When we travel, our clothing gets wrinkled in the suitcase. You may find yourself shoving things in your suitcase, trying to make it all fit, which results in disheveled clothing once you arrive at your destination. Depending on your travel destination, there may not be any way to iron the wrinkles out and it’s very uncommon for hotels and Airbnb’s in cities to have a dryer. Your only resort may to be to hang up your wrinkled clothing in the shower to (hopefully) steam out the wrinkles. This issue is especially true if you have men’s plus size clothing.
Below are some ways to limit the amount of wrinkles your clothes have upon arrival when traveling:
Use Wrinkle-Resistant Materials
To prevent wrinkles as you prepare for your travels, start with materials that have wrinkle-resistant properties. Polyester, nylon, lycra, and other synthetic fabrics have these properties. They also have anti-microbial and quick drying properties, so they’re safer, healthier, and easier to pack.
Jersey, wool, knits, spandex, cashmere, or lyocell are also great travel choices because they fall back into place shortly after you unpack them. Give your garment an anti-wrinkle test by crumpling it up in your hand for thirty seconds. If the wrinkles shake out quickly, it’s perfect for packing.
Roll Your Clothing or Use a Travel Organizer
You can also use strategies like bundling or wrapping to reduce wrinkles in other fabrics. Rolling items isn’t new, and it saves space as well as reducing wrinkles. If you wrap larger items or items that are more prone to wrinkling on the outside of the bundle, you will have more room in your suitcase and fewer creases.
Layer your clothing flat on your bed or floor with the wrinkle-prone garments on the bottom. These items turn out on the outside of your bundle, having a larger curve radius, and sporting fewer wrinkles. Use a travel organizer or something else with a fixed size for stability in the center.
You can also roll your wrinkle-prone clothing in travel organizers. That’s what I usually do, but I find they take up more space than necessary.
Pack Lightly
Don’t shove things in your bag so tightly that they don’t have room to move and breathe. Packing tightly creates more wrinkles. Carrying a bigger suitcase is sometimes less of a hassle than ironing everything when you get there.
With a little bit of planning, you’ll arrive with wrinkle-free men’s plus size clothing. You’ll avoid one a pretty serious fashion faux pas that could have an impact on your career. You’ll look stylish and put together instead of messy and unprepared.
*This article was contributed.
