The Care for Wear
The tailored menswear discourse is most often centered on tailoring and fabrics. I’m as guilty as anyone and with good reason.
While these surely are the most interesting topics, I find that although not interesting, an equally important part of tailoring is care and maintenance.
Care is not a topic that’s never talked about, but from what I see it’s seemingly too often overlooked and it happens to be that I personally think it’s one of the most important, fundamental parts of having a tailored wardrobe.
For me personally, the care for my wardrobe is a representation of my principles on a general level as I like things to be neat and tidy. Whether it be my house, my clothes, grooming or shoes. It’s one of those things that one usually will not receive any praise for and is not noticed, until you have neglected it.
I understand that we are all different, different standards, priorities and schedules. But in a realm such as that of tailored menswear we are first of all talking about fairly expensive garments meant to last. Thus with better care comes more wear.
Additionally, no matter how casual ones particular tailored style might be, we are still talking about a certain notion of formality and elegance which at least I think entails a more matured and adult approach is called for.
As far as approaching this topic goes, the tips and tricks aspect of garment care is quite straight forward. Furthermore, the main reason to put that, fairly small, effort in is to make your wardrobe last longer.
But on the visual side of things it is a representation of the standards you abide by. I must admit my impression here, what prompted me to write this article, is solely based on what I have seen on instagram. So by all means, there is a discussion to be had on how prevalent neglect really is and I apologise in advance if this is out of line, because to be fair what others do is none of my business. But, what I find stunning is just the immense degree in which people care for the superficial, while able to neglect care.
Not to mention, since this impression is based on Instagram, if you are posting your outfits on social media I reckon it would probably be a good base rule to have enough self-respect to present clean clothes. If it looks like you are mopping the floor with your jackets no one needs to be exposed to that and honestly I’m tempted to suggest your garments needs a better home.
Equally interesting, although less important, is the fact that a lot of what you see posted in the menswear realm on Instagram are from people representing brands. As much as I know that this is a numbers game where amount of followers trumps integrity, I can’t help to think that where self-respect lacks, having enough respect for the brands that are represented to care for the garments and show them in their best state is the least one would expect.
Why is this important enough to care about?
There are a couple of reasons and some are more important than others, and I’ll address what counterintuitively is the least important; the visual part, first.
You can’t possibly expect to be taken seriously if you even mention the word “details”, especially in the sequence “attention to details” or “details matters” while your jackets looks like they were used as props in the Hangover movies.
No one, actually the comments on instagram proves the 70% rule time and time again, but most people with dignity can’t praise that nice tieknot if it’s framed by a jacket covered in smudges and lint.
The attention to detail doesn’t stop at a great looking tieknot or collar roll.
I sincerely believe that it’s the work you do with the garment brush, or with a steamer and iron, and how the garments are cared for while not being worn that really proves whether details matter to you or not.
Moreover, as mentioned, to me this is also about self-respect.
Now, you might stop and think that a little dust here and there is not a big problem, and people go about their daily business wearing these garments after all. And those points are valid, but first of all, I’m not talking about a little lint, I’m talking about cases where lint and smudges are continuously a part of the visual treat and in an excess so vast even a garden mole could see it.
Secondly, I’m addressing this in terms of the maintenance routine and, yet again, attention to detail especially for garments, but perhaps also that one sets as the standard in their life.
Which leads me to the next, more important point: routine.
Since I find myself being a part of what you could call the tailored menswear community, I think the principles implicitly conveyed in what I post matters. Now, my approach is honestly just posting outfits with no particular agenda beyond hopefully inspiring people to express their personality through what they wear. In other words, I’m not explicitly addressing the more basic parts of tailored menswear on my instagram.
But, if I did, I would see it as a part of my responsibility to inspire my followers to present in their best way, in which wearing clean, cared for garments is pivotal.
Especially if my main audience were people whom are mostly new to tailored wear.
Now, that’s not my realm, so I’ll leave it to the self-proclaimed expert(s) to continue to fail on this matter.
If the idea of wardrobe care doesn’t come natural to you; a sentence that might sound weird to some, but trust me, the difference in what seems obvious and not is vast, my advice would be to research garment care and implement a step-by-step routine and keep in mind that this is not an all or none routine; a little does a lot.
So, what do I suggest?
Garments.
