Section 2.6 Wardrobe Care/Maintenance

Section 2.6.1. Suits

Section 2.6.1.1. Regular/Routine Care
Ideally, the suit is put on a hanger that fills the shoulder. It doesn't have to be cedar, but it should be a sturdy material to help keep the shape of the garment. (You can get anything from a $3 hanger from Target on up). If you going to use a pants hangar, you want a really big clip so you evenly distribute the tension on the fabric, using the bottom hem. Don't leave things in the pockets. Ideally you will be gently brushing the suit before it hung, using a natural bristle brush, of varying softness depending on the material of the garment. Then let it air for a while around dampness (like a bathroom), or you could just steam it (either while you take a shower, or using a steamer).

If you ever need to iron your suit, put a piece of (cotton) cloth between the iron and the suit. Otherwise, the wool will be come shiny.

Section 2.6.1.2. End of the Season
Have your suit dry cleaned, and then you're ready to store the suit. Toss all the plastic coverings, and then you may put suit into a canvas bag (to keep the dust off the suit), or you can hang it in a closet and periodically brush the dust off while it's in storage. You need to have a significant amount of cedar in the storage closet; there must be enough cedar to be noticeably fragrant. A good maker of cedar everything is Woodlore.

Any odd pants, shirts, ties or other items going into storage should be put into a (breathable) container with a block of cedar.

A note on reweaving: it is possible for specialists to reweave some fabrics to varying degrees of success. If you have the material left over from the pants being cuffed, just label it and put it into a designated place for storing because extra fabric will help the reweavers. This is an expensive and time consuming process, so you really only want to resort to this if the garment is either sentimental, or well made. For example, those (mediocre) cashmere sweaters from Banana Republic and the like for around $200 are disposable. Don't bother sending them to be rewoven, it's not worth the cost. If you have a Loro Piana, or better, do have it rewoven. The same goes for suits, the cheap ones aren't worth trying to save. The Brooks Brothers Golden Fleece/Oxxfords/ and up, you should bring in for a consultation and see if it's repairable. Do get a second opinion before you embark on reweaving, as it is costly and it may not be repairable to your satisfaction.

Section 2.6.2. Ties
Store your ties by taking the thin end, and gently roll it into loose, reverse cinnamon bun. Generally you won't ever need to clean a tie from normal usage since you should have at least 10 if you are wearing one 4+ days a week. Otherwise, you need to take it to a very reputable dry cleaner (There are some cleaners that specialize in ties if you have a really bad case).

Section 2.6.3. Shoes

Section 2.6.3.1. Shoe Trees
I keep harping on shoe trees, but that's the number 1 thing you need to have. As soon as your foot is removed from the shoe, the shoe tree goes in to help dry out your shoe. If your shoes are soaked, stuff them with newspaper, and do NOT put them near a heat source. Just keep changing out the newspaper until the shoe dries out a bit, and then put the shoe trees in.

A note on shoe trees, they should not be deforming the shoes, and you don't want them completely obliterating the creases, only a custom shoe tree will approach that effect. Otherwise your shoe tree is likely to deform the shoe. (The only time you want this to be that tight is when you're polishing your shoes using a plastic shoe tree.)

Section 2.6.3.2. Polishing shoes

Dress shoes do need polishing, but not nearly to the extent that the Army requires.

Here's what's in my shoe polishing kit (the box that it's all housed in has a shoe rest thingie on top):

• 2 Horsehair bushes
• 1 Suede Brush
• Water & Stain Protector (Meltonian, aerosol)
• Leather conditioner (Allen Edmonds, which I think is rebranded something, but whatever it is it's good)
• Boot & Shoe Cream polish (Meltonian, in various colors. I prefer Meltonian because it can be used as edge dressing too)
• Cotton cloths (they're just cut up strips of the one of the travel bags that comes with your shoes)
• Plastic adjustable length shoe trees

You can get away with polishing a dress shoe as little as once or twice a month, but generally once a week is preferred. All you really need to do is:

1. Put in the plastic shoe trees so that the creases are completely stretched out.
2. Use conditioner
3. Apply shoe cream wherever needed
4. After the shoe cream hazes over, apply conditioner
5. After a few minutes, brush
6. Apply more cream (or a wax if you want to use it)
7. After about 5 minutes, brush over
8. Last coat of conditioner
9. After a minute or so, brush again
10. Optional spit shine here (mist with water + silk or nylon cloth), which I never do. (Did I mention I'm lazy?)
11. Touch up the edges--best left to a cobbler if you want to use edge dye (this is why I use Meltonian shoe cream because this is tricky).

Next up I'll touch on casual wear. I'm really only going to get into the tip of the iceberg on jeans, but I will point you in the right direction for Japanese denim and the few American and European houses that are worthwhile (but not particularly high profile).