Will Boehlke is one of the leading arbiters of classic men's
style in the USA. And around the world, for that matter. He is also
a consultant, speaker and author of the widely-followed,
award-winning blog, A Suitable
Wardrobe. Every month 100,000+ devotees of fine garments
look to Will for advice and guidance.
In today's
post, he comments that using an ordinary cleaner to care
for fine garments - particularly bespoke and made-to-measure
garments - is a false economy. To support his point of view, Will
points to a blue WW Chan bespoke cotton suit that he sent to a
local cleaner (one that he considers to be the best in the San
Francisco area) instead of shipping it to RAVE FabriCARE.
Here's the post in it's entirety ...
"A few dollars or minutes saved on the maintenance of one's
tailored clothing can be false economy. In my case, when someone
tells me I have a spot on the lapel of my blue cotton suit as my
wife did the other morning, I respond that it gives the jacket
character. Inwardly I kick myself.
I have written in the past that few of what pass in the United
States for clothing cleaning establishments know how to press a
jacket. As exhibit one, note that white mar on the lapel to the
left of the top buttonhole in the photograph. That discoloration is
from the stress of machine pressing against the underside of the
top button on a bespoke three roll two, and that after no more than
two pressings.
This of course is my own fault. I generally send my tailored
clothing down to Scottsdale, where Stu Bloom's RAVE FabriCare does
an impeccable job with it. But, for one reason or another,
periodically I decide that it is not convenient to box something up
and give it to FedEx and I send a piece or two to the local
establishment I consider the best cleaner in the Bay area. Good
thinking. Machine pressing of the lapels on a cotton suit will
quickly leave them with a white spot. Not the end of the world, but
unpleasant nonetheless.
Men can of course send their jackets back to the original tailor in
many cases for what is called a sponge and press, where the ironing
is done by hand. Unfortunately, for those of us who live
considerable distances away this is more difficult than it sounds.
Besides the time, cost and risk of tranoceanic shipping there is
the need to deal with the not inconsiderable bureaucracy that our
Department of Homeland Security has created to keep this country
safe(r) from those who would threaten our way of life - and I have
a suit held in Customs as I write to demonstrate that this is not
always easy. But, despite the incentives to keep things local, I
proved to myself once again that it is better to do business with
someone who deals with comparable items regularly, no matter how
far away they may be."
And the moral of the story?
When it comes to caring for fine garments - particularly bespoke
or made-to-measure garments - chose the very best dry cleaner
around. Even if it's more expensive
and less convenient. It pays dividends in the long run.
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