Custom Tailoring Related Information
CARE FOR THE TRAVELLER'S WARDROBE
Tailored Clothing
As soon as reach your destination, unpack and hang up your tailored clothes. Jackets should always be hung on wooden, wishbone-style hangers. Wire hangers are the bane of good clothes, so avoid hanging your jackets from them. Ordinary wooden hanger are an acceptable alternative if the heavier wishbone hanger are unavailable. The trousers can be folded over the center bar. However, it is always better to suspend them by their cuffs from a clip hanger, or, if your hotel is really classy and procvides them, small wood trouser hangers with felt pads to prevent the trouser cuffs from wrinkling. When suspended by the cuffs, the full weight of the trouser is brought to bear, retaining the unbroken crease down the leg. If there is no time to have your clothes professionally pressed, hanging a suit in a steamy bathroom and then letting it dry in a cool room is a good way to remove its wrinkles. A good-quality travel press can also work the wrinkles out.Try to arrange your schedule so your clothes can be properly pressed after unpacking. A freshly pressed suit will always look better than one that was pressed just prior to packing. If you have your suit pressed at the hotel, find out what quality of work it provides. Too often, either dry cleaning chemicals or an inexperienced presser can take the life and bounce out of a fine suit. Fine tailors prefer to do their own pressing when possible, because a bad press can ruin a well-made suit, while a good one can totally rejuvenates one. Ask the hotel's concierge or valet service to have your garments soft-pressed by hand. Tell them you want the jacket's lapels soft-rolled and the trousers steamed, brushed, and hand finished.
Avoid dry-cleaning a suit unless it is absolutely necessary, for instance if perspiration has seeped completely through it. Other than a light-colored summer suit, if the suit becomes stained, have it spot-cleaned first, then pressed. It is important to attach a note to the garment, telling the cleaner what caused the blemish. Technology has developed specific chemicals suspected raspberries were the culprit, he might try a fruit cleaning agent, whereas if it were blood, a protein-based solvent would be in order. Allow the cleaner as much time as he needs to deal with the stain. Some stains never get properly removed because the job was rushed to meet the traveler's schedule.
If you spill something, blot it up immediately. The more you get out of the fabric, the less there will be to eradicate later. Putting seltzer or water on oil-based stains such as salad dressing, mayonnaise, and the like only spreads the surface of the stain, making it ten times harder to remove. For water-soluble spill such as wine, the soiled garment should be placed on top of a dry, flat surface where it can be daubed with a warm, wet cloth. If it needs further attention, the spot can be dispatched with proper dry cleaning. Some food stains are harder to remove than others, therefore the more time you allow the cleaner, the better the chance of receiving a spotless garment.
Dress Shirt Care
Nothing more discourages a man from investing in an expensive dress shirt than the prospect of having it professionally cleaned. Few places know how to press one properly. However, armed with some specific instructions, you can contain the damage and even be pleasantly surprised by the results. First, do not dry-clean dress shirts. Cotton dress shirts surrender their fresh, linen like crispness and eventually turn gray if regularly dry-cleaned. Some men mistakenly believe this is the only way to prevent the garment from shrinking. Far better to buy a shirt in a size that allows for shrinkage.Never allow a partially soiled dress shirt to be pressed; the heat from the iron can permanently "cook" the dirt into the fabric. Ask the laundry to wash the shirt separately without machine drying. Most shirts are washed en masse, which just spreads the dirt from one garment to another. Request that the shirt be hand-pressed - never allow it to be machine pressed - with as little starch in the collar and cuffs as you can bear. Heavy starch reduces the life of the collars and cuffs and accelerates their shrinkage.
