5 Expert Tips for Caring for Your Wardrobe

At Remodelista, we first came across Antonio Centeno (author of Real Men Real Style and founder of A Tailored Suit) on The Art of Manliness, where he dispenses advice on dress and grooming.

Centeno’s mission is to change the mindset of men on how they present themselves to the world. As he points out: “We all recall Steve Jobs’ uniform of black turtleneck, New Balance running shoes, and jeans. He had a uniform.” Centeno, who is partial to a suit, encourages men to “find their own uniform, control and know what message to send, then do it with confidence.” (Zuckerberg, he notes, is short on message.)

Part of Centeno’s male mindset change includes the maintenance of a well kept wardrobe. He points out, “It’s not just part of good grooming, it also saves money in the long term.”

Here are 5 tips for maintaining the male wardrobe. Women take note, these rules apply to you, too.

Above: A clothing rack via Pinterest.

Above: The Pocket Clothes Brush; £5 from Objects of Use. Amazon offers the Kent Handcrafted Clothes Brush for $49.90.

1. Brushes. Invest in some good clothes brushes. Every day, particles of food and dirt get lodged in our clothing; over time, they build up and start degrading the fabric. Brush a suit or jacket after wearing to dislodge anything that may have caught in the fine particles of fabric. Every day maintenance is key to helping clothes last longer.

2. Spot dry stains. Americans tend to over wash their clothes. Notice a mark on your jacket? Spot clean at home as opposed to sending it to the dry cleaners. Each garment has a set lifespan and dry cleaning unnecessarily shortens the life of a suit. The less you subject clothing to dry cleaning, the longer your garments will last.

Above: Cedar Shoe Trees; $25 from Kaufmann Mercantile.

3. Shoe Trees. These should be mandatory with every shoe purchase. When you remove a pair of shoes, the shoe trees serve to absorb the moisture from the leather and soles and maintain the shape of the shoe that typically will be lost over years of wear without proper maintenance.

Above: The Luxury Wooden Sweater and Polo Hanger. Set of five for $75 or single hanger for $15 from the Hanger Project.

4. Hangers. Good thick wooden hangers are a great investment as they maintain the shape of shoulder. If you don’t have the funds, use three or four cheap hangers bunched together. Alternatively, attach foam on the edges of the hangers.

5. Hanging clothes. Keep an inch between each piece of clothing hanging in a closet to let your garments breathe. Clothing that has been worn all day should be hung and aired out before being returned to the wardrobe.

For more of Centeno’s tips, visit Remodelista.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Natasha S.

9:30AM PST on Feb 17, 2013

Great tips,thanks but does that brush help with cat hair??? I use a lint roller and does the trick anyway.

February 17
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Wanda C.

4:27PM PST on Feb 16, 2013

Good advice!

February 16
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Robert O.

12:23AM PST on Feb 15, 2013

Thanks very much!

February 15
send a green star

andrew h.

5:20AM PST on Feb 12, 2013

thanks

writing "love gratitude" on a small piece of paper (tape it on maybe) and wrapping it on to the water pipe flowing into a washing machine may add this good energy to water for washing clothes

I do this, and have similiar sticker on other water pipes

Masaru Emoto used words with water to change the crystal structure

may add an invisible good energy to all the wash every time washing clothes - and drinking water pipes too

(just a headsup for you to decide what if anything to do with this information if your intuition and your good judgement tells you its a good idea)