Best in Wrinkle-Free Travel Dress Shirts: Bluffworks Zenith & Meridian

I never knew I needed travel button-down dress shirts, but now I don’t know what I’d do without Bluffworks’ answers to a wrinkle-free travel dress shirt for men: the Meridian 2.0 and Zenith Travel Dress Shirts.

There are so many reasons to be looking for the best travel dress shirt you can trust.

When you’re traveling out of town for a wedding weekend, professional business conference or a big gathering with family, and if you may have some video meetings while on the road, you need a travel-friendly dress shirt.

And you need one that you won’t need to iron.

Ironing dress shirts is a struggle for most people. That’s because it’s time-consuming, annoying, risky (if you aren’t good at ironing) and it requires owning an iron, which I don’t have!

The Bluffworks Meridian 2.0 and Zenith dress shirts have been the solutions to this problem for me, and I’m glad I have both of them, in perfectly classic colors and plaids.

I find that they’re versatile, comfortable and have a heap of good features to talk about. If you’re considering these shirts as travel button-down dress shirts, keep reading about why these just might be the best travel dress shirts out there.

A brief rundown: Bluffworks Meridian 2.0 and Zenith dress shirts

As a disclaimer for what you’ll see in the photos that follow, I am wearing the following:

• Zenith Dress Shirt Classic Fit - Multicolor Gingham - Size S
• Meridian Dress Shirt 2.0 Classic Fit - Peak Blue Tattersall - Size S

Both these smart travel dress shirts are more than a Zoom shirt, and I say that because I debuted my Zenith dress shirt at an online work Zoom party with my coworkers in 2020 while I was wearing a pair of loungey joggers.

Bluffworks says these shirts have many lives, and even outside the Zoom outfit, they sure do.

A lot of the excitement for these wrinkle-free flattering dress shirts for men is that they are timeless in style and have lots of qualities worth telling your friends about.

I say this because I often wind up talking about both my Bluffworks men’s shirts for travel when I’m on trips and wearing them: they’re a great conversation-starter once you start showing everyone how they refuse to wrinkle.

What’s the difference between these two Bluffworks dress shirts?

The differences between the shirts are slim at first glance. If you take a closer look, you will notice that the Meridian 2.0 shirt has a chest pocket, while the Zenith dress shirt does not.

The only other difference is in the “patter-aligned pocket” on the chest of the Meridian 2.0 dress shirt. The Zenith does not have a front pocket.

Technical features of the Zenith and Meridian Dress Shirts

Both products have a host of features that earn them the titles of the “best men’s travel dress shirts” for professionals and travelers.

Let’s check them out here.

Wrinkle-free fabric

When I wear dress shirts, I prefer the look of rolling up the sleeves, so my ideal dress shirt is one that doesn’t get sleeve wrinkles. Only shirts that are wrinkle free allow this. Some of my other travel shirts look terrible when I try to roll down the sleeves after rolling them up.

With both the Zenith and Meridian travel dress shirts, they don’t wrinkle… at all.

Specifically for the arm-rolling, this wrinkle-free feature is useful because you can wear the same shirt twice and not have sleeves be wrinkled after the second time. No one will ever know you wore it yesterday. This is a game-changer, specific to when you’re away from home and don’t plan to do laundry until you get back.

Slight stretch component

With a blend of 94% polyester and 6% spandex for the Zenith and 98%-2% for the Meridian, both shirts are slightly stretchy. This makes them comfortable to wear for an entire day. They are more forgiving when you are dancing at a wedding, or sitting all day in an office.

Odor-wicking material

The material has odor-repellent qualities, so they tend not to smell like any BO, even after multiple wears. This is useful for me if I only bring one shirt on a trip, and have multiple times that I need to wear a nice shirt.

Water, stain and spill-resistant

I enjoy showing this off when I’m at meals with friends during a trip. I’ll splash a little water on my Meridian or Zenith shirt and show everyone how it stays as a little droplet without making the shirt wet at all. You can just dab off any moisture droplets that fall on these shirts.

That is a great aspect of a travel shirt because the idea is that you may not have access to a washer during a three- or five-day trip.

Care and washability

Both shirts are machine-washable, which is huge for anyone who dislikes going to a dry cleaners just to care for dress shirts. These travel dress shirts go right through the laundry and hang dry with no problem.

Versatile use cases for the Zenith and Meridian shirts

Plainly put, these travel dress shirts are very multi-purpose. You can wear either of these dress shirts for a business meeting and then a nice night out.

Regarding how I’ve worn them during travel, I’ve worn both the Zenith and Meridian travel button-downs to holiday dinners with my wife’s family, wedding rehearsal dinners, client events and wedding weekend social gatherings.

Both shirts are also ideal for wearing with a suit like the Bluffworks Gramercy travel suit, which you can even pack with you, with these tips on how to fold a suit for travel.

Are the Meridian 2.0 and Zenith shirts worth the money?

Both the Bluffworks Zenith and the Bluffworks Meridian 2.0 travel shirts are absolutely worth the investment if you plan to have continued use cases for travel button-down dress shirts in the next few years.

I never even thought I’d be wearing them more than a few times, but I wind up packing them on most trips I take. Both shirts work well under a blazer, or with Bluffworks’ Ascender Chinos for a decent business casual outfit.

I’ve worn both with brown or black jeans to the same effect. They’re an easy way to look put together, especially when you’re on the road without your entire closet at your disposal.

This being said, if you really don’t think you’d get use out of either shirt, then neither is for you; however, neither of these shirts is going out of style anytime soon, so if you may have a few limited uses even in the next few years, it’s great to have a wrinkle-free dress shirt on hand for taking on some travel.

Regarding the investment required for these essentials in men’s travel apparel, note that Bluffworks often has seasonal sales during which the retail price of both shirts may get marked down as much as 30%. I wouldn’t wait though, because your desired size and color might go out of stock or on backorder.

Conclusion: Bluffworks dress shirts for travel

We hope you found value in this review of the two men’s Bluffworks travel dress shirts, the Meridian 2.0 and the Zenith.

Bluffworks is a brand that’s building great apparel for travel with all these useful features in mind.

If you’re interested in seeing some of the Bluffworks women’s products for a woman in your life or on your gift list (or if you’re a woman reading our site), check out an example of what Bluffworks now offers for ladies, like the Women’s Naha Travel Joggers.

Last updated on December 17th, 2022