How to look after your suit

When buying a suit, a classic suit that is meant to last a few years, there are a few factors to consider.

The cut must be contemporary and not overly fashionable; you don’t want it to look dated before its second outing. It should be in a colour you will wear and not go off, and one that matches other colours and can carry a plain or a patterned shirt and of course, a waistcoat. Try black, charcoal grey or navy.

The fabric should take you through at least two seasons, spring / summer or autumn / winter and it needs to be a quality fabric, like these from the Loro Piana mill for example, that will wear well, withstand sitting and is dry clean rather than machine washable. Some of their fabrics has a mild stretch element and if you choose your colour wisely, it can be as versatile as Lupin.

If when wearing your suit, you need to take off your jacket, it’s better to fold it in half along the back and lay it flat than to hang it on the back of a chair. If you are in the office, take a shaped hanger and hang it on there, buttons done up, especially if you won’t be wearing for a few hours.

Once home, again, a shaped hanger (never, ever a wire hanger) is its best friend. Hang and then brush off any debris / fluff / hair. You can use a freshening fabric spray if you’ve been somewhere with an odour or you can try hanging your suit in the bathroom for a mild steaming effect.

Invest in a hand-held steamer. These take a couple of minutes to heat up and can remove smells and light marks in seconds. Useful for shirts too, and steaming open envelopes, but that’s another (Lupin) related article.

Do remember to remove everything from your pockets and put them in their correct homes. Don’t leave your wallet, or a pen, or even coins… and definitely don’t leave any papers. You’ll forget what you were wearing when you had them last and they’ll be lost till this suit comes out again.

For the trousers, if possible, hang from the hem with a clip or bar hanger, making sure you have kept the front crease intact if they have one. Folding the back of the trouser legs on to each other is best. This will help them de crease and don’t put any unnecessary strain on the knee area of the pants and it avoids fold marks.

So look after your suit with these simple steps and it will look after you.