How to Fold a Dress Shirt for Drawers and Travel

Whether you’re traveling or storing your dress shirts in a drawer, learn how to fold your dress shirts properly and avoid wrinkles.

While it’s best to hang your dress shirts, it’s not always possible. If you’re traveling, you’ll have to pack it in a suitcase or backpack.

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If your closet is small, you’ll likely fold them and place them in drawers. When you’re folding dress shirts, the most important thing is to prevent wrinkles.

While you can’t eliminate wrinkles, the way you fold your dress shirt determines whether it’s wrinkled or not.

Related: How to fold a pocket square

The following are the two best ways to fold a dress shirt depending on the purpose.

Table of Contents

Method 1: The Travel (Narrow) Fold

The travel fold is best for packing in a suitcase, backpack, or duffel bag. It’s the narrowest type of fold, which is space-saving and minimizes wrinkles. To do the travel fold, take the following steps:

1. Button up your shirt to the collar. You can leave the first one unbuttoned.
2. Flip your shirt over. The buttons should be facing down, and make sure it’s flat.
3. Fold one sleeve across the shirt, and pull the cuff up the middle until it reaches the collar.
4. Repeat Step 3 for the other sleeve, which will stack on top of the first sleeve.
5. Fold the sides in to cover the sleeves. They’ll overlap in the middle.
6. Fold the bottom of your shirt up 2 or 3 times.

Method 2: The Drawer (Wide) Fold

The drawer fold is also an excellent choice for storing on shelves. It’s a wider and flatter fold. Take the following steps to do it:

1. Button up your shirt to the collar. You can leave the first one unbuttoned.
2. Flip your shirt over. The buttons should be facing down, and make sure it’s flat.
3. Pull the left sleeve across the shirt and fold it up on the left side of the middle until it reaches the collar.
4. Repeat Step 3 for the right sleeve.
5. Fold the sides in to cover each sleeve. They’ll meet and slightly touch in the middle.
6. Fold the bottom of your shirt up 3 times.

How to get rid of wrinkles

Before you put on your dress shirt, make sure it’s free of wrinkles. A wrinkled shirt can make you look unprofessional, and it ruins the clean look of a button-up.

There are a few ways to get rid of wrinkles. One of the most common tools is a steam iron. However, the steam iron can be harsh on your clothes.

A gentler and better option is a handheld steamer. It’s better for your clothes and eliminates all wrinkles that it comes in contact with.

An excellent product is the BLACK+DECKER Advanced Handheld Garment and Fabric Steamer, which you can buy for $50.66 from Amazon. It offers different attachments and provides a continuous flow of steam to quickly remove wrinkles.

If you don’t have a steam iron or handheld steamer, you can boil a pot or kettle of water. Then, use it to remove the wrinkles. It’s a good method if you don’t have a steam iron or steamer.

Conclusion

Folding your dress shirts is quick and easy. The key is to have a flat surface and keep everything as flat as possible while you’re folding it.

Now, you know how to do it the right way. Your shirts will be less wrinkly and they won’t take up too much space.

Featured image by David Em/Next Level Gents.

About David Em

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David Em is the founder of Next Level Gents, the ultimate destination for tips and advice about style, grooming, fitness, and success.