zip-up garment bag. You should use a hanger that locks your pants to the hanger. Carry your suit on the plane. As soon as you get on, tell the steward / stewardess that you have an important meeting / are attending a funeral / have a job interview, and ask them to hang your suit in the closet. They will be more than happy to accommodate you and your suit will be perfect without the effort of specially packing it or buying some expensive luggage.
This procedure has always worked for me.
I did that a lot about 10-15 years ago and it usually worked but I've noticed either a polite refusal by flight attendants or newer planes that don't appear to have the same compartment for garments to hang. Maybe it varies by airline, but I usually look for it and rarely see it anymore. I fly mostly Delta and Southwest, occasionally United.
Zubaz, however, do not make the cut.
These instructions make it sound more difficult than it really is. The basic gist is that while you're folding the suit you're never folding it with a hard edge — there's always something in between the folds that prevent them from creasing.
Steps:
1) Button up the jacket and lay it flat on your bed, front down.
2) Fold your pants as you normally would, along the pleat, and lay them perpendicular across the top half of your jacket so that the waist runs along the leftmost part of the jacket and the hem is off past the rightmost part of the jacket.
3) Take all your other folded clothes — the ones you don't worry about wrinkling — and stack them in piles on top of the pants, covering the top half the jacket.
4) Pick up your pants by the hem and fold them to the left back over all the clothes you just placed. Tuck any portion of the pants that runs past the leftmost part of the jacket back between your pants and the jacket (the idea being no part of your pants extend beyond the jacket).
5) Fold each of the arms behind the jacket, draping them over your pants-wrapped pile of clothes.
6) Finally, fold the jacket in half by bringing the bottom up over your clothes pile.
This nicely wrapped suit package should fit perfectly in one half of a standard carry-on size roller. Strap it in and you're good to go. Obviously, still take it out as soon as you get to your final destination.
Fold your suit in half along the spine, with the exterior facing out as normal. Fold it in half again. Make sure the sleeves are laying relatively flat on the top of the suit as you put it in your suitcase.
This method takes approximately ten seconds and my suits are always fine when I take them out in the hotel. It's possible that nicer quality suits handle this method better than cheaper wool - I buy my suits from Nordstrom when they run their sales.
just keep it with the towels.
When I get to the hotel, I hang my jacket up in the closet. I hang my pants upside down with my belt in the waist (the weight helps remove wrinkles).
I've never had a problem with this method.
... is to use the shower at the hotel to steam the suit upon arrival. Works for shirts too. You need an hour to do it, to allow for drying time, but as long as you've folded it well enough to prevent severe creases, this does the trick nicely.
I have been doing this since college. Love it.
I did that once, closed the door, and then forgot about it and went out to dinner. I came back to the steam bath. My suit was practically sopping wet and the bathroom door was warped.
My (idiot) friend was advised of that tip by others while on cruise. He had a wrinkled dress shirt and a group was going to grab a nice dinner. As they walked to dinner, my friend admitted that the tip worked but he wasn't sure that it was worth it. His shirt was completely soaked and dripping - because he didn't realize the shirt was to be hung outside of the shower. I even think it was a singles cruise; I don't think he did well that night.
I carry the small travel bottle with me
The old steam in the bathroom if all else fails
I'm 63, but I look 61.
And get a bag that can handle suits without creases.
Go to the 1:00 mark for the inside section:
Anything that has a system that folds horizontally, when coupled with the plastic from the cleaners and you should be set.
The investment in the suitcase has been well worth it, I travel confidently that my suit will arrive ready to wear. I used to bring it in a suit bag and ask a flight attendant to hang it up for me, but found that airlines became less and less accommodating of that request.
Even if you have status and are sitting in first class, they still look at you funny if you ask to hang a small garment bag.
any significant wrinkles. Hanging it overnight usually takes care of anything residual. Same thing for dress shirts.
I use a plastic cover from the dry cleaners and put my suit under that. Then I place that plastic inside of a plastic or cloth suit garment bag that zips up. I fold the garment bag over once, sometimes twice (depending on size of luggage I'm packing it in) until it fits inside of my bag. I've never had a problem with wrinkling and I think the plastic slip is what's key because it creates a barrier and clings, eliminating the friction from rubbing against other materials or other parts of the suit.
I have not had a lot of luck with approach 2.
When possible, I prefer to use a 2 suiter instead of a pullman when I need to bring suits on the road.
I now use method 1 without folding inside out.
The key is to pack the suit right before you leave for the airport and to take it out as soon as you get to the hotel. Do not leave it folded in your luggage for longer than you need to.
That's how I do it, and it's how this guy does it.
I prefer to pack them in a garment bag, but the inside-out method works if you're trying to travel light.