Carl Magazine

A suit is often the single biggest investment a man can make when it comes to his wardrobe. But just as important as finding the right suit, with the right fit, is taking the right care of it. In this article, we have condensed our best care advice into five straightforward tips that will significantly increase the lifespan of your loyal suit.

Dry-Cleaning

As far as possible, you should avoid dry-cleaning woollen suits, as the process breaks down the material’s natural fats, which are what gives a suit its rich depth of texture and colour. In most cases, airing your suit out overnight is enough to do the trick. This almost criminally underestimated technique is far from unhygienic and is particularly beneficial for the fabric. If you should get a stain on your suit, we recommend fighting fabric with fabric, that is to say, rubbing the end of the sleeve over the stained area – the friction between the fibres will loosen the stain and cause it to disappear.

In short, we try to stick to one simple rule:

• If the suit has been worn but doesn’t smell, hang it, and air it.

• If it smells, have it dry-cleaned.

Let Your Suit Rest

Natural materials need time to recuperate after use, so it is important to not wear the same garments day-in and day-out. Wearing the same suit too often can seriously impact both its quality and lifespan, with the fabric becoming thinner and taking on an uneven sheen. As a rule of thumb, we try not to wear the same suit more than twice a week. If you only own one suit, we strongly suggest buying two pairs of trousers to go with the blazer, as its trousers are the part of a suit that is exposed to the most strain.

Creased and Wrinkled Fabric

The most effective way to prevent and remove creases and wrinkles is to invest in a steamer – something that can do wonders for almost every item in your wardrobe. Using a steamer opens up the fibres of the material, allowing the suit to breathe. If you don’t have access to a steamer, our top tip is to hang the blazer and trousers on separate hangers in the bathroom, close to the shower, and turning the shower to its highest heat setting. The warm steam from the shower causes creases on the back, kneed and sleeve to straighten themselves out. This is often enough to do the trick, but for more stubborn creases, a steamer is still your best option. We try to avoid ironing, as there is an inherent risk of burning the fabric, which can take on a rather inelegant sheen.

Proper Hangers

Investing in proper coat hangers is a simple way to greatly extend the lifespan of your suit. Natural wood is the best choice, as they absorb both moisture and odours more effectively than plastic. But what exactly do we mean by a ‘proper hanger’? In short, a thicker model with a wide shoulder. Filling out the shoulder of the blazer is key – should the blazer not be supported by a sufficiently wide hanger; it will begin to droop and lose its shape.

Travelling with Your Suit

More often than not, your suit will come with a suit carrier, which we highly recommend keeping. There may be innumerable how-to videos out there explaining how to fold your suit into a normal suitcase, but a carrier is still the better option, as it places far less strain on the suit. When you need to take it with you, take one of the aforementioned proper hangers, encase the suit in its carrier and you’re good to go. Suit carriers usually come with a zip and can be folded once at the middle to save space, and the most common materials are nylon, canvas, and leather.