Q With a few more dollars in my paycheck, a little less room in my closet, and something you wrote a while back, I am thinking of taking some of my winter clothes to the dry cleaner for storage. I wonder if it makes sense to even keep some sweaters, as three of them are becoming worn in the elbows and/or wrists. They are good cashmere sweaters. Can they be salvaged?
A Nobody wants to get rid of a much-loved garment. A comfortable old cashmere sweater has become a friend; it makes sense to do what we can to keep it alive. While you may not want to wear it to your high school reunion, for most sweater-wearing events it can be made to look totally presentable.
We all know that leather elbow patches are useful for salvaging and restoring aging blazers and sports jackets. But a lot of people do not know that the same solution works for bringing favorite old sweaters back to life. Fine tailors -- either those in custom tailor shops or in well-established dry cleaning shops -- can apply leather or suede elbow patches to sweaters that are beginning to show signs of wear or that actually have developed a hole at the elbow.
And, if the hole is small enough, here is another possibility: Often high quality new sweaters come with a small packet attached that includes a tiny piece of the yarn that was used to knit the sweater in the first place. If you received one of those when you bought your sweater and know where you put it, bring it to the tailor. It would certainly help him mend the sweater by using your exactly matching piece of yarn. And even without this perfect match, most experienced tailors can come close enough. A good mending job barely shows at all and will not detract from wearability of your sweater.
On the other hand, if a sweater is going at the wrists, it may or may not be able to be repaired so the repair does not show. Ask the tailor if he thinks he can do it. Other garments, such as suit jackets, with holes in noticeable locations may require expensive re-weaving, and may not be worth the expense.
Once a shirt sleeve elbow goes about all you can do is to have it made into a short-sleeved shirt and ONLY use it in casual settings. Trousers with knee wear are done, but a worn hem cuff may have an option of shortening the length a half inch.
As to your thoughts about seasonal storage, this is often a wise solution, particularly when closet space at home is at a premium. And now is the perfect time of year to do it. Many better dry cleaners offer storage service free, as part of their cleaning service. In other words, if you take a garment to a fine dry cleaning establishment, where they charge $10 or more to clean a man's cashmere sweater, often they will also store your sweater over the warm weather months without any additional charge. Less upscale cleaners don't charge as much to clean the garment, but usually charge a fee to store it. Personally, I am always willing to spend a few dollars more for more careful and knowledgeable stain removal and more professional cleaning. The only drawback to storing garments is that when you want to retrieve them in the fall, you must remember to ask for them a week or so before you want to pick them up.
Above all, never put clothes away in your home for the summer months without first removing any stains. Moths, silverfish and other wool/cashmere eating critters zero in on stained spots first and create new holes. Once that happens, covering your sweater with various tiny leather patches won't really work!
And maybe, just maybe, it's time to treat yourself to a brand new sweater!
Please send men's dress and grooming questions to Male Call:
Lois.Fenton@prodigy.net
High Profile on 04/29/2018