Suits are some of a man’s oldest surviving wardrobe pieces. They have been the bread and butter of masculine elegance in one way or another for centuries, with the modern iteration filling our closets for the last 100 years. Since men started wearing evening ties under single and double-breasted jackets and defining the decades of the previous century, we have had to find ways to keep them up to par between wears.
Nowadays, things are different. How often do we need to take your suit in for a cleaning? Can we do it at home? How do we care of them in between? For tips on cleaning a suit, we’ve reached out to Gary Flynn, CEO at M. Dumas & Sons in Charleston, South Carolina, and Joe Mueller at Wildwood & Company in Portland, Oregon.
Locals and tourists alike consider M. Dumas & Sons a welcoming and historic retailer that has left an everlasting mark on the city’s landscape. Mueller grew up in Oregon in a family where objects of fine art and craftsmanship and the people who make them are revered. Not much has changed today, as Mueller is pushing out some of the classiest custom suits in the Pacific Northwest.
First things first.
Can I dry clean my suit at home?
While you should always take your suit to a professional cleaner when you are ready to dry clean your tailored wardrobe, there are some options to try to dry clean them at home. For instance, you can invest in dry cleaning kits that consist of a laundry bag that goes in the dryer with your suit, a cleaning pad, and a stain pad. It isn’t a professional cleaning job, and you still don’t get that fresh-pressed feeling, but it is better than nothing.
Another option is to steam it. A handheld steamer will expand the fabric threads and release the stains, dirt, and grime you pick up through daily wear. Once you have done that, letting it hang and air out is an excellent way to keep the suit fresh. While these are great ways to maintain the suit in between the professional service, there is no substitute for what they can do for your tailored wardrobe.
Suit
When the time comes, Flynn said to send both the pants and the jacket to the dry cleaners. That way, both pieces will get an equal amount of fading to the fabric. More often than not, the pants must be cleaned before the jacket, but Flynn suggests having them cleaned simultaneously anyway. Mueller believes you should dry clean a suit only when necessary, i.e., when it is stained or picks up an odor that refuses to dissipate after hanging the suit outside the closet. “The processes and chemicals involved in dry cleaning are very harsh,” Mueller saod. “Dry cleaning is the most common cause of wear and tear on suits. When you take the suit to the cleaners, they can also wreak havoc on the pressing.”
When Mueller talks to his clients about rotating suits, he means you should never wear a suit more than one day in a row. Wool is a beautiful and durable material, but the fibers need sufficient time to rest after exposure to heat, sweat, weather, and movement throughout the day. “Inspecting your own suits from time to time is important for catching spot issues before they become unsalvageable problems,” Mueller explained. “For example, the crotch of trousers is a frequent spot where fabric can get worn through; if you see that start to happen, try taking the trousers to a skilled alterationist to see if they can reinforce the seam or determine if a slight alteration to the fit might help the longevity of the garment.”
Dress shirts
Now for those easy-to-wrinkle but all-important dress shirts. Shirts can almost seem more challenging to keep clean since they are 1) lighter and therefore easier to crease, wrinkle, or look disheveled, and 2) pick up stains and smudges more quickly since they are often a lighter color than your suits. Flynn advises having your shirts folded at the cleaners, especially if you travel a lot or will be going on an upcoming trip.
“Cleaners will fold your shirts, and then all you need to do is drop them into your suitcase,” Flynn said. “With hanging shirts, you typically end up creasing the shirts when you fold them yourself, and you end up creating more work for yourself on the other side with ironing, and after all, isn’t that the main reason you send your shirts to the cleaners? To avoid ironing?!”
Tie
You don’t usually need to clean your ties. As a matter of fact, cleaning them can be one of the more complicated things you have to do with your tailored wardrobe. There aren’t a lot of times when we would suggest doing this on your own. However, Flynn has a great method if that issue does arise.
Knowing how to clean and store your sensitive material clothing can make your wardrobe last much longer than before.
“The proper way to clean a tie,” Flynn said, “is to deconstruct the tie, clean the lining separately from the silk, and then reconstruct the tie. The lining and the silk will react differently to the cleaning process, and having them together causes waves in the tie that you can’t correct.”
Use a tie rack to store your ties — there are all sorts of options out there, including racks that screw into the wall, hanger racks, and even electric rotating racks. Why is this important? Knowing how to clean and store sensitive material clothing can make your wardrobe last much longer. Besides, a tailored suit, excellent dress shirts, and fancy ties can be a hefty investment, so they are especially worth protecting.
Storage
Mueller’s first rule of thumb for storing a suit is to be mindful of the hanger on which it is stored. He recommends a suit hanger with a flared paddle shape at the ends that fills in the shoulders of the suit to help it retain its shape. If you use the same hangars as your shirts, the narrow ends can warp the shoulder shape of the suit, which can be an expensive problem to fix. Investing in the right hangars is vital to the longevity of your suit.
“The Hanger Project is probably currently the best option on the market (they have different widths to fit different sizes),” Mueller said. Another consideration is to let the suit “breathe” when it’s stored. For example, hang the suit outside the closet if possible for a day or so after wearing it so that it can air out properly. The last thing you want is a stale-smelling get-up.
