the rolled suit inside a large plastic dry-cleaning bag or a clean ziplock before putting it in your backpack. The plastic creates a smooth surface, reducing friction (which is the main cause of wrinkles).
Pro-Tip: The second you check into your hotel room, take the suit out, hang it up in the bathroom, and turn the shower on high-heat for 10 minutes. The steam will instantly drop any minor travel wrinkles!