In my case my coat/jacket hangers are from Manietti which comes with Ring Jackets garments. Additionally I also have some cedar tree hangers that I use after wear and for storage. My jackets are always on the hanger when not worn. I also use shoulder covers to prevent lint to settle in the fabric.
For my trousers I use Nakata Hangers, which has quite thick bars thus not leaving a crease across the knees. In addition, I use clip hangers from the same brand as a part of my post wear routine.
Takeaway:
Whatever hanger you use, make sure they have proper thickness on the shoulder part so that your jackets shoulders have proper support.
If you have space to hang your trousers in full length from clip hangers that is ideal, but if not, trouser hangers with sufficiently thick bars is recommended.
Before wear, I hang each garment up so that any lint is apparent and brush as needed.
For this I use a garment brush specifically for wool and one for cashmere.
As far as creases goes, aside from ironing shirts which I reckon is a bare minimum, I’ll steam and iron (using a cotton cloth between the iron and the garment) garments I’ve worn that week each Sunday if needed. My post wear routine is of more significance though.
After wear, I’ll do a quick brush, then hang the jacket and trousers outside to air separately, the trousers in full length with the clip hangers, for anything from 20 minutes to an hour depending on the current climate.
After that I’ll hang them in the shower, using our shower fans heat setting for 10-30 minutes depending on the fabric. This helps flattening out creases and does a lot to keep the crease line on the trousers intact, thus in most cases both are ready for wear without any additional care.
Takeaway:
The most important part is get your garments on hangers the moment you take them off. No tossing it on the chair or on the bed. Hangers!
If you have an outside space to hang them that is ideal, but as a bare minimum hang them up over night in a more spacious place (not crammed between other garments, the whole point is to let them air).
The shower part of my routine is one I know might not be possible for all. If you have room in the shower or the bathroom to hang them you can also let them hang there while you take a shower until the steam from the shower is gone. What to keep in mind here is taking into consideration the finer fabrics in terms of how long you let them hang there and also whether there any scents that might be absorbed from soap or in general.
Shoes
Since the beginning I’ve always added shoe trees as part of the budget when buying shoes. So for all my shoes I have lasted shoe trees or in some cases equally proper shoe trees that have a last close to the shape of my feet and they are always inside all of my shoes.
Takeaway:
Given my affinity for shoes, it’s hard for me not to suggest doing as I do, but as a bare minimum, you should have at least one pair of shoe trees, preferably of the same last as the shoe, or as close to the shape of your feet as possible.The more the merrier, but if you opt for the latter, this one pair should be inside the shoes you just wore as soon as you take them of and only removed when worn again or when used after wearing another pair of shoes for which the same routine is applied.
The point is to keep the leather of the upper intact and eliminate creasing while wicking moisture after wear.
General shoe care and after wear care.
As mentioned, my shoes all have shoe trees, which I put back in after wearing them. I will always do a quick brush over after wear and in addition to the brush for the upper I have a smaller brush to use along the sole where dirt is most likely to collect.
I also keep a felt cloth available in the shoe closet to quickly reinvigorate the shoe shine before I wear the shoes.
Every Sunday I’ll brush over the shoes and fix any broken mirror shine if needed on the shoes I wore that week. In addition, I’ll wipe the brim of the sole and use an edge recovery stick to cover any scuffing on the side of the sole.
Takeaway:
I have invested in a fair amount of shoe care products and although mirror shines are optional, a couple of brushes; one for after wear, one for care and one for the sole in addition to Renovateur (conditioner) is a must.
I would recommend giving the shoes a quick brush after each wear, even if it doesn’t look like it’s needed. Especially between the sole and upper.
As far as pre-wear care goes, it depends on how they are stored between wear. If dust tends to settle, give them a quick brush before wear.
General care depends on how often you wear your shoes and what they are exposed to. Use your eyes, but I would say giving them a proper brush and applying Renovateur every 6 months is a good minimum.
Final note
I have to apologise for the somewhat harsh tone throughout this article, but maintenance is such an important part of having a tailored wardrobe and it’s also such a low hanging fruit in terms of effort; especially when talking about the visual aspect of it, but also really as far as the care part goes.
It takes a few seconds to put the jacket on a hanger, it takes a couple of seconds more to hang it out to air, the same goes for using a garment brush or shoe brush and in the long run those seconds adds up to longevity for the garment.
