Care of Clothes

From abc of men’s fashion by hardy amies

First and foremost, let your clothes rest and revive. Do not wear a suit or shoes two days running. Both cloth and leather need time to breathe. I am preaching economy, not extravagance- you must surely have two working suits in this day and age, so at least you can alternate.

Remember that every time you sit down you are ironing your suit in all the wrong places. Try even to change for the evening so that your suit does not have to work a full day. Take everything out of the pockets- you should not overload them in any case. Brush it, put it on a hanger, and hang the trousers by the bottoms if you can. Let it sleep for twenty-four hours.

Have it cleaned at least twice a year. Better still, get  it sponged and pressed once a month, unless you have actually spilt soup down it. If you press your own suit, do not put it on immediately, or you will simply put the creases straight back. Cloth needs a few hours to dry after pressing.

Keep shoes polished and on shoe trees, even if you are not using them. They need polish to preserve the leather as well as to look nice. Watch the soles for wear, and have them repaired when they get thin, not when they actually spring a hole.

Own as many hangers and shoe trees as you have garments and shoes to put on them. They will save you money in the long run.

New York City

I spent a week in New York earlier this month, and while there was all the predictable gloom and doom, it was spring, and fun and interesting things were happening all over the place, as they always do.

Le Veau D’or

This is a famously obscure (or so I’m told) Upper East Side French restaurant a friend took me to, with a barely renovated 1960s dining room and a menu to match. The bottom two photos are from a google image search and far more representative of the scene there than any of my photos… I’m sure the very friendly staff there would appreciate your patronage.

The Smile

The Smile is a very cute new store / tattoo parlour and cafe off the Bowery. If it tells you anything about the shop, I bought some candles, a vintage lightbulb, a fancy new dog collar for Waffles, and a bag of yarn with knitting needles and a pattern for Brandice. If it weren’t such a beautiful spring day out, I would have stayed for an espresso.

The New Generation

I also had a chance to visit the New Museum, which I suppose is not so new anymore, but since I left New York almost five years ago, it’s new to me. There was an exhibition on of artists all under the age of 33. I’m not always a video art fan, but the installation by Ryan Trecartin certainly kept my attention. Here’s a similarly not so new article from The New York Times, and here’s his youtube page. I’m sure he would also appreciate your patronage.