So I personally had no idea that some suitcases came inbuilt with a suit compartment (talk about putting the 'suit' in suitcase... can you at least let me enjoy it?).
This was at least something someone had taken the time to school me in before, aha, I actually had to start traveling for business. Or for weddings. Those things cost a lot. And it's not fun to have wrinkled clothes for either.
No matter how it's packed, the main points to remember are 1) to use a garment bag if possible and 2) to unpack it as soon as possible and steam it alongside a hot shower to release any wrinkles. Get it hung in the cabun by the flight attendant if possible—there's no guarantee that it'll happen—but short on relying of that, it's a good idea to rely on super boss packing skills.
Sarah Howell, who writes Road Warriorette, recently has this question posited to her.
First of all, [my brother] said that he doesn’t use a hanging bag but rather puts them in the zipper compartment on the inside of the lid of his regular suitcase. This accomplishes two things: (1) keeps the suit from moving around because it’s a tight space (thereby reducing wrinkles), and (2) protects it from any spillage that might occur in the main compartment...
Finally, he said that there isn’t a way to prevent wrinkles altogether but you can minimize them by the way you fold your jacket to strategically place the creases so they’re not as noticeable (as instructed here and here). He also unpacks it as soon as he arrives in the hotel and hangs it in the bathroom while running the shower to steam it for a bit.
But if that's not enough, Road Warriorette commenter Steve also has an intricate suggestion for being work-ready on the go:
Leave the suit in the dry cleaning bag or even better, in a heavy plastic garment bag. Then fold it in half (or thirds if necessary). I find that when I do that it slides around inside the bag rather than have some parts held in place by friction against other clothes while some parts move and thus cause wrinkles.
If you must fold the jacket, do this:
- Hold the jacket facing away from you.
- Take the left shoulder, wrap it around the back and over the right shoulder.
- This will put the right shoulder and put it inside the left one and the suit will fold in half on the back seam.
- Shake it a bit so everything hangs straight down.
- Move the arms so they’re on the side away from you but otherwise flat against the jacket.
- Put your arm in the center and fold in half, folding away from you.
If you travel a lot, have a tailor line the jacket in silk (full lining). Then the things you put on top will slide rather than grab (see above).
My new best friend is also a travel-sized bottle of Downy wrinkle releaser in case all fails.