How to care for, clean and maintain your suit.

At De Oost Bespoke Tailoring we are justifiably proud of the garments we make and would love you to feel the same way long after the first time that you put your new suit on. Here are a few helpful tips to ensure your suit enjoys a long and immaculate lifespan. Our pricelist.

First the basics.

1. No Washing
   It is not possible to wash the garments tailored by De Oost. Not with a washing machine and not by hand. Dry cleaning is therefore the best option.

2. No Bleaching
   Your clothes can not be treated with bleach. The garment is not colorfast or structurally withstand use of such products.

3. Ironing
   Ironing, steaming and drying, at a temperature of 110 degrees Celsius.

4. Dry cleaning
   Each detergent can be used safely except Trichloroethylene.

Hanging

In practice, this means that the suit should be hung up on a broad, well-shaped hanger after it has been worn. Ideally, the hanger should be broader at the ends to better fill the shoulders. Make sure you have emptied all your pockets before you hang up your jacket.

Hang your suit when you are not wearing it. As we have already noted, you should never use flimsy metal hangers and should take care, hang your suit in a space where it isn’t cramped up against other clothes. The right hanger will have a contoured shape that matches the shape and drape of your jacket, will be wide enough to touch each edge of the shoulders and will be made of a natural wood that helps absorb moisture from fabric. Cedar wood hangers also work as repellants for predators such as moths.
The suit hanger will also help smooth out any wrinkles that you end up with during the course of your day, whether its from driving or leaning up against a wall.  If you do wear suits to work and take off your jacket during the day, I advise keeping a hanger at the office versus hanging it over the back of your chair as this could impact its shape as well.

Hangers are crucial when it comes to suiting. Your choice of hanger can help maintain the shape of your jacket and ultimately help it last longer. Just as with the suit brush, it is up to your pockets to determine how much you want to spend on one.

Brushing

Before you hang your suit away it should be given a quick brush. Brushing your suit after every outing is the best way to ensure that it stays in top form. The fabric of a suit loses its integrity over time as dirt and unseen particles build up. A decent suit brush will help you prolong its life. This should be done with a clothes brush made of natural bristle, available from most good department stores. A suit brush looks much like your hair brush, with a wooden or plastic body/handle and bristles made from either synthetic material or real animal hair. Natural animal hair is your best bet, to ensure that the bristles are not so coarse that they damage your suit. Apply your shaving strategy and brush downwards only. 

We advise against the use of sticky rolls that are designed to pick up fluff as these can leave behind traces of adhesive on the material, which can cause considerable damage. We've found it much easier to remove hairs and fluff with our fingertips. Go gently when you brush your suit. Although we do our best to ensure that your buttons are fastened securely, over exuberant brushing can cause premature wearing to the thread.

Airing

A suit should not disappear into the wardrobe immediately after it has been brushed. It is better to let it air for a while by an open window or in a bathroom.

Keep your suits in a place where they can breathe. Be aware that keeping a suit in an airtight bag for storage might seem like a good idea, but don’t be surprised to find mold or even moths eating at your favorite blazer. If you have got a suit bag, some recommend leaving the zip open a bit to let air in and out.

Moths are a real danger, and often times, once you’ve spotted them, it’s too late. Moths lay around one hundred eggs, and once they hatch, the little jerks are going to be hungry. Needless to say this is a virtual death sentence on a suit. Though some advocate mothballs as a prevention method, the smell is unpleasant, and they only work in a sealed enclosure, like a suit bag. Dried lavender leaves, sealed in pouches and kept in pockets, repel moths just as effectively without the same drawbacks. Barring this, cleaning your closet and vacuuming the space regularly will work wonders.

Steaming

Steam clean your suit after wearing, but only if needed. This will clean it and remove wrinkles at the same time with the need for ironing. A good steamer isn’t cheap, but it’s a worthwhile investment. Steaming your suit is a delicate method of removing wrinkles and odours and won’t damage the fibres. Avoid using a regular iron to press your suits as the high temperature may cause damage. Also avoid steaming the chest area, which may disrupt the shape of the internal canvas.

Some suit enthusiasts also invest in a trouser press, a machine that gently and automatically presses suit pants. The trouser press is a time tested method of clothing care that’s stood up to fifty years of scrutiny and use.

Wool fibres need moisture to maintain their elasticity. Your clothes can be steamed easily in any bathroom – this is a great tip for those of you who travel. Close all the windows and air vents, run hot water until steam forms, and then hang up the suit for a while in the misty atmosphere you have created. This gets rid of most wrinkles and helps remove unpleasant odours.

