In any situation, you need to make sure your clothes don’t look wrinkled: Practical notes from a flight attendant’s travel steamer
I'm Riley, a flight attendant. I'm 30 years old and Los Angeles–based.
If your impression of my job is “dressed in a uniform, with perfect makeup, and smiling gracefully,” then you might only have seen the surface. The truth is, I might have to rush to the airport at three in the morning, deal with all kinds of emergencies at 10,000 feet during the day, and then drag my tired body into a hotel room at night. Busy, stressful, and unpredictable—that’s just my everyday life.
But in this chaos, there is one “order” that I will never give up. For instance—my uniform must be smooth and neat, and the blanket and napkins handed to passengers when boarding the plane must also be free of wrinkles. Under such requirements, there is one thing that has already become a must-have for me: a reliable steamer for clothes.
In the hotel room, I always find a corner to serve as a “temporary ironing area.”
The most common situation is: the uniform gets wrinkled during the flight, but the passenger representatives still need to be received upon landing; the coat that has been folded for a long time in the suitcase gets deformed; or when a colleague is about to go out, the silk shirt looks wrinkled.
These small details are magnified in the eyes of passengers.
Traditional iron? Almost impossible. Who would carry an ironing board on a trip? Therefore, I have always relied on this portable steamer for clothes—it can be operated with one hand, doesn’t require an ironing board, and works anywhere. I have used it in hotel bathrooms, corners of waiting rooms, and even in rest areas during flight transfers. Once plugged in, it produces steam in 15 seconds and gets clothes looking smooth again in just a few minutes.
Thanks to it, my colleagues and I always look a lot fresher before heading out.
There were several occasions that I still remember very clearly.
In the airport VIP lounge, a dress was “rescued”
After a long flight, my colleague needed to rush to an official event immediately. Her dress had been squashed at the bottom of her suitcase the whole trip, and was so wrinkled that it was almost impossible to wear. I took out a clothes steamer in the lounge and within three minutes, she walked out confidently.
The collar of the uniform looked crisp again
On a transoceanic flight, the collar of my uniform had become somewhat saggy due to prolonged sitting. After landing, I had to attend a welcome ceremony with the cabin crew on behalf of the company. With just ten minutes for preparation, I used a clothes steamer to spray and gently flatten it, and the uniform immediately regained its crispness. At that moment, I felt like I was “back in uniform” again.
Not only clothes, but fabric props come in handy for it too
During a flight promotion event, we needed to display the airline’s brand tablecloth. When it was taken out of the packaging bag, it was full of wrinkles. I quickly smoothed it with the clothes steamer backstage. After a few minutes, the tablecloth was smooth and flat. The photographer said with a smile, “Now it looks much more professional.”
Why have I been using this clothes steamer all along?
I have tried many portable steam devices, but most of them got tossed aside. The reason is quite simple:
The steam is inconsistent—sometimes too hot, sometimes too weak.
You run out of water before you can even finish one shirt.
The preheating is too slow. There’s simply not enough time.
But this clothes steamer is the one I’ve stuck with.
From my own experience, the main advantages are actually just a few:
15 seconds to produce steam, no waiting around
Moderate weight, easy to operate with one hand
Can handle various fabrics, including silk, as well as uniforms and coats
Quiet operation, won’t disturb others
Compact and easy to tuck into a suitcase corner
It really has saved me too many times at crucial moments.
For us flight attendants, details are the key to professionalism
Someone said, “Passengers won’t notice if your clothes are completely smooth or not.”
But I’ve always believed it’s precisely these details that define our professional image. Wrinkled uniforms, casual tablecloths, even the small creases at the corners of our clothes in photos—these seemingly insignificant things can affect how others perceive us.
So, in my equipment bag, there is always a clothes steamer. It helps me maintain a basic level of polish even when I’m in the midst of the busiest times.
If you also travel frequently
Whether you’re a flight attendant, on business trips, or often attending events, a portable steamer for clothes is more important than you might think.
It won’t change your life, but at critical moments, it will help you stay composed and put-together.
For me, professionalism lies in these small details
I don’t strive for perfection at all times, but I believe professionalism lives in the little things that others overlook.
The clothes steamer is the most low-key item in my toolbox, yet it’s the secret weapon that lets me stay calm during long and exhausting trips.
In this fast-paced world, if we can keep a bit of neatness in our clothes and a smooth finish on the fabric, that’s a quiet yet powerful form of professional expression.
