Every man’s guide to packing a shirt for travelling

Whether you’re a frequent flyer or just travel on an occasional basis, it’s important to make the most of your suitcase and keep your shirts as safe and wrinkle-free as possible. Although it’s not possible to prevent all wrinkles from happening, packing your shirts with our useful guide will certainly help.

 

Fold or roll? The debate is still strong, but we recommend the rolling technique to save time, space and wrinkles!

Step one – lay the shirt out and do up every button to prevent wrinkles. Then fold the collar upwards. Step two – fold the sleeves diagonally across the front of the shirt. You’re wanting it to look like an ‘X’. Step three – smooth out the wrinkles! Any wrinkles in the shirt now will get worse if left. Step four – turn up a few inches of fabric at the bottom of the shirt, ensure it’s equal both sides. Step five – fold the sides of the shirt(s) inwards so you’re left with around a third of the shirt’s width remaining. Step six – starting from the collar, tightly roll downwards. The tighter the better so take your time. Step seven – pull over the folded inches at the bottom of the shirt to keep the roll together. When you arrive at your destination your shirt will have fewer wrinkles than with standard folding, but it’s impossible to prevent them completely.

 

Our top tips to resolve the problem of wrinkled clothing are:

Check with the hotel whether you get an iron in your room, or can obtain one at the reception desk. If not, invest in a travel steamer – they’re worth every penny. Plastic helps minimise friction, a key cause of wrinkles. So, pack your shirts in a plastic dry cleaner bag, or even a large zip lock bag! Minimise space in your luggage. Treat your packing like a jigsaw puzzle and fit clothes and other items into any gaps. You want the heaviest items at the bottom, your rolled shirts and other clothes in the centre and everything else slotted in to fill any holes in the sides. Of course, one of the simplest things you can do is invest in a travel ready wardrobe with shirts made from wrinkle resistant fabric, but when that isn’t possible taking care and attention with your packing is the best way of ensuring your shirts arrive in optimal condition.