How to Care for Suits, Shirts, and Ties

Knowing how to to care for your clothes will not only save money, but it will also guarantee a professional looking outfit. Below are some tips on how to care for your suits, dress shirts, shoes, and your neckties. If you follow the tips below, you will not only have clean and wrinkle-free clothes, but they will also last much longer saving you money in the long run.

Suit Care:
Quality suits are made from 100% wool. Suit cannot be machine washed, but need to be brought to a dry-cleaner to press and clean the fabric - a process that can damage the fabric over time. Therefore, the less you sent your suit to the dry-cleaner the better. To avoid unnecessary dry-cleaning, make sure to hang your suit over a hanger at the end of each day. Place the hanger in a well-ventilated area which helps remove odors and wrinkles. Avoid narrow wire-hangers which may damage the shoulder area of a suit. Instead, buy specially made suit hangers that have a wider (2 inch +)shoulder area. Also, never drive with your suit on since this may create lasting wrinkles which would require pressing the suit. When it is time to give your suit to the dry-cleaner, make sure to drop off pants and suit at the same time. Continuous cleaning and pressing can cause a slight color fade in the fabric, and bringing in both pieces ensures that the color continues to match.

Your Dress Shirts:
Shirts wrinkle much easier than suits, and it is therefore necessary to dry-clean them much more frequently. Check with your dry-cleaner on what type of chemicals, if any, they are using. Also, keep starching at a reasonable level. Starch can build up overtime which can cause the fabric to fray and break. If you home-wash your shirts, make sure to separate colors to avoid fading and staining.

Your Ties:
Ties cannot, and should never be dry-cleaned. The best way to clean a silk tie is by preventing stains from happening in first place. Should you still get your tie stained, then you may want to read our tips on How to Clean Silk Ties. Equally important is proper tie storage. Untie your neckties after each time you wear them, and hang them over a tie-rack or a clothes hanger right away.

Your Shoes:
Make sure to polish your shoes with shoe-wax to protect the leather and to prevent the leather from drying - causing breaks and cracks. Also, make sure to use a water-repellent spray before you wear your shoes for the first time. The use of shoe-trees also help in keeping the shoes' shape and to avoid permanent cracks. Best are shoe trees made from cedar wood which reduces odors.

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Your Cheap Neck Ties Team