guide to touching up your suit without wrecking it

[yachtie]

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

Ideally even in a minimalist wardrobe, you should be at a point where jackets would need cleaning only once a season or year. - B
If that.

 

[voxsartoria]

Originally Posted by Manton

I would still like to learn to do this the right way. Do I have to get a really fancy iron?

From what I gather, if you can do three things...

1. Get the heaviest iron that you can find.

2. Have a stable pressing surfaces that allows you to apply leverage.

3. Get a sleeveboard.

...you are 90% there in terms of equipment.

I think that I described the pre-WWI contraption that my local guy uses. No steam, and it is levered so that he can stand on it with one foot to apply more pressure. Any moisture needed is sponged.


- B

 

[voxsartoria]

Originally Posted by yachtie

If that.

Exactly. I would say that less than a quarter of my jackets have ever been to a cleaner, and for the bespoke stuff, even fewer.

Trousers go more often, but the consequences of bad pressing are not so disasterous.

Then again, I have a large-ish wardrobe.


- B

 

[sho'nuff]

Originally Posted by Douglas

This thread sincerely depresses me. There are no cleaners or tailors in my area, or really any area that isn't NYC, Boston, SF, maybe LA, that can properly steam, press, or clean a garment. There's no point really in me ever buying anything nice because I can't ******* wear it. I'm sure not ever going to learn how to press as Jeffrey has shown, because it's simply too time-consuming, and difficult.

lol i m sorry i just had to laugh. i understand your frustration.

 

[yachtie]

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

Exactly. I would say that less than a quarter of my jackets have ever been to a cleaner, and for the bespoke stuff, even fewer. Trousers go more often, but the consequences of bad pressing are not so disasterous. Then again, I have a large-ish wardrobe. - B
+1. Between brushing, airing, an occasional damp sponge and spotting most stuff never needs a full dry cleaning (trousers excepted).

 

[Douglas]

I must be rougher on clothing than you guys are. My jackets and trousers need pressing all the time. They get a little wet, or they steam some new creases in a hot car on a hot day, or they get crumpled at a party, or I hang them on the back of my chair at work... the list goes on. They probably don't need cleaning so much as they're just beat up from me... living.

Maybe I need higher quality cloth, I dunno.

 

[yachtie]

Originally Posted by Douglas

I must be rougher on clothing than you guys are. My jackets and trousers need pressing all the time. They get a little wet, or they steam some new creases in a hot car on a hot day, or they get crumpled at a party, or I hang them on the back of my chair at work... the list goes on. They probably don't need cleaning so much as they're just beat up from me... living. Maybe I need higher quality cloth, I dunno.
That and worry less about a few wrinkles.

 

[mmkn]

Originally Posted by jefferyd

Thus the OP.

To some, a $333 bottle of wine (non restaurant price) can be just yummy.

To others, especially the makers or the hobbyist fanatic, yummy includes appreciation of the myriad of possible primary and secondary flavors and the appreciation of what it took to get the wine to "yummy."

I am just starting to appreciate the three dimensional life of a bespoke garment that is brought out by proper pressing and lost by steaming.

My maker, who has been in the trade for a very long time, would casually look at a breast pocket and say, "How flat, pasted on, and lifeless that looks." I would have to really focus to even begin to see what he saw. Of course, I try to keep my mind open and not pretend I am hallucinating what he sees (the "Emperor's New Clothes" risk with the clothing hobby.)

Does slightly improper storage and coaxing a bottle out from the cellar it make the wine less yummy? Not necessarily. Is the little extra preservation of form in a bespoke suit without merit in reality? Not necessarily.

FWIW, I can tell the difference when looking at Vox's stuff and some of Manton's stuff - and now know why based on what they have written.

- M

 

[bigbris1]

Originally Posted by Manton

What do you use for a press cloth?
My mother always used a pillowcase as a press cloth. Cut up, of course.

 

[bigbris1]

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

From what I gather, if you can do three things...

1. Get the heaviest iron that you can find.

2. Have a stable pressing surfaces that allows you to apply leverage.

3. Get a sleeveboard.

...you are 90% there in terms of equipment.

I think that I described the pre-WWI contraption that my local guy uses. No steam, and it is levered so that he can stand on it with one foot to apply more pressure. Any moisture needed is sponged.


- B

voila!

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by bigbris1

voila!

 

[jefferyd]

Originally Posted by gdl203

Choisissez votre arme, monsieur!

 

[mmkn]

Originally Posted by Manton

What do you use for a press cloth?

I have explored this thoroughly, and find the below works best . . .

It is almost like pressing over your Simonot Godard pocket square

.

- M

 

[The Louche]

Originally Posted by mmkn

I have explored this thoroughly, and find the below works best . . .

It is almost like pressing over your Simonot Godard pocket square

.

- M

Maybe I'm crazy, but I dont find wrinkles to be an issue, even in suits that I own in higher Supers (140s) numbers. The wrinkles are all but gone after the garment is hung for a few days. Am I missing something?

 

[Mild Mannered]

Great reading. Thank you to the OP for sharing.