Get out of Town

Whether you're a confirmed globe-girdler who's always on the wing or just a man planning his annual two-week vacation, you'll want to be well turned out no matter where you roam. The knack of how to arrive ready to get going and look fashionably correct with all your gear in top-drawer condition is quite simple—select well-coordinated, trouble-free wearables and then pack them properly.

When stocking a getaway grip, the phrases to keep in mind are "permanent press" and "wash and wear": Clothing with these qualities requires a minimum of care, is crease resistant, lightweight, and takes to packing and unpacking with ease. In the old drip-dry days, these portable worthies used to come in one or two soggy, often unmanageable materials. Today, the choice of fabrics ranges from seersuckers and poplins to tropical worsted fabrics and blends.

Obviously, it's important to pack enough clothes so that you'll be properly attired for any occasion. But there's no reason to look like a 15th Century Spanish grandee, who wouldn't have been caught dead going to Ferdinand and Isabella's for the weekend without the minimum requirements of a dozen trunks and a brace of peacocks. But today, even though the airlines have relaxed their allowable weight regulations, the smart traveler doesn't want to lug around a lot of needless impedimenta. So a little advance planning will let you pack a bag with clothing and accessories that practically take care of themselves.

In setting up your travel wardrobe, particularly where space is a problem, choose clothes that coordinate smoothly. Stay away from boldly patterned suits or slacks. Solid-color styles that can be dressed up or toned down, depending on the occasion, are best. If you stick to one or two basic colors, you can carry a wide variety of accessories and let them add the colorful shadings to your vacation suitings. For example, by color-keying a navy-blue business suit, a navy raincoat and a lighter-blue sports jacket with correct shoes, ties and walk shorts, you'll be equipped with a far more versatile wardrobe than you'll get by selecting a lot of different-colored apparel items.

Shirts are not the travel problem they used to be. You can find almost any kind of collar style in wash-and-wear all-cottons, Fortrels or Dacron-and-cottons. Permanent-press sport shirts are good timesavers and stay trim no matter what the weather may be.

The sweater is an important travel item. Take at least two: a lightweight pullover or cardigan with long sleeves and a warmer midweight model. Stick to traditionally styled sweaters rather than loading down your luggage with unusual ones, no matter how right they might be at home. When you pack, leave room for additional purchases or include a collapsible bag in your luggage that can fold out into a suitcase for the return trip.

Be sure to take along a lightweight raincoat. A dark-colored one is best; it can be worn at night as a topcoat. Choose a trim style that packs easily.

For any trip longer than a weekend sojourn, you should include at least two pairs of shoes—preferably three—to allow for comfortable changes. Alternate black slip-ons with hard-soled dress loafers. For your third pair, pick out one of the many new flexible models available, either in fabric or lightweight glove leather.

Avoid the inexperienced traveler's temptation to overpack. The 40-pound limit on plane baggage has been discontinued by most airlines on all but international flights. You can now fly with two bags (the first measuring a maximum of 62 inches around, the second measuring 55) at no additional cost. These two should be more than sufficient for anything this side of a pigsticking romp through Jaipur. Remember, practically every vacation area around the world has shops where you can replace almost anything that you've forgotten. Adding a kit full of extra gear is usually unnecessary. Try to operate on the principle that you should have no more luggage than you can manage personally, in case there is no one around to help you debark.

The following is our selection of a suitable basic wardrobe for a two-week vacation:

• A dark business suit for daytime and evening wear. Skip the dinner jacket unless you know specifically that your hotel, ship or hostess is having a function at which you are expected to appear in black tie. The same goes for specialized sports gear such as hunt clothes. The suit you have on for the trip will serve as your backup.

• Three wash-and-wear business shirts (two white and one blue, preferably) in your favorite collar styles.

• Six handkerchiefs.

• Six neckties.

• Wash-and-wear underwear, pajamas and a robe to meet your personal requirements.

