Getting wrinkles out of suit while travelling?

[constantine]

I travel for several weeks a month on business, and my suits get wrinkled in my garment bag.

I used to just dry clean them every time they got wrinkled, but have since learned that this is a bad idea due to the wear and tear from dry cleaning.

So... I know I can iron the paints if they get wrinkled, but what about the jacket, specifically the sleeves? Maybe this is a silly question, but can you iron a suit jacket? I have also looked into buying a steamer but it seems like an iron would get the job done more quickly.

Thanks.

 

[royal618]

Fill your bathroom with steam from a running ahot shower and put the jacket in the bathroom. Don't hang them in the shower, or where they could fall off the hanger into water though.

 

[Quirk]

Put a drycleaning bag over the suit before you put it into the garment bag. It cuts down on the wrinking a lot.

 

[Tomasso]

Originally Posted by constantine

Maybe this is a silly question, but can you iron a suit jacket? I have also looked into buying a steamer but it seems like an iron would get the job done more quickly.

There is some expertise needed to iron a tailored garment. First, a press cloth should always be used so as not to put a shine on the material. And,a sleeve board is required unless you like a crease in your sleeve(think POW).

I think that a Jiffy steamer and the use of dry cleaning bags should do the trick.

 

[Joffrey]

how about buying a portable steamer?

 

[kitonbrioni]

No doubt a steamer will pay for itself many times over and will save your suits from strange hotel cleanings.

 

[pkincy]

Don't ever ever use a garment bag to travel with.

Perry

 

[Tomasso]

Originally Posted by pkincy

Don't ever ever use a garment bag to travel with.

Perry

Would you care to elaborate?

 

[maomao1980]

My dad once brought along a Zegna (main line) suit with him for meetings in New York. He flew first from Beijing to San Francisco, then transferred to New York. After about a whole day of flying, we arrived at the Hotel in NY late at night. I unpacked his luggage (a tiny sumitomo) and the suit looked like it had been to war. I offered to iron it for him but he refused. The suit was hung in the closet and left there until dinner next evening where it was required. I opened the closet and behold a perfectly crisp and wrinkle-free suit like it had just been bought off the rack. I guess my point is that the material itself has a lot to do with how well it resists wrinkles, or rather, how well it can rid itself of wrinkles.

 

[Cake]

The sartorial police will crucify me for this but I wear poly-wool blend suits for just these occasions. I am on frequent day trip meetings within the domestic UK and Europe and can't really afford to wait a couple of hours before a suit might unwrinkle itself.

 

[Dragon]

I guess my point is that the material itself has a lot to do with how well it resists wrinkles

Your point kinda reminded me of this article I read in Departures

---------------------------------------------------------------

Try doing this with another manufacturer's garment," says Massimiliano Attolini, rolling the jacket of a Cesare Attolini suit, the company's custom-made label, into a ball and then kneading it vigorously. The fabric easily gives way, oozing up between Attolini's splayed fingers as if it were viscous, yet flowing right back into shape when he puts the jacket on again. The point of this demonstration is to show off the garment's softness, lightness, and resilience, the sartorial trinity at Attolini.

 

[wheelerray]

Originally Posted by kitonbrioni

No doubt a steamer will pay for itself many times over and will save your suits from strange hotel cleanings.

Small travel models are available, and most will work with european and asian voltages with an adapter for the outlet.

 

[sootnoob]

I bought a portable steamer to get rid of small wrinkles from a couple suits I have. However, while the wrinkles go away, it seems like the suit bubbles a little bit - so that its not completely straight and flat in the area that is steamed.

for example, my suit had a few slight wrinkle marks from being in a suitcase (folded in a garment bag provided by samsonite), so on doing the lapel, it bubble a bit and is not straight and flat as it was previous. It is the same with a portion on the back of the jacket. Some might not care, but I'd like it to be straight and flat as possible. do others experience that ?

 

[intent]

I pack my suit jacket inside-out (except for the sleeves), and then gently fold into quarters. Wool is pretty good at resisting wrinkles.

 

[tom153]

Originally Posted by sootnoob

I bought a portable steamer to get rid of small wrinkles from a couple suits I have. However, while the wrinkles go away, it seems like the suit bubbles a little bit - so that its not completely straight and flat in the area that is steamed. for example, my suit had a few slight wrinkle marks from being in a suitcase (folded in a garment bag provided by samsonite), so on doing the lapel, it bubble a bit and is not straight and flat as it was previous. It is the same with a portion on the back of the jacket. Some might not care, but I'd like it to be straight and flat as possible. do others experience that ?
I'm going to guess that the suit is fused, right? This is one of the reasons why everyone recommends canvased suits here. Steaming will no doubt get the wrinkles out. Depending on how long the suit was sitting in the bag they may come out by just filling up the bathroom with steam from running hot water in the shower and leaving the suit there for an hour or so.