Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Packing Tips for Men


Folded shirts (especially those from the cleaner) are the easiest for packing.  The plastic sleeve and cardboard backing provide ease of packing and protection in the suitcase.  If you are fortunate enough to be able to launder and iron your own shirts, I still recommend cardboard backing and a plastic sleeve for flat packing.  Ironing at home always gives the shirts a better natural drape than starched professionally cleaned shirts.  I'll return to it someday.


Stick your tie (chosen for the shirt) in the sleeve.


Keep your links on a pin, and they won't disappear.  It also works for metal links, if they have enough gap at the hinge.


Sling the pocket square through.


Inside the plastic, they hold fast and unpack very easily... organized for your stay.



The ties and shirts pack flat with no wrinkling.  The links and pocket squares sit safely tucked, and occupy very little space.  The technique makes traveling for business or pleasure far easier.  At your destination, leave each plastic-sleeved packet together until you wear them.  For packing a suit, see this past post.


Feasting on seafood in Louisiana again. A King's cake (I think it was called) and chicory-scented coffee was served after lunch.  Fat Tuesday preparations are in full swing, they tell me, and hospitality comes easy and naturally... even the roadside swamp-dives serve incredible food.  

4 comments:

  1. Hope someone warned you about the plastic baby in the King's cake. It can be a pretty unsettling "surprise" if you're not aware it's there.

    I wish I could be that organized in packing.

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  2. *Dave T: It was actually made from ceramic or porcelain, and had (I was told) been in "hundreds" of the cakes. It ended up in someone else's piece.

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  3. Definately an heirloom. My introduction was from a friend from New Orleans whose family sent a Mardi Gras care package. If they had a piece like that, it was probably fairly wise not to send it to a guy in his early twenties. The food over there can be outrageously fantastic. All the best!

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  4. Good idea about packing the extras in the shirt sleeve--it probably helps to prevent the collar from being crushed. Still, the rule is that if I personally pack something, it always comes out wrinkled.

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