Wedding season approaches! For a lot of people, late spring and summer means a lot of traveling for weddings — and bridal showers, and bachelor parties, and and and and and! Which means packing things like suits and fancy dresses and shoes that aren’t sneakers. Also, you probably want to look good at all these events, and packing these five things will help to do just that.
Ask a Clean Person and Style Girlfriend are teaming up this month to bring you the latest on what to wear for spring and summer ... and how to care for your new wardrobe acquisitions. This week: wedding wear.
Travel Steamer
The Joy Mangano My Little Steamer is small, cheap and it heats up in 2-3 minutes, so you can quickly steam out wrinkles and creases that happen during packing, or on items that have been worn that you want to wear again before they get cleaned. Steamers also have an advantage over irons — namely, that they are not irons because blah, ironing can kind of be the pits, but also that steam can freshen up a stale-smelling garment. A packing tip to bear in mind! Empty the water chamber before you pack a steamer, and consider also stashing it in a Ziploc bag since water can linger even in a chamber that’s been emptied and leak onto your clothes.
Shout Wipes
I just really cannot say enough for Shout Wipes: The fact that they’re individually wrapped and can fit easily in a pocket or wallet makes them so convenient, and the delivery system of a wipe is so far superior to other on-the-go stain removal options, like pens. Shout, in all its forms, is also just especially good on food stains, which makes them great to tuck into a travel bag or Dopp kit in the event you drip bearnaise sauce down your dress shirt at your high school best friend’s wedding reception.
Shoe Shine Sponge
These little things are super convenient, and not only for travel: It’s essentially a shoe buffing sponge that’s been treated with a formula that will add a bit of extra shine to already polished shoes. So look, this doesn’t take the place of properly shining your shoes, but it is really great for a quick sprucing up of footwear in between deeper cleaning sessions and, when you’re heading to a wedding, or funeral, or any other event that requires that you travel with a good pair of shoes, it’s very easy to toss into a bag so you can give your shoes a quick going-over before the big day.
Shoe Bags
I know I’m always saying this but I’m always saying it because it’s true: Shoe bags may seem like a stupid, fussy hassle, but they serve such a real purpose: Shoes are F-I-L-T-H-Y, and using shoe bags when you pack will ensure that they don’t spread their filth all over everything else in your suitcase. This becomes especially true when your travel is taking you and your dress shoes to an outdoor wedding, where you’ll be tromping over grass and dirt and sand and etc etc etc in shoes that you’ll need to pack back up in your luggage — alongside your fancy wedding clothes, no less! — the next day. SO. Shoe bags, please.
A Wet Bag
Wet bags are smart investment for people whose travel frequently involves swimming, outdoor activities or fitness. They’re big enough to fit a full workout outfit, so if you went on a muddy hike before you packed you can stash your soiled clothes in the bag. Or if, say, you ended up with an entire glass of red wine down the front of your white dress shirt and had to rinse it in the hotel room sink, the wet bag will be big enough for you to tote that soggy shirt back home for laundering. Also, you might want to know about travel-sized Wine Away.