A Guide to Simple Suit Care

Let's hope you've taken my advice and have purchased your suit.  Now let's talk about taking care of it.

1.  Always hang up your suit.

 So I think it should be pretty common sense to hang up your suit.  However, somethings are important.  First, make sure that you hang up your pant according to the crease.  The crease of both legs of the pant should lie flat and be against the rod of the hanger.  Second, the hanger should be a wide hanger, 1.5 inches or wider in order to prevent destruction of the shoulder.  Cedar hangers are a nice touch to prevent moths and wick moisture.

2.  Invest in a Brush

Do not use a sticky fabric roller.  Fabric rollers will leave a residue on the suit that will cause dust and hair buildup in the future.  Using an inexpensive fabric brush will ultimately save in dry cleaning.

3.  Dry Clean (if possible) Less than Twice a Year

Chemicals in the dry cleaning process can cause the fibers of your suit to become brittle and wear.  However, if your suit has a stain or a spot or is dirty, please take it in.  No one wants to look like that dirt clod off of Charlie Brown.

4.  Travel

Travel without wearing your suit coat.  It will prevent wrinkles in sitting and buckling.  Make sure that your suit is always laying flat on top of whatever you may be hauling.  Or even better, if possible to hang it up.  Optimal travel would include taking a trash bag and punching the hanger through the top of the bag and tying it at the bottom to prevent dirty and dust from accumulating during travel.

5. Long Term Storage.

Invest in a suit bag ($5-$10).  Dry clean and brush your suit to make sure that oils and dust are removed.  Make sure that mothballs are proximal to the suit (and that humans and animals are not).  Air out before next wear.  However, suits are best worn and will maintain shape and fit better if worn regularly.

6.  Always Wear Your Jacket

It's important that whenever the suit is worn that pants are worn with the jacket.  Suits do fade or even darken over time as they are exposed to the sun and other elements.  If pants are worn often enough without the jacket, it can cause the pants to wear faster than the jacket and even become lighter.  (Pants are often the first thing to wear out anyway).  If I were to venture a guess, I would say that twice as much repair work is done to the seat of a pant than anywhere else on a suit.

7.  Invest in a 2nd Suit

Buying a second suit will automatically double the life of your first suit, and also double the life of the second suit.  Wool suits, when properly taken care of, will relax wrinkles out of them and other such self-maintenance.  But it requires time for the suit to do that, and by allowing time for it to air out will increase it's lifespan.

A well made suit can last for years.  I was an LDS Missionary for two years and wore my two suits constantly and still have them to this day.  Well made suits can last for years if properly taken care of.  So make your investment wisely.

Hey Delta...

So, I had this dream.  It was awesome.  I was on a plane flying from BWI to Salt Lake and as a self diagnosed narcoleptic, naturally I fell asleep.

So I dreamed that I fell asleep and then I woke up and the plane was doing sweet nose dives and barrel rolls.   Across Iowa it was skimming the tops of corn before it would pull up again.  I dare say that it is the most exciting that Iowa has ever been!  It was at this moment that I thought, "Dang, this is the coolest airplane ride I've ever been on!" When the little boy next to me woke me up.  Then I realized that I was on a normal plane and I had missed the beverage cart...I was pissed.  I wasn't really thirsty, so I guess mostly that Delta had been so inconsiderate to board me on a normal plane as opposed to one of their acrobatic models.  Rude.

So, just as I was writing this blog, the day after American Airlines declared bankruptcy, I realized that they have the potential to make the coolest airplane ride ever.  Make them into traveling roller coasters.  Win. Win.  Think about it Delta. Or Southwest.  Or American.  I don't have any biases.  Just a suit fetish that doesn't pay for itself...ahem.

It's Time to Spice Up Your Life

With a dash of everyday guy named Ike.  Let's see how this blogging thing rolls.

I always think of myself as a writer.  Sure, everybody says that I am pretty good with public speaking, but really things get crazy when I start writing.

But what to write about?  This is just my occasional (and perhaps not) blurb.

First, I thought about writing about music.  I love music.  It's my e'erythang.  It sings the words I cannot speak.  I write music occasionally and play a variety of instruments.  But really?  Is that interesting enough for somebody to read about (and myself to constantly write about)? Or maybe my heroine-like addiction to dancing and dance parties?  Maybe I'll consider a support group for the dancing-addicted in the future.  (I think that this would be a bad idea seeing as I would probably just further ingrain addictions with more crazy dance parties.)  Is there any better way to party?  I didn't think so.

Second, I considered men's (and perhaps a rant or two about women's) fashion, I mean, I like to pretend to know how to match colors.

Third, I thought about art.  I love art.  I constantly am lost in an art museum.  I like to make up words to describe different artistic techniques to make myself feel more eclectic and then act like a snob when someone hasn't heard of it.  "And I thought you loved art...hmph."

Fitness?  I love working out, that is until somebody else cuts in on my machine.

Food?  I love cooking especially things that are complicated and challenging like souffles.  I also am a great critic of restaurants and other people's food.

Culture?  Movies?  Books?  TV?  Comedy?

Economics?  Politics?  International News?

Relationships?  Dating?  Social scene?  College life?

Travel?  Photography?  Languages?  Nations?  Religions?

Gardening?  Yard work?  Aqua-ponics? (Look it up)

Then it hit me.  Maybe a dash of everything is the only thing appropriate.

I'm not writing to create a following.  Read it if it's interesting.  Don't if it's not.  This is my blog.  These are my thoughts.  This is me.