Dry Cleaning
 

We would prefer it if you kept dry cleaning to a bare minimum. The traditionalists on Savile Row say that it is quite unnecessary: brushing, airing and steaming are quite sufficient, while stains should be treated individually.You can also do a lot yourself, after a big night hang your suit outside and use a damp cloth to clean any spots. Others see no danger in dry cleaning. Our major concerns are associated with how a garment is ironed afterwards.

Anyone who has seen how a suit is treated at the dry cleaners around the corner will definitely stick to brushing and airing.
There’s a perception that if your suit gets dirty or wrinkled, you need to have it cleaned. It’s absolute nonsense. Dry-cleaning should only happen when your suit gets irrecoverably dirty, and some purists have their suits cleaned as little as once a season.                                                                               The chemicals involved in dry cleaning can wear out the wool, and if your suit is just a bit wrinkly, and not dirty, they should simply be pressed rather than dry-cleaned. The suit will come back from the cleaners just as crisp, but without having been subjected to the same chemicals.                                                                             
As for the rest, there’s nothing that says you need a dry cleaner. Small stains can be steamed out with a hand-steamer, or brushed out with a good, stiff suit brush. Base your dry cleaning habits on your suit’s fabric. Fabrics of higher micron numbers (higher than Super 150s wool) are richer and softer, but also finer and more fragile. Dry clean these as infrequently as possible. 

Travelling

When you receive your brand new De Oost bespoke tailored suit, it comes with a cloth bag. A cloth bag is the way to go, because it encourages greater air flow and allows your suit to breathe. A bag also protects against moths and wrinkles. Wait a dayor so after wearing your suit to put it into a bag, and make sure your closet is not packed so tightly that air can’t reach it.

A garment bag is a must if you are a serious traveller with a suit. Look for one that is easy to carry, light and breathable. If a garment bag is totally out of the question, learn how to properly fold and pack a suit in a way that minimises wrinkles and offers maximum protection. 

When packing your suit for a business trip/travel (without the use of a garment bag) always turn the Jacket inside-out making sure to pull the shoulders all the way through. We've found that lining rubbing against lining causes far less creasing than wool against wool. Some fabrics like Mohair are wrinkle-proof and are therefore ideal for travelling.

De OOST Prefers to dryclean YOUR GARMENTS by ourselves, please Have a look at our pricelist.

How to wash and clean a tailored shirt.

How to Wash a Dress Shirt
Shirts are made to be worn, not worshiped. This means they get dirty. However, with proper care, a high quality dress shirt can last for several years and continue to look great. In this post, we’re going to break down three of the most popular washing methods and detail how you can keep your dress shirts looking great for years to come. We’ll also outline how to deal with special emergencies as well as provide some other cleaning tips.

Clean Dress Shirt Method 1: “Wash and press” at the cleaners
Wash and press is the “normal” way to clean dress shirts when you take them to the cleaners. (Don’t be too confused by this.  Even though you take your shirt to the “dry-cleaners”, they are most likely doing wash and press unless you are expressly asking them to dry clean ). This is our first choice. At around $1.50/shirt, this cleaning method is relatively cheap and easy and it keeps the shirts looking great.  At most cleaners, here’s what the process involves:

They wash your shirt in a normal washing machine using water and detergent.
They remove most of the water from the shirt with the spin cycle in the washing machine.
They pull the damp shirt onto an industrial shirt press that closes over the shirt and simultaneously irons the garment while removing all of the moisture.
Pros: Convenient, (relatively) inexpensive.

Cons: Some cleaners will be too hard on the shirts.  The slamming of the press over the front of the shirt can cause  buttons to chip or shatter. If the shirt torso or sleeve is stretched over the press when it is steamed dry it can cause this part of the shirt to become wider in these areas.  Finally, in the process of bringing the shirts from the cleaners to your closet collars will often be smashed in some way, requiring additional ironing for optimal appearance.

Method 2: Wash the shirt yourself at home
If you don’t trust your dry cleaner, or if you’d just like a little more control over how your shirts are washed, you may want to wash your dress shirts at home.  We really like this option, but to do so properly requires a bit of time and care on your part. Follow these steps for optimal results:

Start by preparing the dress shirt.  Unbutton all of the buttons, including cuff buttons and any collar buttons.  Remove any collar stays if it has them and put them in a safe place.

