If you are regularly dry-cleaning your suits, you’re assaulting them with various chemicals which damage the fabric's fibers. When this happens, the overall appearance of quality and the longevity of your suit is greatly reduced.  If you invested money into a fine garment, spend a few dollars more to preserve it with the following:

1. Use a horse hair brush to give the suit a quick once over every so often.

2. Use a hand steamer to get out any particle-based stains and remove any wrinkles.

3. Use quality coat hangers which will help protect your jackets shoulders and allow your garment to drape correctly to maintain its correct shape.

.4. Do not wear the same suit two days in a row. This will allow your garment to air out and retake its shape.

Depending on who you ask, there are differing opinions on how best to store silk neckties. The most popular method being hanging from a designated tie rack.  While this is the most convenient method, you pay a price for this convenience in the long run. This method has failed me and innumerable others who walk around wearing distorted and puckered shaped high-end, brand name ties.

The good news is that you can have these pricey silk ties repaired. Tie Crafters of New York is my go-to spot for resolving these issues. They have a simple mail-in process which you can learn more about here: (http://tiecrafters.com/). If you live in NYC, don't waste your time trying to find their physical location as the storefront isn’t marked and usually ends in a frustrating game of chase the dog’s tail.

I reached out to Steffano Ricci, maker of luxury hand printed ties which cost several hundred a pop and asked them what they recommend for storage. According to their Park Ave in house tie expert, the trick to preserving your fine neck-wear is to roll them up backwards! Storing them in this reversed fashion helps to keep them intact and ready-to-rock pucker free.

Yes, yes and yes! When building a custom menswear wardrobe, it is essential to invest in a classic tweed piece. When wearing tweed, a gentleman immediately connotes sophistication and timeless elegance. The benefit of a tweed is also in its durability and long lasting wear. It is not uncommon that a piece can be handed down through generations from fathers to sons and so forth. With the flattering cut of a custom jacket or suit, you need not work about looking like a dated Sherlock Holmes!

We all love getting the most out of our investments which is why the all season suit fabric is reigning king in the world of textiles. However, as one builds a wardrobe they should not shy away from a heavier weight fabric and consider making the investment for the following reasons:

1.  The heavier weight provides a better drape and more structure - decreasing wrinkles and making the suit appear cleaner and more professional.

2. A heavy weight tweed or flannel will allow you to forgo throwing on a topcoat for a little longer this winter season.

3. They last longer than the lighter all season fabrics. Walk into any vintage clothing shop and it’s not surprising their racks are filled with tweed and corduroy garments from a bygone era.

4. They travel better. If you are on go often, you want a robust fabric that will not wrinkle often and when it does takes little effort to un-wrinkle by placing it near a hot shower.

5. They are dynamic. You can wear a tweed or corduroy suit to work and then loose the jacket and add a sweater for your evening attire. Heading for the plane, you can lose the trousers and match your jacket with a wealth of options. 

Back when jackets still closed at the top, the boutonniere was a functioning buttonhole. Its purpose was to allow closing your jacket all the way up in cold weather. Believed to have originated in Italy and then made popular by Italian tailors who relocated to France.

Nowadays only few tailors are able to make such impeccable buttonholes since they are challenge to properly execute on. Milanese buttonholes require extra labor and a higher cost making them rarely seen these days. The offering of a Milanese buttonhole is something only a quality tailor can provide. Where machine made buttonholes have the lapel buttonhole stitched by machine and cut afterwards, the Milanese must be cut first and then carefully hand-stitched after. It involves a piece of thread called a “gimp” which is hand-stitched to surround the buttonhole.