The Life-Changing Magic of a Mini Steamer

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Modeling for my roommate, I might ask: “Will anyone notice this wrinkle?” It doesn’t matter if she waves me a forgiving hand — I’m going to steam it. Trust me, I’ve read plenty of pro-wrinkle arguments, and I’ve looked a fool plenty of times. I’d love to be the person who believes in wearing all-natural pleats like I believe in forgoing plastic surgery, but I am not that person. Why attempt style only to flub on presentation?

My laundromat dwellers, there’s a fix. The Joy Mangano Mini Steamer will unkink your clothes with zero real effort. I fill it up with tap water when I’m rinsing my face in the morning or evening, and then it’s ready to go. It fits unobtrusively beneath my sink, and as a testament to our relationship, it has never burned me. And because the device costs only $20, my mom purchased several for me from HSN years ago, so I store them and steam clothes in different zip codes.

For y’all who move, fly, or sleep out often, the mini steamer travels well. One of mine once accompanied me on a 1,200-mile road trip to my first post-college internship (I’d mastered the art of rolling clothes by then, but even my polyesters got rumpled somewhere along the heartland.) From the Midwest to the East Coast, the mini steamer has been the consistent thread of my last few apartments. And as you’d expect, my roommates love them too.

Not all fabrics come as sleek as the sheath dress or classic blouse. And let’s face it: Non-wrinkle styles aren't as cute. In an era of slip dresses and chambray shirts, a mini steamer is essential. Plenty of opportunities exist to buck norms in this world, but with the mini steamer on the market, sporting wrinkles isn’t one of them.