Commuting and business clothes tricks

Justin Seiferth said:

I am searching for tips and techniques for transporting business clothes
in panniers without their ending up looking like were slept in. Special
ways to fold them, special containers or packing orders- all of interest.

I've had some success with rolling clothes. First roll up the stuff
that can wrinkle (undergarments, socks) into a cylinder. Carefully
fold pants in half lenghwise and roll around the undies. Then
carefully fold shirt and wrap around pants. If you can keep the roll
from getting squished on your ride you'll be in good shape. I used a
messenger bag and it worked great.

But a better answer is to leave the fancy clothes at work and only
carry the undies on the bike. When I had to wear suits I kept a suit
jacket, a couple of pairs of pants and a couple of dress shirts at
work. I got them drycleaned around the corner so they never had to
come and go from home.

Michael

Justin Seiferth said:

I am searching for tips and techniques for transporting business clothes
in panniers without their ending up looking like were slept in. Special
ways to fold them, special containers or packing orders- all of interest.

I've taken to buying shirts made of poplin and other fabrics that don't
wrinkle easily or at all. My pants roll up fairly well and I don't have
problems with them wrinkling. Additionally I tend to dress in black or
dark colors [1], so wrinkles don't show as much even if I had them.

[1] One Halloween a year or two ago I came to work all dressed in white.
Pretty much everyone got it.

--
Dane Jackson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g
"Hey, Mr Nyatharlothep, tally me Cthulhu,
six foot, seven foot, eight foot ... TEETH!
Daylight come, and me wanna go.... AAAAAAAARRRRRRRrrrrgh
nononononostoppleaseGodsavemeArrrrrrrrrrrrghch...!"
--David Cameron Staples in the Monastery

Quoted message said:

I am searching for tips and techniques for transporting
business clothes in panniers without their ending up
looking like were slept in.

I've seen special panniers in a couple of bike shops for carrying
business clothes; but I've never been concerned enough about my
appearance at work to do anything but roll 'em up and toss 'em into my
bags -- maybe that's why my office is a dark old closet down in the
corporate dungeon?

--
"Clothes maketh the man; and the less there is of the man, the more the
need of the clothes." -- John Neville, "Spider" (2002)
http://imdb.com/title/tt0278731/

Michael Press said:

Carefully
fold pants in half lenghwise and roll around the undies. Then
carefully fold shirt and wrap around pants.

I typically roll my shirt inside my pants. Two reasons:

* My pants are dark, my shirts are usually white or a light color.
It's not as apparent if dirt or water or something gets on my pants.

* The shirts roll smaller than the shirt, making my bundled roll a
little easier to handle when the pants are on the outside.

Tie is layered between the shirt and pants. Shoes are kept at the
office. Most of my clothes are wrinkle-free polyester blend. I almost
never wear a jacket.

As with many things, YMMV :-)

RFM

Justin Seiferth <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I am searching for tips and techniques for transporting business clothes
in panniers without their ending up looking like were slept in. Special
ways to fold them, special containers or packing orders- all of interest.

Thanks,
Justin

Justin,

I have had good luck with rolling, but I do two things that help.
Before rolling, I spritz the clothes with either Downy wrinkle
releaser or water (depending on the fabric). Part of the trick to
rolling is getting all of the air out and not rolling the clothes too
tightly. Shirts I fold into thirds lengthwise then roll from the
bottom up. Alright, rolling is a bit of a misnomer. The first part of
the "roll" should be a two or three inch fold. Then continue folding
as you work your way up. I fold my pants as mentioned elsewhere - fold
in half, then follow the three-inch fold/roll technique.

I usually pack daily wear in a backpack - shoes (if not left at work)
on bottom, pants, then shirt and tie on top. I leave a couple of
jackets that work with just about everything I wear at work and clean
them once a week (not that they see much wear beyond hte occasional
"important" meeting).

You could also get a cargo trailer and lay your clothes flat in it.
Use it to haul the clothes on Monday and Friday. Burley and Bicycler
Revolution (www.bikerev.com) make nice ones.

Good luck!
-Buck