How to Pack a Suit in a Backpack (Not a Garment Bag)

The fold that does not murder the canvas

Empty the pockets. Pop the shoulder pads so they face each other: put your hands in the shoulders, fold the jacket inside-out so the lining shows and the shoulders nest. Fold once down the back, not into thirds. Trousers go along their existing crease, then sit inside the jacket like a filling. The bundle should be about the size of a magazine stack, not a burrito.

Knit ties roll. A woven silk tie hangs in the jacket. A belt coils outside the bundle so the buckle cannot print the lapel. Shoes do not touch the cloth — bag them.

Where it sits in the pack

Against the back panel, in a zip clamshell, with soft clothes on top as a cushion. Not at the bottom under a laptop and a water bottle. Not in a compression cube cranked to death — that is how you set a crease you will iron for an hour.

A 30–35 litre travel pack with a flat back is the right tool. A stuffed 20 litre city pack is how you arrive looking like you slept in a car. If the suit is the point of the trip, a fold-over garment bag on a roller is still better; this guide is for the trip where the backpack is the only bag. See backpack versus briefcase if the destination is an office, not a plane.

• Jacket inside-out, shoulders nested, one fold
• Trousers along the crease, inside the jacket
• Bundle against the back panel, never under shoes
• Hang within an hour; steam, do not iron a still-damp worsted

Cloth that survives, cloth that does not

Tropical wool and wool-mohair bounce. High-twist wool is the travel cloth. Linen and unlined silk will remember every fold. A fused cheap jacket will bubble if you steam it in a panic. If you are buying the suit for this life, start with the first suit in a mid-weight wool, not a party linen.

A bathroom hang while the shower runs is a steam. Ten minutes. Do not press the lapel flat with a hotel iron unless you like shine.