• Two pairs of slacks color-coordinated with your sports jackets. One black-to-brown reversible belt.

• One sports jacket and one blazer. (Gray slacks and a blazer will do fine for almost any daytime occasion.)

• A pair of short-sleeved sport shirts and another pair of solid-color knit or Banlon polo shirts.

• Two or three sweaters—a lightweight, mid-weight and an optional full-weight, depending on where you're going.

• Six pairs of socks. The nylon and the knitted fabrics are easy to wash and hold their shape well.

• Two or three pairs of shoes. Be sure one pair is right for tramping around the countryside. A flexible fabric pair can do double duty as beach clogs and casual shoes.

• One crushable hat and a light-weight, simply cut raincoat.

• Ascots and pocket squares as needed for color variations.

This list, of course, is basic and does not take into consideration your personal preferences in sports clothes. Tennis or golf attire should be included if those sports are on your schedule. Two pairs of swim trunks are a good idea. A couple of pairs of walk shorts, one solid and one patterned, are right for patio lunches or tanning in the morning and early afternoon. Color-key them to your sweaters and jackets.

There are plenty of tricks to use when packing a suitcase so you won't find your clothes badly wrinkled upon arriving at your holiday spa. In the compartmented, hanger-equipped B-4 bags and the two-, three- and four-suiters, packing problems are cut to a minimum. Hang coats and trousers (keep the coats buttoned) in the space provided and stow the rest of your wardrobe flat. In hangerless suitcases such as large Gladstones, we recommend the following:

Coats: Pull the collar up, then told shoulders back until they touch, with the seams aligned. Take hold of both shoulders from inside and flip the jacket inside out. After checking to see that the sleeves are lying straight, fold the jacket over double to fit into your case.

Trousers: There are two ways. One is to lay the slacks out smooth on a flat surface, lining up the trouser legs by the creases, and then rolling them up tightly, beginning with the cuff and pulling the seams out taut as you go. The other way is to fold them over some other garment, such as a jacket. Slipping a roll of tissue paper inside the fold helps avoid wrinkling.

Shirts: Pack them straight from the laundry, but first remove cardboard collar stuffers.

Ties and scarves: Roll them up tightly and tuck them into odd corners of your bag. They won't wrinkle if they're stretched tight.

Shoes: Use lightweight aluminum or plastic shoe trees to keep them in shape and still leave enough room for socks to fit inside. Put the shoes in a plastic bag to protect your other clothes. (This works in hanger-equipped suitcases also.)

When you're packing, put jackets and slacks in first, then shoes at either end for balanced weight, with the soles facing the sides of the case. Once you have the shoes and major items arranged, fill up the corners and odd spaces with your rolled ties, scarves, extra socks, underwear and other small items. If everything is folded and rolled, your clothes will stay more wrinkle-free in a tightly packed bag. Shirts go on top. The lightweight robe can be used to cover the inside of the case by tucking the ends around the sides.

A good test of your packing know-how is what you do when you reach your destination. If it's an overnight stop, take out only the items you need. If you're staying two days or longer, take out everything in your bag and give your belongings a chance to breathe.

We prefer the steam method for shedding unavoidable travel wrinkles: Put the clothes on hangers on the bathroom's shower-curtain rod; then turn on the hot water in the tub and let the steam rise through the clothes. All but the most insistent wrinkles will disappear after a few minutes.

In these days of mass-produced luggage, it is quite likely that other travelers will be toting the same type of grip as yours. To avoid picking up the wrong bag at busy hotels and terminals, attach an identification tag to the handle of your suitcase. Another trick is to stick a small strip of colored masking tape on the outside of each bag so that it can be spotted quickly at a crowded claim counter.

One final reminder—comedian W. C. Fields used to advise the prudent traveler to always pack extra shorts and T-shirts because they were the perfect wrapping around gin bottles—to protect against breakage. It's still a good idea.

Bon voyage!