How to choose the right travel suit for business meetings abroad

8^th April 2020

The editorial unit

The editorial unit

8 April 2020

When you’ve got business meetings abroad, you are going to face many challenges. One of these has to do with choosing and bringing along the right travel suit. Naturally, you won’t be in the comfort of your home and you won’t have the means to change and iron your clothes whenever you need to. Also, you can’t bring your entire closet with you. This highlights the importance of making the right choice as to which suit to pack for your business meeting. After all, just because you’re not in your comfort zone, it doesn’t mean that you have to make sacrifices in the style department. You’ll still want to look as dapper and professional as if the business meeting had been conducted at home.

That said, here are some tips for you to follow when choosing the right travel suit to bring along with you:

Always nail the fit

A well-fitting suit is always the best choice, whether you’re choosing suits for travel or domestic use. No matter how well-ironed a suit is, you still won’t look professional during your meetings abroad if it doesn’t fit you well. The last thing you’d want is for your colleagues to be distracted by the fact that your suit doesn’t quite fit you.

In that regard, here are tips for you to follow to ensure that your suit is always the perfect fit:

• Go for custom suits whenever your body frame needs it. For instance, you’re unusually tall, short, thin, thick or muscular.
• Don’t buy the suit if the shoulders don’t fit. It can be tricky and costly to repair.
• The suit jacket length should reach down to your knuckles when your arms are hanging by your sides.
• The sleeve of your suit should reach your wrist-bone and should show at least an inch of the long sleeve you’re wearing underneath.

Choose the fabric wisely

Because you are choosing a travel suit, the fabric choice should go way beyond just selecting a colour. The whole point is for you to choose a fabric that won’t be susceptible to wrinkling. Your tailor or a sales representative from the shop, such as Brook Taverner, can help give you pieces of advice along those lines.

Generally, the best types of fabric that can work in any situation are wool and silk. Wool doesn’t crease a lot, and it will also keep you warm when you’re on the plane or at the airport.

Choose function over fashion

When it comes to shopping for travel suits, always choose function over fashion. There’s so much more room for you to consider more fashionable options when you buy suits that you’ll only bring with you to your office, and not for travel. The distinction lies in the fact that with travel suits, you’re taking them with you to another place. There’s not enough room for you to play around with fashion or to bring different shirts to match your suit.

Here are tips to guide you in choosing classic suits that are easier to wear when travelling:

• Choose a two-button suit; that’s always the best and most classic option.
• Choose a suit with pockets that are sewn in and have a flap, as these also make for versatile suits.

Choose the right colour

The two major colours to opt for when choosing travel suits are navy blue and dark grey. These are the easiest to pair with, be it for daytime or nighttime affairs. If you have to bring just one, then narrow down your option to a grey suit. These go with any long sleeve, no matter the time and temperature of the day.

Select a suit that also goes with the shoes you’re bringing

Another very important aspect to have in mind when choosing a suit is to select the one that goes with the shoes you’re bringing. For obvious reasons, your sneakers just aren’t going to cut it. You’re going to have to go one step further in order to look formal. Hence, bring dressier shoes such as oxfords. Whatever shoes you’re planning to bring, your suit also has to match them in terms of style and colour.

Conclusion

You may have already gotten used to dressing well for meetings whenever you’re moving around town. However, the situation becomes trickier when you’ve also got to dress well during business trips. When travelling further afield, you’re presented with many more challenges than usual. Naturally, you’re also very limited with your options as you can’t just bring your entire closet with you. If you’ve been struggling with this issue, the tips listed above should help you out, making it even more effortless for you to look professional no matter where your business travels take you.

The editorial unit