Clothing Care Suggestions

Any suit or sportcoat that you purchase from Andrew Davis Menswear represents an investment on your part. In order to insure that your clothing lasts and retains its appearance, it’s worth your time to take steps to protect your investments. In that spirit, we offer some clothing care tips courtesy of fine fabrics manufacturer Loro Piana.

The Dry Cleaning Dilemma 

Professional dry cleaners are a valuable ally in the care of your suits and sportcoats, but they should be used sparingly. It is very important to the life of the garment that it not be over cleaned by the dry cleaners. Commercial dry cleaning is a chemical process, but your clothing is made form organic fibers that were never intended to be cleaned by inorganic means. Sooner than late, if a garment is subjected to this cleaning too much over time, it will lose its texture and durability. And your clothing can, in fact, take on a “shiny” appearance due to the fabric being treated with chemicals and heat too much.

In the hands of a skilled dry cleaner, a garment can be refreshed by spot cleaning first, and then pressed. More often than not, this is all that is required for your clothing to maintain a neat appearance. The total dry cleaning process should be reserved for radical stains like perspiration and soil. 

Being a Do-It-Yourself Valet 

There are some simple things you can do to preserve the appearance of your clothing and reduce repeated trips to the dry cleaner. 

• Hanging a suit on a wooden hanger with formed shoulders and the pants on wooden pinchers in fresh air will, in most cases, revitalize a garment for wear. 
• You should as a course of habit not wear the same suit two days in a row. A suit is made of natural fabric and needs a chance to breathe.
• Fabrics without a nap (most suits made of fine wool) can be brushed with a natural bristle clothes brush in all directions.
• A suit or sportcoat with a nap should be carefully brushed in the direction of the nap.
• Brushing out suits and sportcoats is an old technique that will effectively remove dust, pet hair and dried stains like mud.
• Wrinkled suits, trousers, sportcoats and lightweight topcoats can be hung in a bathroom filled with steam from the shower. Make sure you keep the door shut to maximize the intensity of the steam. Hang the garments in a fashion that will insure the garment will not be soaked by excess water.

Stain Treatment  

A professional cleaner should only remove stains on non-washable fabrics. Taking a stained garment to the cleaners and explaining what caused the stain is vital to successful removal. The risk of ruining a garment with home stain removal techniques is generally greater than the cure. The temptation to take matters into your own hands is understandable. But often it makes matters worse. A common “cure” is to use water or club soda to sponge out a stain. In fact, this usually sets the stain further, particularly if it is grease based, and destroys the finish of the fabric. And it goes without saying that cleaning fluids in the hands of a novice is lethal to the garment and not advisable. 

Fort those determined to administer first aid to a stain we offer the following advice: 

• First try to absorb the stain with a white paper towel or cloth.
• Simply blot lightly, being cautious not to scrub or press hardly because this could damage the fabric’s texture.
• If the stain is grease-based, one can use the spot treatment method of 19th century English tailors a touch of gin.

Ironing 

Ironing suits and sportcoats at home is a laborious process if you are to do it correctly, and it requires some tools other than just an iron and ironing board. You are far better off to take your garments to a professional dry cleaner or your clothier to have it professionally pressed. Should you push ahead and iron a garment on your own without the necessary tools, you will damage the finish beyond any repair and most often you will melt the fibers giving your suit a “shiny” appearance.

Trust us, just take it to the cleaners, or you can drop it by Andrew Davis Menswear if you’re in a pinch.