When you travel for business, you’re expected to look perfectly put-together and polished, even if you’re suffering from serious jet lag and are living out of a suitcase–wrinkled button-ups and all. The key is to remove as many unknown variables as you can to help the trip go smoothly and to prevent any predictable snafus. As long as you’re strategic about what you pack—taking plenty of time to carefully curate a list that takes every scenario into account—you can count on wooing everyone you meet and looking super professional throughout the trip.
Travel-Friendly, Wrinkle-Resistant Outfits in One Color Scheme—When traveling for work, you need to look polished and professional even when you’ve just logged a long, stressful day of travel. Here are some tips for ensuring that you show up at every meeting looking amazing:
Wrinkle- and lint-free fabrics are your friend. Look, we all want to claim that we immediately arrived at the hotel, unpacked, ironed and hung up all of our dress clothes, but no one would buy that. Instead, pack clothes that make it look like you actually did all of that without actually having to do all of that. The best wrinkle-free fabrics for traveling tend to be synthetics, like polyester and lyocell, but wool and cashmere will do fine, too.
Pick a color scheme and stick to it. Pick a color scheme (brown and navy or black and gray, for example) to make it easier to mix and match pieces so you get out the door faster in the morning. This also allows you to pack only a single pair of dress shoes, a single belt and—if you’re really particular about matching—a single briefcase or laptop bag.
Don’t overpack. Of course, the number of outfits you need will depend on how many days you’ll be gone and how many different events you’ll be attending, but for a full work week, pack at least two pairs of pants and five shirts that go with both pairs. Overpacking isn’t the worst thing you can do, especially if your company is covering your checked bag fees, but it does make it harder to coordinate outfits in the morning.
If necessary, steam out the wrinkles. Even if you’ve packed the highest tech travel fabrics ever, your work clothes may emerge from your luggage a bit wrinkly. If this happens, don’t fret! And don’t bust out the travel steamer or hotel room ironing board, either. Simply hang your wrinkly garments on a hanger and leave them in the bathroom while you take a hot shower. The steam will smooth away the wrinkles for you.
Don’t forget the lounge clothes. Your co-workers will probably want to meet you out for happy hour or dinner or you may have a night off to stay in and lounge or go to a movie. Make sure you have one or two outfits for casual dinners and lounging sessions if you think they may be on the agenda.
Your Own Toiletries (Not the Awful Hotel Ones)—One word of advice for guys who want to look and feel their best on a biz trip: Skip the hotel shampoo and conditioners and fill your fave men’s toiletry bag with your regular day-to-day products that you’re used to. The hotel-supplied products aren’t going to help your hair behave, and may add time, effort and frustration to your getting-ready routine. Instead, bring your own tried and true men’s travel size toiletries. Here’s a quick list of the most important things to include:
Hair stuff, including a comb, shampoo, conditioner and hair styling products. Dry shampoo can be a life-saver for guys who tend to have greasy hair, too.
Shaving stuff. It’s tempting to pack a cheap travel-sized razor and make do with sub-par shaving cream, but pack what you use at home when you want to impress, including a safety razor and some premium shaving cream.
Deodorant and cologne, because there’s a good chance you’re going to be in plenty of sweat-inducing scenarios where a good deodorant or cologne is necessary.
Face wash and skin care products. The last thing you want to do is get ready for a big business trip only to show up and have your skin break out. Pack travel-sized bottles of your preferred face wash and skin care products.
Toothbrush, toothpaste, floss and mouthwash. Nothing’s worse than forgetting your toothbrush or having to use the cheap stuff from the front desk, so make sure yours are packed and ready to go.
The Everyday Basics—One of the best ways to make sure that you packed everything you need for any kind of trip is to go through a regular day, from getting ready in the morning to prepping for bed at night, to make sure you have everything you need. Some basics you need to include are: your phone charger, your laptop charger, any prescriptions you take regularly, your glasses or contacts and any other medical devices you could potentially need throughout the week.
Backups and Life-Savers—No matter how much time you put into prepping and strategizing, the occasional hiccup can occur. Consider keeping some life-savers and backups on hand to prevent disasters. Having a travel-friendly first aid and medicine kit (which you can easily make yourself) can help you stay calm if you get sick or injured. Make sure to include bandages, painkillers, antacids and other day-to-day OTC meds that you may need in a pinch. Don’t forget to pack your power bank for on-the-go charging, too!
Be Strategic But Don’t Stress
With the internet and convenience stores in every corner of the world, forgetting something is most likely not going to be a major disaster. But taking the time to be strategic about what you pack is a great way to ensure that your trip goes off without a hitch so that you can make an amazing impression and get invited back again and again.
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