# Driving while wearing suit?



## browm77 (Jul 24, 2011)

I just picked up my first suit thrifting last week for $15. It fits like it was made for especially for me. Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked.  One thing I was wondering about, however, is whether I should remove the suit jacket while driving? I don't want to wrinkle it.

Thanks for reading.


----------



## RM Bantista (May 30, 2009)

browm77 said:


> I just picked up my first suit thrifting last week for $15. It fits like it was made for especially for me. Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked.  One thing I was wondering about, however, is whether I should remove the suit jacket while driving? I don't want to wrinkle it.
> 
> Thanks for reading.


Mr. Brown77,
It kind of depends: I do not, as jackets should be constructed so as to resist dissatisfaction of their owners and end-users, gentlemen and ladies in the every days world; However, most do as they seldom wear the suit as a suit at all and remove the jacket at every opportunity which presents itself. The fabric matters. Some fabrics resist wrinkles and some are meant to wrinkle and be appreciated thereby. Generally, my own preference is that a suit coat should always be worn except with the exception of visiting the necessary room for some purpose which could require removal of garments. Otherwise, I wear mine at all times buttoned, as one should with a db jacket. It seems to me that unless one is wearing a three piece single breasted suit one, should keep the coat buttoned. If one is too warm, then remove your hat or replace with one of lighter construction; otherwise, the suit and other weights of garments were poorly chosen for the conditions of the day or circumstances of the environment. One ought to have picked the correct weight in order to retain dignity and decorum under existing circumstances.

Nonetheless, most people will not be alarmed should you remove your suit coat while seated, although they do tend to be alarmed should you be without some appropriate garment save your epidermis except in San Francisco and some tropical areas where mores are somewhat different than in the PA office or traffic.
YMMV,
rudy


----------



## Matt S (Jun 15, 2006)

If it's a good suit it won't wrinkle, unless it's a casual summer suit made of linen.


----------



## godan (Feb 10, 2010)

A search will turn up a long thread on this from a few months ago. Personally, I remove the jacket when driving.


----------



## mrp (Mar 1, 2011)

For the new user.
https://askandyaboutclothes.com/com...et-behind-the-wheel&highlight=automobile+suit


----------



## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Answering the OP's question would, I think, require some consideration be given to the length of the drive and the time of the year. The longer the drive and/or the warmer the weather, the more likely it becomes that I will remove my jacket for the drive ahead!


----------



## FiscalDean (Dec 10, 2011)

Eagle is absolutely right. If I'm driving to work (about a 30 minute drive) I'll leave my suit coat on. If I'm driving any further, I'll remove it. During winter here in Northern Wisconsin, I'll leave my overcoat on also; to jump out of the car when it's minus 10 degrees or colder and stop to put on an overcoat isn't a lot of fun. 

While I don't entirely agee with Matt S, a good suit will shed it's wrinkles between wearings.


----------



## TheGreatTwizz (Oct 27, 2010)

Goes to length of drive and time of year. 

During the winter, when I'm wearing an overcoat, I'll leave the house with suit coat in hand and wearing my overcoat. When I reach my office, I'll hang up my overcoat and put on my suit coat. 

During the hot summer months, If my drive is less than 30 minutes, I'll remove the coat; if it has chance to be longer, I'll keep it on. 

My commute is, for the most part, about 75 minutes, so it would be issue for me, especially in winter months when the heated seats are on, thus basically pressing the wrinkles in my jacket. 

For short hops, absolutely not. When making the actual commute, morning and evening, generally, yes.


----------



## Starch (Jun 28, 2010)

Probably best to take it off when you're driving, though you might wear it while putting.


----------



## WalkerTexasRanger (Feb 5, 2009)

It's much more comfortable to drive without a suit jacket or coat, even in the winter. I start in an indoor garage though and park in a an indoor garage in NY, so even in the coldest weather it isn't an issue. If I parked outdoors in Minneapolis, I'd probably have a different opnion. I do think it also results in fewer wrinkles on arrival.


----------



## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

I don't think about it much. If it's going to be a long trip, I'll probably not wear it, but I just don't see it making a big enough difference to really think about much. In the winter, if I'm wearing an overcoat I wear both unless it's a really long trip.


----------



## MikeDT (Aug 22, 2009)

browm77 said:


> I just picked up my first suit thrifting last week for $15. It fits like it was made for especially for me. Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked.  One thing I was wondering about, however,* is whether I should remove the suit jacket while driving? * I don't want to wrinkle it.
> 
> Thanks for reading.


Of course you should remove it...It's why car manufacturers thoughtfully provide the little hook above the rear passenger door. To hang your suit jacket from, to stop it wrinkling. This is what all reps do, as they don't really want their customers seeing a wrinkled suit.


----------



## Canadian (Jan 17, 2008)

In winter, I prefer to wear my overcoat and jacket in the car. In summer, especially wearing linen, it often gets left at my office and I wear it once I get there. I find having a jacket available at work in summer works better for me than wearing a pristine jacket every day and having to wrinkle it. Of course, every few days you take your jacket home and trade it off for something else.

In winter, I try to run the heater enough to keep the windows clear, but I rarely crank up the heat for comfort. Having a jacket and overcoat on helps a lot.

Tom


----------



## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

Driving to work is no longer a consideration. I only wear a suit to church or out in the evening. For either of those trips I unbutton the coat but wear it for the trip. Very few of them last over 15 minutes so it's less inconvenient to wear it than to change upon departure and arrival.


----------



## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

My advice is to take it off. My tailor gave me a pretty good lecture when he caught me getting out of my car wearing one of the jackets he had made for me! Sitting in a modern car is _not_ like sitting in a desk or restaurant chair. The seat belt and the side and lumbar supports essentially mean there is nowhere for the tail and skirt of the jacket to go. Even heavyweight fabrics tend to get rumpled in that context.

Do what you want. But there's now question that the suit jacket will look better and go longer between pressings if you take it off while buckled in.


----------



## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

eagle2250 said:


> Answering the OP's question would, I think, require some consideration be given to the length of the drive and the time of the year. The longer the drive and/or the warmer the weather, the more likely it becomes that I will remove my jacket for the drive ahead!


+1. If you're too warm, or it's a long drive, I would take it off. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it. A few wrinkles are to be expected unless it's a plastic suit.

When I was marketing and doing sales, I could spend a lot of time in the car, so I routinely removed my jacket, particularly in summer. I found it convenient and practical to actually take one my good suit hangers and hang it from the rear driver side suit hook. It didn't obscure visibility and allowed the suit hang out, and to air out to a degree, more so than if I simply hung the back of the jacket from the hook.


----------



## Matt S (Jun 15, 2006)

Flanderian said:


> When I was marketing and doing sales, I could spend a lot of time in the car, so I routinely removed my jacket, particularly in summer. I found it convenient and practical to actually take one my good suit hangers and hang it from the rear passenger side suit hook. It didn't obscure visibility and allowed the suit hang out, and to air out to a degree, more so than if I simply hung the back of the jacket from the hook.


+1

A hanger is necessary, though I prefer the rear driver's side.


----------



## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

Matt S said:


> though I prefer the rear driver's side.


Of course! And that is what I meant. Would be dangerous to hang it on the passenger side.

Doubt anyone would be foolish enough to do as I suggested, but will edit my post, just in case.


----------



## TheGreatTwizz (Oct 27, 2010)

As I travel a bunch, I keep a bar across the 'oh ****' handles in the rear, basically making myself a 5 foot closet rod in my back seat.

There are some interesting headrest hangers for those that don't use the hook.....


----------

