How to Care for Your Suit: Cleaning, Pressing, and Storing
Congratulations! You’ve just arrived home with a brand new suit… Now what?
Here at Oscar Hunt, we pride ourselves on attention to detail - not only during the fitting process and construction but also to the care and longevity of your garments. Whether it’s been worn once or worn 50 times, our pieces are designed to last, provided they are cared for correctly.
This week we’re going to be diving into the details of exactly how to look after your suit so you can wear it for years to come with our Oscar Hunt suit cleaning guide.
How to care for a suit
When it comes to caring for a suit, there’s two things to think about: storage and cleaning. If you can do both of these well, it’ll extend the life of your garment significantly and also ensure that it stays looking at its absolute best.
How to store a suit properly
The way you should store a suit depends on the frequency of wear. For those suits that you wear on high rotation, simply ensuring that they are stored in a dry, well-ventilated area on a broad hanger is a fantastic first step. The hanger in particular will ensure that the shape of the garment is maintained and the fabric doesn’t stretch.
For those suits that you wear on a more occasional basis, we advise adding a layer of protection by using a cotton garment bag. This is particularly important for protecting wool suits as it will provide an additional barrier against pests while still allowing the natural fibres to breathe. For additional protection, you can also put cedar balls in the base of the garment bag to further repel insects.
In regards to suit storage in Australia specifically - particularly for those living in more humid environments - keeping an eye out for mold is crucial. A cotton garment bag will help with this as does frequent wear.
How often to dry clean a suit
You might not expect it, but the less you dry clean, the better. Why? Because the chemicals that are used in the dry cleaning process can damage the fabric fibres and make a suit look more worn than it really is. You’ll sometimes see this show up in shiny patches where the fibres have essentially been flattened.
It’s for this same reason that when asked about pressing vs. steaming suits, we always advise to steam as this provides a gentler means of removing wrinkles that doesn’t compromise the fabric or the inner lining.
Other suit maintenance tips
Our final go-to hack for freshening up a suit (and a particularly handy one for if you’re travelling) is to simply hang it up in the bathroom while you shower. The steam will relax the fibres and have your suit looking event ready in no time.
To learn more about garment care, we invite you to swing by your local showroom or to give us a bell today.