Pre-treat any stains by carefully working a little detergent into them, or better yet spot-cleaning them with a stain remover pen.
Set up your washing machine: To minimize wear on a fine or lightweight dress shirt, use the Delicate cycle.  If the shirt is made from a heavier duty fabric, or is particularly dirty you may opt for the Normal cycle.  Whites and light colors can use hot water.  Dark colored shirts that you don’t want to fade should be washed with cold water. Take care not to include other laundry items with bold colors that may bleed into your shirts.

Use a high quality detergent, like Woolite Complete, that is appropriate to the color of the shirt.  Be sure not to use any detergents or cleaners that are chlorine based as these will cause discoloration to many shirt fabrics.

Wash the shirts in the washing machine, and then let the spin cycle wring most of the water out of the garment.
The shirts will be tightly crumpled in the washing machine so you’ll want to remove them promptly before these intense wrinkles will dry into the shirt. Hang the shirts up or lay them out so that they can air dry.  Be careful about hanging the shirts on a sharp hanger or with tight clothespins as this can distort the fabric or leave a mark on the shirt.

Next you’ll want to iron the shirts.  You don’t need to wait for the shirts to be completely dry to begin this step, but they should be mostly dry.
Pros: Gives you the most control to treat stains, protect buttons, and iron collars carefully.

Cons: Takes time and attention.

How to wash a shirt Method 3: “Dry clean” at the cleaners
While we don’t really recommend dry cleaning cotton dress shirts, some folks like to take their shirts to the cleaners and have them dry cleaned. While this cleaning method will certainly not damage the shirt and minimize shrinkage, it does have some downsides. The first is that it can be expensive – usually over $5/shirt. Another is that water soluble stains such as perspiration are not removed. Dry cleaning solvents contain very little to no water so perspiration based dirt can be left untouched.  Washing dress shirts in water is better for removing water soluble dirt and stains from sweat.  That said, if your dress shirt has an oil based stain on it you may have better luck getting it cleaned by a dry cleaner than in a washing machine.

Pros: Convenient.  Minimizes wear of the shirts.  Removes oil-based stains.

Cons: Won’t always remove water soluble dirt or stains. Expensive. Your shirts are at the mercy of a potentially abusive shirt cleaner.

Question: Is it approved to dry shirts in the dryer?
We recommend avoiding the dryer and letting the shirt air dry on a hanger, although (depending on the size of your house) this is not always practical. If you must put the shirt in a dryer, avoid high heat or over-drying the shirt. Use the dryer to get most of the moisture out of the shirt, and then iron the shirt immediately to remove the rest of the moisture and any wrinkles at the same time.  If you dry your shirts completely in the dryer you’ll find the shirt a bit harder to iron perfectly, and they will likely shrink beyond Proper Cloth’s calculated shrinkage allowances.

Question: How to remove a stain from a white shirt?
In the unfortunate event that you get spill some wine or spaghetti sauce on your shirt, some quick action could minimize any stains that result.
With a brush or comb, carefully swipe or lift away any large pieces such that you don’t smear them worse into the garment. 
Immediately treat the stain with water or stain remover solvent.  The sooner the better.  If you can’t get your hands on a stain remover pen, we recommend a Tide Pen, try dish washing detergent, lemon juice, vinegar, or seltzer water. 
Dab solvents on the stain with a light touch. Pressure can force the stain deeper into the fibers of the garment. 
Rinse and repeat. 

Question: Should I use starch when the shirt is pressed?
While many people do like to have their shirts starched, our suggestion is to avoid starch completely.  While starch can help a broadcloth or oxford shirt appear more crisp it can also cause shirts to wear out prematurely.  When the starch material gets embedded in the shirt fibers it acts like a million little knives that break down the fibers over time.
Three tips to maximize dress shirt life
Don’t leave dirty white shirts in the hamper for too long before washing. This can lead to premature yellowing of the collar band as any sweat and oils will have more time to set into the fabric of the shirt.
Always remove the collar stays from the collar before washing and ironing.  If you don’t they will become warped causing the dress shirt collar points to curve awkwardly.
Don’t count on your cleaner to find and remove stains. If you know there’s a spot on your placket or sleeve, point it out so that they know to spot clean it.


If you have any specific questions or needs then please contacts us by phone or mail. 0031-(0)20-6815792 or samson@deoost.nl.

Kind regards, Jean-Paul Samson