Holdall or Suitcase?

I’ve just been on another of my many trips. This time I was visiting existing customers & some new prospective clients in Scotland. Obviously I wanted to look smart! On short trips like this one, I tend to take my clothes in a travel bag rather than a suitcase. It’s easy to chuck it in the back of the car and not too heavy to carry around.

How do you arrive with un-creased clothes ‘ready to wear’ after they have come out of a holdall? I have been asked this many times before, so  I thought I would share my secret with you today.

The answer is all in the careful packing.

Skirts, dresses & shirts.

For skirts, dresses, shirts, jumpers & T-shirts, all you need to do is to lay them out flat, one on top of the next one, making sure there are no creases in the layers. Fold any sleeves carefully inwards, preferably around the armhole area to reduce creasing. Next take all your underwear & socks and place them in a sausage shape across the top of the pile of clothes. Now all you have to do is roll the pile of clothes around the socks and underwear and put the whole roll into your bag. Obviously you need to make sure the bag is wide enough to take the roll without crushing the edges.

Here’s a picture of my packing being unrolled as I arrived at my B&B. This time I packed a skirt, a jumper and 4 or 5 T-shirts and all arrived nice and flat. No need to ask to borrow an iron!

Packing trousers and jeans.

For trousers & jeans etc, fold these in half with back side out (or sideways on if there is a permanent crease centre front & back) and lay them out flat, in the same direction (ie, hem to hem), one on top of the next pair. Starting from the waistband end, roll these up into a smaller roll and place in travel bag. You should find you’ve still got space for your washbag and a pair of shoes.

Never pack your jeans and trousers with the belt still in place. Always remove the belt and roll this up separately. It’s also not a good idea to pack jackets….you have to wear them or hang up in back of the car!

There you go, packing in a holdall without creases! I make 2 sizes of holdall but I recommend the weekender for more than 1 night away. You can see my latest designs here www.eastondesignstudio.com

Where are you off to on your next trip? Let me know if you try this and if it works for you too!