Best bag/pannier for business suits?

[mohonk]

Fortunately I don't have to wear a suit but even bringing business casual clothes on my bike is a challenge. I put my stuff in a cheap gym bag that I bungee cord to my rack. I'm fortunate in that no one in my office turns a head anymore when I show up for work looking like I just spent 18 hours in coach from Dubai. Or maybe I should buy one of those expensive pannier bags.

[bentbike33]

Fortunately I don't have to wear a suit but even bringing business casual clothes on my bike is a challenge. I put my stuff in a cheap gym bag that I bungee cord to my rack. I'm fortunate in that no one in my office turns a head anymore when I show up for work looking like I just spent 18 hours in coach from Dubai. Or maybe I should buy one of those expensive pannier bags.

I keep a few sport coats and 2 pair of dress shoes in my office. I pack in undergarments, pants, shirt and necktie each day. I think there are two keys to looking well-pressed at work: (1) buying no-iron or low-iron clothes, and (2) carefully folding your clothes when you pack them. I use a standard pannier, but first put all of my clothes in a heavy-duty shopping bag from The Container Store. The bag keeps everything together as it goes into the pannier, adds some additional waterproofing, and protects the clothes from any potential mishap with breakfast and lunch which also ride along in the pannier.

You might try just first shopping-bagging your neatly folded clothes before putting them in the gym bag. Nothing will help with clothes that wrinkle when you just look at them funny, however.

Several years ago I used the suit pannier type bag, and while it kept the clothes nice, it was an inferior attachment to the bike.

[huskerdont]

I also keep shoes and ties at work, as well as a sport coat or two. One other thing I do is to liberally use the dry cleaner up the street from my office. I still pack shirts in and out, but mostly the ones that don't wrinkle too badly. The rest I get cleaned and pressed so that I don't have to worry about wrinkling them on the ride.

I have never used panniers but use a waterproof Banjo Brothers large commuter backpack. Part of the reason for the backpack rather than panniers is that I might use one of a few different bikes for work so I figured why put racks on them. Everything I have here has come in that pack,* including the lamp in my office, so it's done the trick for me.

*ETA that that's not completely true. When I brought the lamp, the lampshade was clipped to the outside of the pack. I must've looked quite funny riding in that day.

[Harry Meatmotor]

If you get your shirts dry cleaned and pressed, many dry cleaners offer boxing services. Boxing can mean anything from the shirt contained an actual cardboard box to being clipped and packaged like when purchased new, in an acetate bag with tissue paper and collar props.

Luckily I don't have to wear a business suit at work, but if I did I'd leave them in the office and have them dry cleaned/pressed once a week somewhere near my office.

[VA2DC]

I keep my suits, ties, belts, and dress shoes at work. I bring in socks, undies, and dress shirts once a week in a pannier. I second the suggestion to stick with no-iron shirts. I use an Eagle Creek packing folder to bring in 5 shirts at a time, then hang them up when I get to the office. I fold them up the night before, but wait until the next morning to cinch down the folder. That seems to keep them pretty wrinkle-free.

One suit at a time, folded gently and placed in a pannier, also stays pretty much wrinkle-free. I fold the coat in half lengthwise, put the folded pants on the bottom half, and then fold the coat over the pants crosswise. Then I wrap the whole bundle in a plastic bag from the dry cleaners before putting it in the pannier. Like dress shirts, hanging up the suit (or putting it on) immediately after arriving seems to help minimize wrinkling.

[Crickey7]

Agree with most of this advice (though I use a backpack), with two added thoughts: Wool is fairly naturally wrinkle resistant, and Downy Wrinkle Releaser works surprisingly well for dress shirts.

[Steve O]

I pack in undergarments .. . .each day.

The "each day" is really key here. If you are even slightly inclined to forget socks or underwear, I strongly recommend leaving a spare pair or two in your desk (or locker if you are so lucky).

[VA2DC]

The "each day" is really key here. If you are even slightly inclined to forget socks or underwear, I strongly recommend leaving a spare pair or two in your desk (or locker if you are so lucky).

And don't forget a towel if you're showering at work! I've done that before and resorted to the paper towel dry-off method, but it's less than optimal.

[mstone]

Towel service in the locker room is a tier 1 benefit

[Emm]

The "each day" is really key here. If you are even slightly inclined to forget socks or underwear, I strongly recommend leaving a spare pair or two in your desk (or locker if you are so lucky).

BEST ADVICE EVER. I store 2-3 sets of under garments at work in my locker for days I forget to pack them. Today I used my last emergency set, so I'll have to stock my supply back up next week. I also store a spare outfit (as a woman this means a dress since it's simple) for those days I just flat out forget clothes, or spill something on them in my bag. Luckily that's only been used once in 3 years, but wow was I happy I had it that day...