Off the cuff

First impressions are made in just seven seconds and 93% of these impressions are based on how you look.  

With this in mind, we believe that it is important to look after your clothes so you are always ready to make the best impression with people. It is particularly important to look after your suit as it creates your business image. Here are some simple tips to help prolong the life of your suit:

First and foremost, do not wear your suit for more than two consecutive days. If you rotate your suit it will allow the fabric to rest between wears, and recover.

Try to get in the habit of hanging your suit outside of your wardrobe when you get in from work and then putting it away a few hours later. Also, if you avoid completely covering it up in the wardrobe it will allow air to circulate through your suit. In addition to this it is always beneficial to cover the shoulders of your suit to prevent them from getting dusty; but we’d recommend that you just brush of any dust with a clothes brush or roller.

It is surprising how a small stain on a suit can ruin both the cloth and your appearance. Stains should be removed as quickly as possible and properly treated. The best solution is to take it to a high quality dry cleaner as they will be able to treat it for you. Dry cleaning is most effective when it comes to oil based stains; as water can set oils into the cloth. If you are faced with this dilemma simply blot the stain with a white absorbent paper towel, placing one piece in front and one behind. Try not to apply white wine, soda water, salt or any other “old wives tales” as it actually makes the stain more problematic to deal with.

A champagne spillage should also result in a trip to the dry cleaners as blotting it out is not enough to remove the residual sugar from your garment. If left unattended over a period of time, a yellow brown stain will appear, due to the oxidation of the sugar which is not a great sight.

And, never rub a satin as this can result permanent “scar” to the colouring of your suit. A stain will also develop with the help of heat i.e. ironing this will develop the stain further and can lead to the stain becoming permanent.

But, as a general rule, try to dry clean your suit as little as possible as it’s not good for the fabric. If you look after your suit and have it pressed about five times over a year, it actually only needs one or two dry cleans maximum (not accounting for stains). Getting it pressed and leaving it to hang allows the air to circulate around the wool fibres and any dry cleaner or tailor can do that for you for a fraction of the price of full dry clean.

If you would like anymore information on caring for your clothes then leave us a comment on our Ask the Experts page.

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