How to Pack a Suit in a Carry-On

The inside-out fold

Empty the pockets. Button the jacket. Turn it inside-out so the lining faces you and the wool faces itself. Push the right shoulder into the left shoulder so the pads nest. You now have a rectangle of jacket about 40–45cm wide. Lay it in the case. One fold across the waist if the bag is 55cm and the jacket is longer — that fold is better than three rolls.

Trousers: crease-to-crease, then once across if needed. Do not roll. Knit trousers forgive more than worsted.

Where it sits in a 55 × 40 × 20 bag

Suit toward the lid or in a folder so it is not at the bottom of 8kg of shoes. Shoes in a bag at the wheel/base. Shirt cubes along the sides. Toiletry under 1 litre for security, in its own pouch.

• Cabin sizer: typically 55 × 40 × 20–23cm; pack flat, not stuffed into a ball
• Suit weight: jacket 0.8–1.1kg, trousers 0.4–0.5kg — budget 1.5kg
• Tissue or a dry-cleaner bag at the fold reduces shine on worsted
• Hang within 20 minutes of the hotel room; steam from the shower if needed

Backpack exception

A 35–40 litre Europe travel backpack can take a suit if it opens clamshell and you use a folder against the back panel. A 20-litre commuter pack cannot, unless you wear the jacket. Wearing the suit and carrying a slim pack is the other valid system — backpack with a suit.

Never put a canvassed jacket in a compression cube and pull the zip. Compression is for cotton t-shirts. Jackets are architecture.