What to pack for a business trip in one carry-on.

For a three-day business trip, pack one blazer, two bottoms, three tops, one piece for the evening and two pairs of shoes, all in one palette so everything goes together. Plan each day by its meetings first, and the whole trip fits in a carry-on.

Below is a three-day plan, the short list of pieces that covers it, how to keep a suit or blazer smooth, and the small list of tech and documents.

Plan the trip day by day

Start with your schedule, not your closet. Write down each day's meetings and evenings, then decide what each one needs: a big presentation, a site visit, a team dinner.

The blazer goes with everything and is worn every day. The grey trousers cover two days, the navy pair matches the blazer as a suit for the day that matters most, and each top is worn once.

If your office is more relaxed, swap the suit trousers for a skirt or dark chinos and the shirt for a fine knit. Our business casual outfit ideas have more ways to put those pieces together.

The short list that covers it

Add underwear and socks for each day, sleepwear, and a workout set only if you know you'll use the hotel gym.

Keep it to one palette: navy, black or grey for the blazer and trousers, with tops in white, cream or one soft color, and one color for shoes and belt. It is the same idea as a travel capsule wardrobe: every top works with every bottom, so when a meeting moves, the plan can too.

Keep a suit or blazer smooth

A blazer shows creases more than anything else you pack, and it is the piece you most want to look sharp.

• Wear it on the plane. It is the simplest way to keep it in shape, and it saves room in the bag.
• Or fold it inside out. Turn one shoulder inside out, tuck the other shoulder into it, fold the jacket in half lengthwise, then once across. It goes in last, on top of everything.
• Fold trousers along their crease and lay them flat, near the top of the case.
• Slip a thin plastic bag over each piece. Less friction between layers means fewer creases.
• Hang everything the moment you arrive, ideally in the bathroom while you shower. The steam lets most creases drop out. If you need more, ask the front desk for an iron or a steamer.

A garment bag keeps a full suit smoothest, but it is one more thing to carry. For two or three days, a blazer folded with care in a carry-on is usually enough.

Go carry-on only

Three days fits in a carry-on with room to spare, and it means walking straight out of the airport toward your first meeting.

• Pack in cubes: tops in one, bottoms in another, the evening outfit in a third.
• Put shoes at the wheel end in shoe bags, with socks or a charger inside them.
• Keep liquids small. Liquid rules are set by airport security and differ by country, so check them before you fly.
• Use your laptop bag as your small bag, with everything you need on the way inside it.

Our guide on how to pack clothes for travel goes further into rolling, folding and what goes where in the case.

Tech and documents

A short list, checked the night before:

• ID or passport, and a visa if your destination needs one.
• Booking details for the flight, hotel and transfers, saved offline.
• Company card, plus a personal card kept apart from it.
• Laptop and charger, a phone charger, and a plug adapter if you're going abroad.
• Earphones for calls on the move.
• Your slides or notes saved offline, in case the wifi lets you down.

Plan the looks before you go

In Clozzie, tag the outfits that work for the office. Before the trip, put the three looks you'll need in a lookbook and plan each one on the calendar for its day, so you pack exactly what the plan needs. After the trip, those days stay on the calendar (change any look you swapped), so the next time you meet the same people, you can pick something they haven't seen.