Garment Care

Suits and jackets

Wool is a remarkable fiber. It is natural, renewable and biodegradable, and it performs across seasons and climates in a way few materials manage. It insulates, but it also breathes, responding to the warmth and humidity around it. It resists tearing, it stretches and returns to shape rather than deforming, it holds its color even when wet, and it resists odor. For all that, it is easy to look after.

A well-made suit that is properly cared for will last years. The most common mistake by far is dry cleaning it too often, which shortens its life considerably. Everything below is aimed at getting more out of the garment.

• Rotate them. Wear a suit once or twice a week at most, with a few days between outings, so it can recover its shape and let the day’s wrinkles drop out.
• Order a second pair of trousers when you can. Trousers take the most wear and go first, so rotating two pairs can add years to the life of a suit.
• Brush it after wearing. A suit brush lifts out the dust and grit that would otherwise settle into the fibers and wear them from the inside.
• Hang it properly. Use a hanger with a broad, curved shoulder to hold the jacket’s shape, and hang trousers so the crease stays where it belongs.
• Give it air. Leave it on its hanger with room around it before returning it to a crowded closet.
• Treat spots as they happen. The sooner a stain is dealt with, the less likely it is to set.
• Bring it in for a press. We will hand press anything we made, free of charge, at any of our shops.
• Dry clean rarely. The heat and chemicals break down the fibers, and the pressing machines flatten the chest and lapels that were shaped by hand. Once a year is plenty, and only if it needs it. Find a cleaner who will take care.
• Do not steam it, and do not hang it in a steamy bathroom. It may drop a few wrinkles, but wool fiber has a memory, and steam can cause the fibers to lose their shape — the shape that was pressed into the cloth with heat and pressure in the first place.
• Alter it when it stops fitting. A garment worn too tight wears through at the seams and puts the cloth under strain.
• Store it covered. Brush it, hang it well, then put it in a garment bag to keep the dust and the moths off.

Dress shirts

Washing and ironing your own shirts is the surest way to make them last, and knowing how to iron a shirt is worth having regardless of who ends up doing it.

• Pre-treat the collar and cuffs before washing, along with any marks on the body.
• Wash on a delicate cycle.
• Dry on a hanger. A tumble dryer increases shrinkage and shortens the life of the shirt.
• Iron with steam and a spray bottle of water, and skip the starch — it is hard on the fibers.

If you would rather send them out, ask for a wash and press rather than a machine press. It is closer to what you would do at home; the large pressing machines break buttons and damage collars. For plenty of men the time saved is worth the slightly shorter life of the shirt. Ask them to skip the starch either way.

Topcoats and overcoats

Treat a coat exactly as you would a suit: rotate it, brush it after wearing, hang it on a proper hanger, and dry clean it as little as you can get away with.

Shoes

Every man should be able to look after his own shoes. It takes twenty minutes and the difference is obvious.

We use Saphir Médaille d’Or, and a kit worth having looks like this.

Renovateur

Cleans, feeds and moisturizes the leather, and lifts off old wax.

Cream polish

A natural cream of animal oil and beeswax. Nourishes, restores color, and leaves a soft shine.

Pâte de Luxe wax polish

Seven waxes and natural turpentine, for shine, color and weatherproofing.

Polishing brush

Horsehair, for buffing cream and conditioner off once they have dried.

Soft cotton cloth

For applying polish. An old, soft shirt cut into six-inch strips does the job as well as anything sold for it.

Cotton chamois

For buffing to a high gloss.

1. Lay down newspaper and wear something you do not mind marking — polish stains whatever it touches. Latex gloves keep it off your hands.
2. Brush or wipe away the loose dirt and dust.
3. Work Renovateur over the shoe with a cloth in small circles. Where old wax has built up — you will see it as a cracked, dry, uneven finish — put some force behind it. Let it dry four or five minutes until the surface looks hazy, then brush off what is left.
4. Apply cream polish the same way, small amounts in small circles, using a clean part of the cloth. Match the cream to the leather, and when in doubt go lighter: a darker cream will darken the shoe over time. Let it dry four or five minutes, then brush off the excess.
5. Repeat that a few times, drying and brushing between coats. You will have an even, soft matte finish, which is where plenty of men happily stop.
6. For more shine, work in Pâte de Luxe wax with the cloth in small circles. One or two coats over the whole shoe is enough. Let it dry, then brush off the excess.
7. For a mirror finish, work only on the toe and the heel — wax cracks anywhere the shoe flexes. Add wax in small circles with a drop or two of water worked in alongside it, let it dry, then buff hard with the chamois, side to side. The heat from the friction is what brings the gloss up. Repeat as often as you like, always with a little wax rather than a lot.

Stains

Act quickly and most things come out. What follows is aimed at shirts and anything else that can go in a machine.

For a suit or a jacket, blot rather than soak, lift the moisture back out with a dry sponge, and take it to a cleaner you trust rather than experimenting on it.

Red wine

Blot with club soda straight away, and do not rub.

Coffee or tea

Rinse with white vinegar, then blot dry.

Blood

Cold running water only, rubbing the fabric against itself. Hot water sets it permanently.

Oil or grease

Blot up what you can, then work in baking soda or cornstarch to draw out the rest before washing.

Ink

Saturate with rubbing alcohol and blot. Work detergent into the mark before it goes in the wash.

Perspiration

Work shampoo into the area — an ordinary one rather than a moisturizing formula — then launder as usual.

Grass

Soak in white vinegar for an hour, then wash.

Chocolate

Scrape off the excess, then soak the mark in enzyme detergent and water for twenty minutes before rinsing.

Ketchup

Scrape off the excess, then treat with cool water and a little dish soap. White vinegar for anything stubborn.

Lipstick

Lift off what you can with a dull edge, dab with a baby wipe, then rinse with hot water to break down the oils.

Chewing gum

Harden it with an ice cube, then peel it away.