How often should gentlemans suits be dry cleaned?

Question

I would like to know the optimum time-frame in which mens suits should be dry cleaned. So from having a freshly-cleaned suit to returning it again:

- How many times should I wear it?
- What 'condition' should it be in before being returned?

As it happens, I have a large collection of suits, and it's proving quite costly to maintain them all continously! So I don't want to be taking them down to be dry cleaned unnecessarily.

I'm trying to strike a good cyclic balance - keeping them in constant pristine condition; but without unnecessary visits to the dry cleaners.

Any recommendations would be appreciated!

Answer 1

It depends on the environment in which you wear it and whether you sweat a lot whilst in it. I suspect that you wear the trousers more than the jacket, most guys take their jackets off for long periods during the day, in which case I'd get the trousers cleaned more regularly, every 4or 5 wearings, but the jacket could be left for about twice as long. Particularly if its aired. Hang it outside in a good breeze when you get the chance. Of course if you have bought 2 pairs of trousers to go with each suit jacket then take them all together once you've reached the limit on both pairs of trousers.
Realise that this doen't read very easily, so I hope you get my drift!

Answer 2

There really can't be any hard and fast rule for this. It all depends on the wearer (sweat much?), ambient conditions such as temperature, humidity and what the suit itself has been subjected to when last worn...e.g. was it worn "all day", while at work for instance, or on a long flight; was it worn in a restaurant where it might now carry some undesirable restaurant aromas?

Just be sure you have at least one or two freshly cleaned suits available, protected from dust with a plastic cover, for those business meetings or gatherings where a first impression is most important.
For more "casual" meetings, a suit worn once or twice before can usually suffice.
I can always tell that a suit needs to make a trip to the dry cleaners just by the way it hangs in the closet or certainly how it feels after I put it on.

Answer 3

As long as they are stored well, they sgould not need cleaning more than every third or fourth use. If you wear a suit all day, it can get a bit "dirtier: or more rumpled and need to be cleaned. You can also steam press rumples out and save cleaning for when they actually are dirty.

Answer 4

It depends..