Shoe Care
The only thing profligate about owning expensive shoes is scrimping on their care. Plastic shoe trees do to shoes what wire hangers do to jackets - avoid them if at all possible. Wooden shoe trees are the best protection your investment can have and should be inserted as soon as the shoe is removed from the foot. The shoe's interior is subject to some astonishing conditions including continual moisture, heat, friction, and bacterial growth. Its exterior is exposed to heat, cold, precipitation, chemicals, abrasions, and good old-fashioned grime. Shoes must be rotates and allowed time to dry out. Wooden trees speed the drying process, deodorize, and prevent wet shoes from curling at the toe. If the shoes have been soaked, keep them away from heat, which can crack the leather. Stuffing them with newspaper will draw the moisture from the leather. Once they have dried, buff them with a soft cloth.Leather is a skin, so treat it with the same care as you would your own. Shoes must be polished for protection and appearance. The first step I would take with a new pair of shoed is to treat them to the best shine available. There is nothing worse than getting a scuffmark on some unprotected portion of new shoe; it will be with you in some from for the remainder of the shoe's life. Wax, which shields the leather against the elements, should be the first layer applied to the shoe. Polish is used only to achieve surface luster and should not be used as a substitute. Do not take your shoes out into the rain without first making sure they are protected by a good coat of polish. You should also polish the stitches of the shoe's welts; this helps to waterproof them.
Caring for Your Neckties
No stain is more difficult to remove than the one that lands on your silk necktie. However, if cleaned properly, most stains can be removed, provided the soiled tie has not sat for months in the back of your closet. This task should be performed by a professional service, such as New York City's Tiecrafters, Inc. (212-629-5800), which has the special equipment to press and roll the tie back into its original shape. Avoid cleaners who claim they can do this, because most will not invest money in such expensive machinery for the few neckties they clean each month.We invite you to check out some of our other useful custom tailoring related information:
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Business Clothing And The Executive Dress Up.
Back to Business Basics in Custom Clothing
No matter what people say, first impressions are mostly based on physical appearance. That's how it works in the dating game and that's what often happens in the business world. We are judged on the way we introduce ourselves, on our body language, and most of all, on the way we dress.
Bear in mind, however, that a flawless dressing style is only a complement to substance and a good wo...
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Happy Colours, Fun Foods Ahead In 2004.
by - CLAIRE ROSEMBERG - Paris, AFP
After dismal 2003, trend-spotters and intelligence marketers expect next year to be full of bounce, cheer and optimism.
Yellows, greens and even orange will be back brightening the streets, homes plastered in floral and other prints, vegetables will rule the plate and happy smiles lighten up legions of wrinkle-free DIY naturelovers.
Move over dismal 2003 year of the war in Iraq, S...
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Size Matters!.
In the world of designer clothes, sizing is more than a matter of
measurements.
Size matters. With the diversity of international labels available, it´s difficult to know what size you actually wear. And what size you should ask to try on when you see an item you like. American designers, for example, use a sizing scale beginning from 4,6,8. If the designer or label is French, it will be more like 36,38,40. Confused? You´re...
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Knowing Colours Is Key To Being Fashion Conscious..the Hue For You.
Naming colours is key to fashion, experts say
Pink isn´t just pink, it´s phlox or blush. Beige isn´t beige when it can be sand or champagne. And brown certainly would never be brown when it could be cinnamon, tobacco or stone.
Designers unveiling their latest looks at the semi-annual New York fashion week say they spend untold effort not only choosing colours but naming those hues, drawing inspiration from old movies, su...
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The Business Mans Wardrobe.
No matter what people say, first impressions are mostly based on physical appearance. That´s how it works in the dating game and that´s what often happens in the business world. We are judged on the way we introduce ourselves, on our body language, and most of all, on the way we dress.
Bear in mind, however, that a flawless dressing style is only a complement to substance and a good work ethic, not a substitute. See it as a comp...
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Man, His Clothes, Attire And His Watch !.
Few things say more about a man than his watch. Its character, look and style can give others a peek into a man´s background (and priorities) without having to ask a single question. That is why purchasing a watch is such a personal -- and important -- decision.
