Wool asks for very little
A garment cut from good wool needs less from you than you might expect. The fibre sheds creases on its own and recovers its shape, given time and air. Most damage done to tailoring is done in the name of care: too much heat, too much cleaning, not enough rest. The habits below are small, and they are nearly all of it.
Steam, not press
An iron flattens the surface of wool and, over time, gives the cloth a shine that does not come out. Steam does the same work without the harm. Hang the garment, pass steam over it, and let it dry before you wear it. The creases fall away and the drape returns. When travelling, a hanger in a closed bathroom during a hot shower is a fair substitute.
Rest between wears
Wool recovers between wears in a way it cannot during them. A day of sitting leaves creases behind the knees and through the back of a jacket. A day or two on a shaped hanger and they drop out on their own. Two garments worn in alternation will outlast one worn daily, and by more than the arithmetic suggests. Rest is the cheapest care there is.
Brush after wear
Dust and skin settle on the surface of cloth and, left alone, work their way into the weave. A clothes brush at the end of the day removes them before they do. Brush downward with the nap, and give extra attention to the shoulders and collar, where most of it lands. It takes under a minute and does more for the life of a garment than any cleaning will.
Storage
- Hang jackets on a hanger wide enough to carry the shoulder from end to end.
- Hang trousers by the cuff, or folded over a bar.
- Leave space in the wardrobe. Cloth pressed against its neighbours creases and cannot breathe.
- Cedar deters moths. Empty the pockets before a garment goes away for a season.
- Before long storage, have the piece cleaned. Moths are drawn to what is on the cloth more than to the cloth itself.
If it gets wet
Rain does not hurt wool. Heat afterwards does. Let a wet garment dry slowly on a hanger at room temperature, away from radiators and direct sun, then brush it once it is dry.
Dry clean rarely
Dry cleaning is a solvent bath, and every visit takes a little life out of the cloth. Keep it for actual need: a stain that will not brush out, or a garment about to be stored for months. For a jacket in regular rotation, once or twice a year is plenty. Between cleans, steam and the brush do the real work.
None of this is ceremony. It is a few minutes a week. A made-to-measure garment is cut to outlast the season it arrived in; care is how you keep your side of the arrangement.