Taking Care of Business

Although a suit won't last your entire career, nor would we want you to wear it for that long, it is still important to preserve your suits to ensure you are getting your money's worth, especially when suits can be a significant investment.

Here are a few simple techniques to keep in mind when preserving your suit:

First and foremost, choosing the right fabrication, quality finishing and detailing are the most important factors to remember when purchasing a suit.  Although a good quality suit is more expensive, it will maintain its shape and authenticity for an extended period of time.

Keep a suit bag for each of your suits, when you are done wearing it for the day, return it to its appropriate bag.  By hanging it in a breathable bag, it will allow your suit to air out and dry, while ensuring it stays dust free and will help keep you from taking it to the dry-cleaners as frequently.  The more often you end up having to dry clean a suit the shorter its life span.  Use either a wood hanger or a padded hanger designed specifically to hang a suit.  This will help prevent permanent puckers in the shoulders of the suit coat.

Investing in a few different sets of suits is a good way to prolong your suits life span.  Putting them on a rotation, not only will prevent wear and tear but will smell better and look fresher.

Also, it is important to dry clean your entire suit at the same time, not separately.  Although you may take your suit's to the same dry cleaner each time, they may fade to different shades.  It is also possible that you may wash the pants more often than the jacket, which would also carry the same result.  By always washing each piece together it will maintain color uniformity.

Since suits are one of the most expensive clothing purchases people make, choose a reputable dry cleaner to take your suits in to.

Lastly, most quality suits are made of wool, which is a fiber that does not like water.  So keep it dry when you are wearing it and storing it.