Here are some things
about clothing care that I've learned through experience or from my colleagues.
What follows is certainly not the final word, but it's drawn from many
diverse sources and a fair amount of experience. Take what you like, leave
what you don't.
For a key
to the care symbols on clothing labels, see Textile
Affairs or FabricLink.
Do them yourself. I know how ridiculous this sounds to many of you. But you would cry if you saw the way the local
cleaner treats your shirts. They wash them dozens at a time in scalding
hot water and harsh detergent, then put them into a pressing machine that stretches and scorches the fabric.
Instead you should machine wash cold (or hand-wash, if you're a real nut), use mild detergent, and always hang them to dry. When still a bit damp, press them. Don't get discouraged
if it takes you a long time for each shirt in the beginning. With practice,
you'll be able to do a shirt in less than five minutes.
If the above is impossible, and you must send them to the cleaners,
ask around for recommendations, be willing to pay $3-5 per shirt, and insist
that no starch be used. (It destroys the cotton, slowly but surely.)
Is it really worth it? Ultimately you must consider shirts disposable: they may last "a long time" but you will stain it or rip it or wear it out. But you should take reasonable precautions to care for them, whether you buy cheap shirts or expensive ones. Don't we want everything to last longer?
Dry-clean
rarely, if at all, and never more than once a season. The
dry-cleaning process is hell for your clothes, especially for fine and
delicate fibers. A good alternative is to pay to have your clothing
hand-pressed and steamed in a good tailor shop. When you
must dry-clean something, find a reputable establishment and be prepared
to pay for it. Call the most expensive clothing store in your area and
ask them who their employees use. Then ask the cleaners if hand-pressing
is an option. It is worth the extra cost.
Always
give your clothes a rest between wearings—avoid wearing
your clothing two days in a row. Put your jackets on thick, molded hangers
to maintain their shape (cedar is nice), and hang your trousers over
a hanger bar at their midpoint, near the knee. Never suffocate natural
fibers in plastic garment bags: even during storage, leave the zipper
open at least six inches. Throw away those awful thin plastic sheaths
from the cleaners and the wire hangers that accompany them.
Brush
your clothing. Kent of the UK makes a few nice boar's bristle
clothes brushes, available for good money in old-school knife shops and inexpensively direct through Kent. Before
the invention of dry-cleaning, the standard advice issued for clothes
care was to brush your suit after each wearing and have it steam pressed
by hand every now and then. That's still the best care advice today.
Concerned
about moths? Clean clothes are rarely at risk for moth damage. It's not the wool
that attracts them, it's the smell of food in the garment. For this reason, always clean
food stains from your clothing immediately, especially before storing.
Cedar is a good moth deterrent but only when it is aromatic. Lightly
sand it periodically to keep it effective and smelling fresh. Mothballs are effective but do you really want your clothes to smell like that?
Easy on the
dry-cleaning! Like for clothing, do it only when absolutely necessary. I have some knits I haven't ever washed, and they do well. It's not gross! The wool or cashmere takes care of itself quite well as long as you don't really stain it. It's a good idea to clean them before storing them for the off-season, though. Hand-washing at home is probably the absolute best way, but I do recognize
the time and space demands of this endeavor. This
website offers a great lesson.
The
basics: polish regularly, put wooden shoe trees in after
each wearing, always use a shoe horn when putting your shoes on, never
dry wet shoes with direct heat from a radiator, fire, or stove—lie
them on their sides so the soles can air dry completely.
The
different shoe care factions will disagree about the specifics
of polishing. How often? Wax or cream? And what about the soles?
For the
uppers, I recommend alternating between cream and wax. Shinier and tougher
calfskins take to wax very nicely (Kiwi brand, sans silicone, is great),
and softer leathers with a dull finish are best treated by cream (Meltonian
is probably the most popular brand). John Lobb, for example, includes some wax and cream with every
pair of shoes, recommending the cream to maintain moisture and the wax
to seal out environmental nasties and keep up the shine. Put a coat
of wax or cream on your new shoes before wearing them the first time.
Thereafter, polish your shoes as often as you can: a quickie before
each wearing is not too much (but I only get around to it once a month).
Leather
soles are often overlooked, but they're important to maintain. Be certain
to brush them off if you live in colder climates with salty roads and
sidewalks—the salt will wreak irreparable havoc on the leather.
Or forget all of this and find a good local guy to shine your shoes.
Daily
care: Untie your necktie by reversing the steps you took
to tie it, instead of pulling the narrow end through the knot, which
puts more stress on the tie than it likes.
Especially
wrinkled ties. If the wrinkles are where the knot was, leave
it alone. When you next wear your tie, you'll tie a knot in the same
place—any wrinkles will be unnoticeable. If you must get rid of
them, though, first try rolling the tie around your finger and placing
it in a drawer overnight. This will help the wrinkles disappear on their
own. If this doesn't work, and you really must get the wrinkles out,
get out your steam iron and a clean, heavy cotton cloth. Lay the tie flat on
the ironing board and cover it with the cotton cloth. Hover the iron
over the tie and steam it. You may brush the iron against the cotton
cloth, but do not press down. If you press the tie, it will end
up flat and lifeless, and you'll press the seams and guts of the tie
into the surface of the silk, making a bigger mess than you started
with.
Stain
removal. Stain prevention is far more effective, sorry to say. Just come to terms with the idea that ties are disposable, and stains will usually ruin them. Some cleaners can do an okay job, so give them a try. But for those of you with a favorite tie, start to emotionally distance yourself as soon as the red wine goes dribbling down your front.
Feel
free to machine wash your woolen socks in cold water, but never tumble
dry them. Lay them flat or hang them to dry. (They'll shrink and stay
shrunk if you dry them with heat.) Come to think of it, that's not a
bad idea for your fine cotton socks, either. If you have cashmere socks,
good for you! One or two wearings will obviate the need for cleaning.
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