Of course, there are men out there who only need a watch to tell time, and for those guys a watch whose price ends with .99 would suffice. But for the rest of us, a watch has...
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Custom Clothes Make The Man - Part 1 - Suits, Sports Jackets, Pants, Trousers, And Topcoats.
Up until the late eighteenth century, it was often the man who dressed more flamboyantly than the woman, his wardrobe filled with laces and bows as well as high-heeled shoes with shiny buckles. Even our presidents were not immune, as a sartorially splendid George Washington appeared at his first Inaugural wearing a brocade jacket, lace shirt, silver appointments, and high-heeled shoes with diamond buckles.
However, as the c...
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The Necktie - From Tie History By Allan Flusser.
Besides being useful against colds, stiff necks and tooth ache, a necktie enables one to know more about the person who is wearing it..
Said by Emil De L'Empese in 1818
The history of neckties dates back a mere hundred years or so, for they came into existence as the direct result of a war. In 1660, in celebration of its hard-fought victory over Turkey, a crack regiment from Croatia (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) vi...
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Don't Be A Casual Casualty! .
The word "Casual", circa 1852, is from Middle French casuel, Late Latin casualis, and Latin casus, all meaning: subject to, resulting from, or occurring by chance; unpremeditated; offhand: a casual remark. Other common meanings are: being without ceremony or formality; relaxed; showing little interest, or concern; nonchalant; lenient; permissive; not close or intimate (i.e. "casual sex"). Why do we dress up to have cas...
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Specials For 25 November To 15 December.
May we present our Holiday Season Specials and Promotions for orders placed between the 25th November 2002 and the 15th December 2002.
Please read on to find out more about the very special offers we have for the comming weeks.
WHAT is NEW at ravistailor.com?
NEW FABRICS
.we have recently added a brand new collection the HERITAGE GOLD Collections and the response to this top end fabric range is proving to be very en...
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Cracking The Dress Code - Formal.
INVITATION TERMINOLOGY When the invitation reads Black Tie, Black Tie Preferred, Le Smoking, or Smoking for an evening semi-formal event or White Tie or Full Dress for an evening formal event, then your host is providing an elegant affair and expects you to dress according to fit the decor and ambiance of the evening. When your invitation reads Black Tie Optional, or Black Tie Invited, the host is leaving the final decision up t...
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Newsletter October 2002.
WHAT is NEW at ravistailor.com?
ANNOUNCING
We would like to take this opportunity to announce the launch of our latest fabric collections
the HERITAGE GOLD for business and formal Suits and Shirts for Men and Women. These fabrics are being sourced from suppliers of top tier labels such as Dormieul, Holland and Sherry, Barberis, Canonnico, Reda among others in Europe and represent the best of the best in textiles avail...
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Traveling - Your Wardrobe : Packing-care And The Secrets Of Wrinkle-free Travel Part 2.
Packing the Garment Bag
Experiences travelers who favor garment bags use their compartmentalized arrangement to their advantage. They lay out each outfit beforehand with a dress shirt placed under each jacket and several ties hung on top of the slacks. Tissue is placed in the jacket sleeve and between the jacket and trouser. Each ensemble is encased by a plastic dry cleaning bag before it is hung in the garment bag. Folde...
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Update On Products And Services - August 2002.
Greetings from www.mycustomclothing.com
Firstly, we would like to thank all our clients for their very valuable patronage and we would like to thank our resellers for the constant support and encouragement we receive from them.
This encourages us to do even better and to surpass the already high standards of work we maintain.
Our clients and our resellers are the life blood of our business without whom, we would be no...
Or the highly acclaimed article on
Traveling - Your Wardrobe : Packing-care And The Secrets Of Wrinkle-free Travel Part 1.
The basic objective of packing a suitcase is to get as much in as small a space as possible, while managing to arrive at your destination relatively wrinkle-free. An under packed suitcase leaves too much room for clothes to shift and crunch. Conversely, an over packed one produces hard-to-remove creases. When carefully folded and arranged, the contents of a suitcase should snugly fill its interior with its weight distributed e...
