Caring is Sharing… A Guide to Maintaining your Wardrobe
“Furnishing a man with a bespoke suit without first giving him instruction as to how to care for it is like being given the keys to a car without first being shown how to drive.. ”
Brown in Town takes great pride in dressing their patrons and is a firm believer in dressing with economy. Having made an informed decision to invest in one’s finery we want to impart sufficient wisdom that you may take good care of your suit or separates to provide years of good wear.
Storage
After a day’s wear, we suggest that you hang your suit outside of the wardrobe in order for it to air: wool is a natural fibre, and, as such, will self-clean if afforded the opportunity to breath/aerate. Each piece of your suit should be hung separately to facilitate this process.
Jackets and Overcoats
Your jacket or overcoat should be hung on a moulded hanger which supports the entire width of the shoulder . If the hanger supplied with your suit does not do this, invest in a wooden hanger (preferably cedar wood as the dreaded moth is repelled by the strong scent). However, ensure the hanger is no wider than the width of the shoulders as this will result in ‘points’ at the top of the sleeve head being made by the hangers arms.
Trousers
Trousers should be hung upside down from the ankles using a traditional trouser clamp hanger or a skirt clip hanger. This facilitates the reshaping of one’s trousers at the knee as the weight of the waistband and pocket construction pulls them straight – this unfortunately will not work for linen or cotton.
Waistcoats
Waistcoats can be hung on a traditional wooden hanger, the type you would use for shirts and we suggest hanging them outside of your wardrobe overnight to air – the same goes for jackets too.
Brushing
Unless something has been spilled on your suit, or overcoat (see cleaning, below), all that is typically required to keep your suit clean, and in good working order, is a clothes brush and the occasional steaming and pressing (see below). The benefit of brushing one’s suit is to keep the cloth dust and lint free and keep the ‘nap’ (fibres) of a suits cloth raised.
Before you remove your suit at the end of each day, simply brush it with a clothes brush ( a pure bristle clothes brush will not tear at the cloth, but rather massage it). Pay particular attention to the shoulders of your jacket/coat, the elbows, the back and the lapels and front. Trousers should be brushed on the seat, at the knee and the ankles. Waistcoats merely require the front be brushed.
Cleaning
While dry cleaning one’s suit is a sure fire way to get it looking really clean, the chemical process will take it’s toll over time. Therefore, limit the dry cleaning of your suit, only cleaning it if really necessary i.e. something is spilled on it that is still visible 24 hours after the incident (even then your dry cleaner might be able to do a ‘spot clean’). Whilst a clean suit is obviously better than a stained suit, the chemical process causes the wool ‘nap’ to flatten, lack lustre and eventually become shiny, and, over time, a little stiff. If putting your suit into store at the end of the season, dry clean first to deter moths - they are attracted to oils, sweat and food as much as wool! The best Dry Cleaners we have found are Smarty Specialist Dry Cleaners.
Steaming and Pressing
Preferable to dry cleaning is steaming and pressing. A service which is provided by your dry cleaner, and one which not only costs less, but is also kinder to your suit and is often all that is required.
Laundering
Suits made of wool, and even, I’d suggest, those made of linen or cotton, should not be machine washed. Shirts, on the other hand, should be machine washed on a cool wash i.e. 20 or 30 degrees, and pressed, before their maiden voyage. That is not to say that shirts cannot be dry cleaned, but the laundering process is what softens the canvassing in the collars and cuffs of a new shirt, making them more comfortable to wear – it also eradicates the folding-creases of a new shirt. Thereafter, do your worst.
Pressing
Shirts can be pressed with a steam iron. The pressing of suits with a steam iron, should be avoided. If you are in a fix, and it is absolutely necessary to press your suit at home, hang jacket in a steamy bathroom or blast with steam from an iron hanging up. Trousers can be pressed on an ironing board, one crease at a time placing a tea towel between the iron and the garment to avoid scorching the cloth.
If you have any queries regarding the care of your garments, or otherwise, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Thank you for choosing Brown in Town.