Making the most out of your new suit

So this is it. You have now decided to make this investment and buy yourself a truly great gift – a new bespoke suit. Measured just right for your body. A suit that fits you like a glove. You will get it delivered to your home or office (your choice). What an exciting day! Don’t we all love to get new things?

Although a great bespoke suit from a trustworthy tailor will provide great quality and a longer lifetime than your usual suit from the shopping mall, it still needs proper care. Failing to properly care for, clean and store your two-piece (or three-piece!) instantly shortens its life expectancy. So here we are giving you some DO’s and DON’Ts: some of them you might have  heard before and some might be new information.

DO use only a proper hanger with wide, rounded shoulders. The skinny fit hangers will damage the fabric by stretching and reshaping it. The worst hangers are the wire hangers. Get a wide, hanger that ends just before the shoulder seam. If the shoulder width on the hanger is too long, it’ll stretch the fabric again, too short and the arm will droop, etc. LGFG uses the correct wide-shoulder-blade hanger perfectly made for your suit. NB: While we love wooden hangers, we use a high quality resin hanger ourselves, because shipping into 20+ countries worldwide creates various issues with importing wood!

DO cut the vent threads. A vent is/are the slit(s) up the back of your jacket. If you receive your new suit you’ll notice a small “X” of thread which stops the fabric getting rumpled up when it’s being shipped (or hung in a store). Cut the “X”. It’s elementary suit knowledge. Same goes for thread on your shoulders, if it’s there.

DON’T put your suit to the closet straight after you take it off. Let it air before putting it back to your wardrobe. This helps creases fall out and releases any odours trapped in the suit’s fibres.

DON’T cut the pocket threads. When you first receive a new suit and you put it on and try to stuff your hands in the pockets you’ll notice that they’ve been sewed shut. Of course the reason is to make it look better on the rail because it’ll make the fabric sit flat (and in the stores it’ll avoid other men who’s been trying the suit stretch the jacket out of shape). But we recommend you to leave them shut. Otherwise you’ll be tempted to use your pockets (stuffing your fists or car keys there) and it will stretch your new jacket out of shape. You shouldn’t ever put anything in your pockets.

DO open your pocket square. Feel free to make that space for a silk, but never a phone.

DO use a suit carrier when transporting your suit. And always keep it on the hanger. On the proper wide one, that is.

DO dry clean your suit only when absolutely necessary. And when getting your suit dry cleaned, always have the whole suit cleaned. If you think the trousers are dirty and jacket not enough or vice versa, then clean them both anyways. The colors will fade slightly. But you’ll need your suit as an uniform with the exact same colour.

DON’T iron it after you first wear it. We get that after sitting in an office chair or car there will be some wrinkles coming to your nicely pressed suit. So you might think to heat up the iron… Well, bad move. Applying heat directly to suit fabric flattens its fibres and they grow shiny. Protect your tailoring by letting gravity do the work. Suit fabric is resilient, so hang up your jacket and over 24 hours most creases should simply drop out. For the ones that are stubborn enough to stay there use a handheld steamer.

DO always use lint roller all over your suit before wearing it.

TRY NOT TO carry your car keys in your suit at all times. We understand it’s a necessary evil, but do you best here: constant friction from one pocket will eventually show wear.

DON’T – wear your suit jacket while driving. Constant friction from the seatbelt can show wear asymmetrically over time.

And if you happen to have any questions about how to take care of your suit or about the fabric of your new suit then it’s always a good idea to ask before acting. A professional tailor will always help you out in such questions. Contact LGFG Fashion House tailors on www.lgfgfashionhouse.com/contact/ with any of advice you might need.