Wearing suit on the plane for residency interviews

[Ludwig2000]

I saw someone on reddit get downvoted to oblivion for suggesting that some people wear their suit on the flight, as a way to avoid it wrinkling up in a less-than-ideal luggage situation. As someone who is terrible at folding/packing and has never used an ironing board (they seem like death-traps to me), is it so crazy to do this?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Aurum]

If you're truly unable to use an ironing board and/or iron, invest in a travel steamer. They are about $20 on Amazon and easily fit in a carry on.

Your suit will get much more wrinkled by wearing it on a plane than if you had just folded it in half in a standard carry on.

 

[Just Call Me Doc]

Or hang your suit and shirt in your hotel bathroom, turn the shower on to hot, close the door, and let it run for awhile.

I'd recommend against trying to iron a suit, especially if you haven't ironed before.

 

[Detective SnowBucket]

I put the suit and shirt on but wear jeans with it for the plane ride. When I wear a suit, I only really wrinkle the pants but I did this to save space by not putting the jacket in my carry-on.

If you want to iron but aren't comfortable, iron the shirt inside out and you won't burn it or get visible mineral stains from the iron's mister.

 

[NVO]

That does not sound very comfortable at all. I can barely sit comfortably on a plane in a tshirt and shorts due to how little legroom there is nowadays

 

[Detective SnowBucket]

I am sad that America has come to value comfort so far above manners.

"Dressing well is a form of good manners" -Tom Ford
^Wise words I live by.

 

[samac]

I am sad that America has come to value comfort so far above manners.

"Dressing well is a form of good manners" -Tom Ford
^Wise words I live by.

 

[FutureInternist]

Reasons to not wear your interview clothes on flight -

Flight delays.
Fat person in seat next to you.
AC not working properly.

Learn to iron clothes, since depending on where you do residency (and what specialty), you may be required to wear pants, shirt and tie.

If using hotel iron, always use it on hotel towel first to make sure it won’t stain your shirt.

Buy a garment bag that you can hang the clothes in, fold and take as a carry on.

 

[Detective SnowBucket]

Fat person in seat next to you.


If using hotel iron, always use it on hotel towel first to make sure it won’t stain your shirt.

That actually happened to me in my suit on the plane haha. He wasn't fat just like football player big, so big we couldn't put the arm rest down between us because it was in the middle of his shoulder blade.

Also, good idea with the towel, I've just always started inside-out on the shirt

 

[Dr G Oogle]

Don’t wear your suit on a plane it will get wrinkled for sure, especially if you’re flying from interview to interview. Get a garment bag, doesn’t have to be en expensive one either, but a good one will last, I still have mine from 7 years ago.

Also don’t iron your suit unless you want to by a new suit. If you are in dire straights and have to iron it, look at the tag to see what material suit is made of and set the iron settings to that or if says don’t iron set it to lowest setting and use distilled water not faucet water

 

[CherryRedDracul]

I am sad that America has come to value comfort so far above manners.

"Dressing well is a form of good manners" -Tom Ford
^Wise words I live by.

Wearing a suit on a plane is fine so long as it's not your interview suit and your ONLY suit.

 

[Zifish]

What will you do if the person next to you spills their coffee all over the suit you're wearing? And don't say Tide Stick haha! I think it's best to keep your suit and dress shirt on a hanger and put it inside the suit garment bag, and then use the coat closet on the plane to safely hang it (also suits don't count towards the carryon and personal item limits). Then if you're only staying the day and not in a hotel, find a locker room or bathroom and change at that point, put your airplane clothes into your carryon, and head to the interview

 

[managedcarefin]

I wear a suit on a plane every week for work. Wear it if you need to, it isn't a big deal. As long as it's not your only suit you travel with you're good.

 

[deleted407021]

For my Level 2 PE, I put my suit (shirt, tie and belt included) in a regular garment bag and folded it in half. Worked perfectly fine. Dress comfortably for your flights.

 

[Podstar]

Suit bag and hang it up in the closet at the front of the plane, just don’t forget it when you get off.

 

[CherryRedDracul]

Suit bag and hang it up in the closet at the front of the plane, just don’t forget it when you get off.

That's what I did.

I mean not the forgetting part.

 

[FutureInternist]

Suit bag and hang it up in the closet at the front of the plane, just don’t forget it when you get off.

I put a post-it on the tray and an alarm on my phone for 2 mins after landing time.

 

[DrDarce]

Or hang your suit and shirt in your hotel bathroom, turn the shower on to hot, close the door, and let it run for awhile.

I'd recommend against trying to iron a suit, especially if you haven't ironed before.

maybe I'm doing it wrong but this never works for me. I just started using a steamer and it's super easy

 

[NecFasc92]

I saw someone on reddit get downvoted to oblivion for suggesting that some people wear their suit on the flight, as a way to avoid it wrinkling up in a less-than-ideal luggage situation. As someone who is terrible at folding/packing and has never used an ironing board (they seem like death-traps to me), is it so crazy to do this?

Just fold it in half. It probably won’t even wrinkle. If it does it will take 1-2 minutes to steam

 

[raiderette]

My Little Steamer on Amazon. Fits in a carry-on bag.

 

[ScreamingInternally]

I have my suit (jacket and pants) in the suit bag with my shirt and tie. I fold the corners of the bottom of the bag up and around the hanger so that the bottom corners meet. I then use one of those black metal clips to clip the two bottom corners together. I then carry the bag by the hanger. 10/10 no wrinkles, easy to carry, don't have to leave up front where I'll forget it. Been doing this for several years for conferences, weddings, etc. Works pretty damn well.

This was I dont event need a rollie bag/check bag. I have my backpack full of other clothes (underwear/socks/shoes/belt/accessories) and electronics and then my suit bag.

 

[takeurmeds02]

What will you do if the person next to you spills their coffee all over the suit you're wearing? And don't say Tide Stick haha! I think it's best to keep your suit and dress shirt on a hanger and put it inside the suit garment bag, and then use the coat closet on the plane to safely hang it (also suits don't count towards the carryon and personal item limits). Then if you're only staying the day and not in a hotel, find a locker room or bathroom and change at that point, put your airplane clothes into your carryon, and head to the interview

Yea, I was starting to wonder why no one had mentioned the coat closet on the plan. I did that anytime I had to fly for medschool interviews.

 

[gyngyn]

This brings back fond memories of my flight to Minnesota when interviewing for medical school.
The flight attendant (they were called stewardesses back then) spilled a glass of orange juice on my (only) interview suit.
They had really large glasses of OJ on flights back then...