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Storing a suit for the winter.

A Canuker

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I was hopeing that I might be able to get some advise for storing a suit. I am up in Calgary Canada and for the winter season I wish to place 2 or 3 of my suits out of my rotation. Any advise on how to hang, special hangers or if I should wrap them somehow...any ideas are better what I am looking at now.
 

Ivan Kipling

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I was told by a costume curator, to use large black garbage bags, as covers for things I want to store. Leave the bottom of the bag, OPEN. Make sure there's air for your garment. Don't smash it against other clothes. You'd be shocked to see how much dust accumulates on those bags . . .
If you have a cedar closet, that's always great storage. Acid free boxes are very good, but I don't think you need to go that far, just for some out of season suits. Also, boxes result in winkles.
I use contoured, cedar hangers for my suits. I used to order them from Rue De France, but that catalogue doesn't seem to exist, these days. Many other catalogues, sell such hangers. They're great.
 

thisisme

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does the kind of wood used for contoured hangers matter? or contoured ones from ikea are fine for storage
 

Ed13

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The last few days I have been storing summer garmets and bringing out the winter wear. For suits and sports jackets I use canvas garmet bags that can breath with cedar inserts. I doubt the cedar does anything but they came with them. For all other items (trousers, sweaters, polos, socks, etc) I use canvas bags with zippers.

Also, always use good contoured hangers for suits. Most of mine are varnished wood with a few plastic.
 

A Canuker

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Sounds like good advise. I shall wander over to Ikea this weekend to look at extra hangers and stuff.

Extra question about the pants, is it better to hang folded on the hanger or clasped at the cuff?
 

Ivan Kipling

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You can use any wood for suit hangers, so long as they're shaped full enough, not to create marks in the fabric.
Regarding the pants . . . I seem to prefer to fold them, over . . . never got into the cuff clasping devices.
 

demeis

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Originally Posted by Ivan Kipling
You can use any wood for suit hangers, so long as they're shaped full enough, not to create marks in the fabric.
Regarding the pants . . . I seem to prefer to fold them, over . . . never got into the cuff clasping devices.



Might be careful with this. I would not recommend cedar as a hanger wood. The wood is fragile and tends to splinter which can cause you to rip your lining or damage it when you take it off the hanger.

Also make sure you dry clean your suit before you store it. This is because small stains or food can get on it. Some you may not see but its what attracts moths most of the time and tend to be the points that get destroyed.
 

FriscoSoxFan

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A while ago, I found my dad's old navy uniform in the back of a closet at my mother's house. It was very musty and I couldn't determine any moth status, so I decided to take it to the cleaners and then back to my house for storage. I told the cleaners what I was doing and they said they would prepare it for storage and put it in a special bag. Anyway, it came back to me in a sealed blue, somewhat thicker bag. The same place also offered off-season clothes storage with a guarantee for a monthly fee.

Its probably bunk, but it worked for me.
 

mensimageconsultant

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If you're going to use clasps, use the soft-grip (no indentations) kind.
 

rssmsvc

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I usually brush it off well, then check for any stains, if I don't see any put it in the whirlpool steamer , hang it covered in a linen bag and throw some of the new mothballs (not napathelene) in the bag in a sandwich bag with holes.
 

a tailor

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please clean it first. dont forget to check inside the cuffs maybe a suprise there. the best storage bags i know of are made from old bed sheets. wash em first.
 

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