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Custom Shirts.
Besides the individualization of its styling, the advantages of the custom-made dress shirt over one that is ready-to-wear can be found in its precise fit as well as the superior quality and taste of its fabrics. The most visible and important component of the dress shirt is its collar, and the bespoke process allows for one that is designed to best present the wearers face. The fit of the dress shirts cuff to the wearers h...
Or the highly acclaimed article on
Newsletter June 2002.
Greetings from www.ravistailor.com and welcome to our latest newsletter.
It has been some time since we last communicated with you and I hope you find this update useful and sartorially enlightening.
=========================================================
WHAT´S NEW at ravistailor.com?
NEW FABRICS
.we have added new chalk and pin stripes to our exclusive and deluxe collections. End-on-End p...
Great custom tailoring information can be found in
The Meaning Of Custom Tailoring.
CUSTOM TAILORING
With retailer cutting back their slower-turning stocks of tailored clothing to bolster their cash flow, more stores than ever before are offering made-to-order clothes. And given the reduced selections and available sizes, more men are testing these waters. Because the price of a better designer or European hand-tailored, off-the-peg suit has, in some instances, surpassed that of one custom-made, the...
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April Update And Newsletter.
Greetings from www.mycustomclothing.com and welcome to our latest newsletter.
It has been some time since we issued our last periodical aimed at keeping in touch with you, our patrons.
As I am sure, a lot of our regular customers would have noticed recently, over the last couple of months, we have had major restructurings and revampings of our website with the intention of making your experience with us even more satisfyi...
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The Custom Tailor Made Formal Wear.
If a mans suit ranks as the most articulate garment in the language of cloths, them his formal wear should guarantee sartorial eloquence. Due to the ritual surrounding the way it is worn and what accompanies it, formal wears original spirit has been relatively well preserved. The simple combination of richly textures black accented by fresh white contrasts bespeaks refinement. And so it is that this last vestige of upper...
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The Custom Tailor Made Dress Shirt.
THE DRESS SHIRT COLLAR
When purchasing a dress shirt that is, one intended to be worn with a necktie consider its collar first. Regardless of whether the shirt appears to go perfectly with your new suits, or is meticulously crafted with vast numbers of stitches to the inch, or even woven in the Caribbeans most lustrous sea island cotton, if its high-banded collar looks at if it might swallow up your neck or its diminutiv...
Great custom tailoring information can be found in
Shopping And The Body Type For Mens Suits And Shirts.
TALL MEN - The taller the tree, the broader its branches, so the tall man needs fuller cut clothes for balance and style. The selections should de-emphasize length by breaking up the vertical lines.
Jackets
1. Sloping shoulders of generous width.
2. Coat should be cut on the longer side.
3. Double-breasted model that buttons on waist, not below it, such as the 6/2 placement.
4. Two-button single-breasted.
5. Broade...
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Shopping And The Body Type 2 - Short, Small Sizes For Men.
SHORT, HEAVY MEN - Clothes should also elongate but work to de-emphasize breadth.
Jackets
1. Straighter-cut coat.
2. Two-button single-breasted better than three-button or double-breasted.
3. Besom pocket over flap.
4. Side vent over on vents.
5. Sleeves need to taper down to cuff, cannot be too wide at hand.
6. Fabrics should be dark and smooth, such as fine worsteds.
7. Dark solids, medium-width striping,...
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Shopping And The Body Type - Small, Slim, Short, Men.
Whether short or tall, portly or slim, a man needs to shop for his clothing with his individual physique in mind. Since most people aspire to look like some idealized version of themselves, selecting clothes based on a particular body type is as old as fashion itself. Whereas I believe that familiarity with the geometric principles that downplay girth or emphasize height or breadth is helpful, such information should be viewed ...
