How to win the war on wrinkled clothing
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more frivolous travel topic than wrinkles. But I’m willing to bet that the longer you spend on the road, the less you’re laughing. Jonathan Breeze doesn’t think wrinkles are funny. “I’ve traveled for years, using a variety of different materials that purport to be wrinkle-free,” says Breeze, the CEO of an insurance website.
“I have yet to see anything that rolls out of the case looking ready-to-wear.”
New products and fabrics — here just in time for the summer travel season — challenge the assumption that to travel is to wear wrinkled clothes.
If they don’t work, I have a few tips that can get even the toughest wrinkles out of shirts, dresses and jackets.
Here’s one from Breeze: As soon as he checks in, he turns the shower on the hottest setting and hangs his clothes, turning the bathroom “into a sauna.” Within 20 minutes, all the wrinkles from his dress shirts and pants have vanished.
Keeping wrinkles out means taking preventive steps, says Jacobi Dolphin, a personal wardrobe organizer and stylist. “For all garments that need to be hung, wrap them in plastic,” she advises. “The best plastic to use are dry cleaning bags. Friction causes wrinkles, and plastic prevents friction.”
Dan Miller, the CEO of Mulberrys Garment Care, pays attention to the seams when he packs his shirts. Fold along the seam lines and you’ll prevent wrinkles. “Also, use cardboard for stability, to ensure that your garments hold their shape while traveling,” he says. You can use the cardboard from your shirts that have been dry-cleaned.
Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you need an iron. There are new solutions that can help. Consider Collar Perfect ($34.95; collarperfect.com), a travel-sized iron that specializes in quick touch-ups but can be used on an entire garment, if necessary. It’s the size of a cellphone.
Another solution is the new Rowenta Steam ’N Press ($29.99), a multifunctional garment-care tool that offers a variable steam option that lets you control the amount of steam based on the
fabric, as well as a steam trigger for longer bursts.
Let’s face it. You don’t want to shrink-wrap your clothes, and you don’t want to iron. Is there a way out? Yes.
uEddie Bauer offers several products made with its wrinklefree ComfortCloth cotton/spandex fabric. Its Comfort Waist Casual Performance Chino Pants ($65) promise you’ll “say goodbye” to your iron. Who wouldn’t want to do that?
uOrvis has All Transit Pants ($98) that are lightweight and breathable, moisture-wicking and quick-drying. Any wrinkles that might appear during packing quickly disappeared when I tried them.
uMountain Khakis can provide a wrinkle-free experience for the outdoorsy types. Its new Passport shirt ($85) is buttery soft and wrinkle-free, thanks to its unique polyester blend.
uBluffworks makes travelspecific blazers that refuse to wrinkle. Its Gramercy jacket ($295) is comfortable, breathable, machine-washable and has a few nice touches for the jet set, such as 10 built-in pockets.
uUnbound, a new clothing brand that uses wrinkle-resistant Merino wool, creates travel clothes that that can be worn for weeks at a time without needing a wash. A Merino T-shirt will set you back $65.
When it comes to wrinkles, I used to be a skeptic. I’m slowly becoming a convert. I say “slowly” because some of these materials keep more than the wrinkles out. I recently bought two nowrinkle shirts made with a nylonlike fabric. I couldn’t stop sweating in them.
Oh well. Give a little, take a little.