What maintenance does your wardrobe entail?

[holymadness]

I'm interested in one of the trade-offs of owning a sophisticated clothing collection: the necessary time and effort invested in cleaning and general upkeep.

That being so, I'd like to quiz people about their routine. How often do you dry-clean, and what does it end up costing (say, per month)? Do you wash any articles by hand -- how frequently and how long does it take? Do find yourself ironing/steaming quite a lot, or no? Is there anything you feel comfortable just throwing in the wash and drying in a machine? If not, do you air-dry certain clothes on a line or a rack? How about shoe shining and leather oiling?

And perhaps most importantly, is your routine a massive time and money sink, as well as a huge pain in the ass, or do you find you just accept it as par for the course? Has your attitude changed over time? Do you enjoy any of the rituals associated with this sort of activity?

Bonus points if you make the wife do it all for you.

 

[Cary Grant]

I have a weekly trip to the dry cleaner/laundry with dress shirts... usually runs about $15 a week IIRC.

I do handwash once in a blue moon but I simply don't have time to do all the pressing, etc.

I shine shoes weekly or every two- usually one sitting. It's pretty involved since I condition and do multiple coats. That is probably. loosely, an hour. I also stop by a shoe shine occasionally, every couple of weeks as much for the great conversation as anything. With tip, that's $7.

Suits- never dry clean unless they get a spot. And I always try to brush them out each evening after wearing.

The rest of my wash, casual clothes, etc is just weekly laundry and some light ironing. Usually on the weekend. A mix of hang dry and dryer. Bonus points because my wife actually likes doing the wash- but I prefer to iron.