Often times missionaries find that their clothing wears out faster than normal. Today we’re sharing all of our best tips to help you keep your suits, pants, shirts, and ties in celestial condition:
SUITS
- Always hand wash your suit coat and pants when not in use.
- Do not overload your suit pockets (watch those thick wallets!)
- Do not leave items in your suit pockets while your suits are hanging. This teaches the fabric to bulge and stretch.
- Keep suits and slacks pressed and free of lint. Remove and dust before hanging your suit.
- Never use a hot iron on synthetic fabric
- Suit pants have a longer rise and should not be worn low on the hips as you would a pair of jeans. This will cause stress on the crotch area, which may lead to unexpected tears.
- Do not have your suit dry cleaned any more than necessary. Dry cleaning is harsh on fabrics, especially on fusing and padding. Always dry clean your pants and coat at the same time.
- Rotate your shoulder bag from one shoulder to the other to create even wear on the shoulders.
- PUSH instead of pulling buttons on suits, slacks and shirts.
PANTS
- When hanging pants, keep the seams flat together and turn the fastener inward. Do not hang slacks when they are fastened or zipped
- If you get a snag in your pants that create a pucker, gently pull on each end of the pucker to smooth the fabric. Push any loose thread through the underside. You can also use a toothpick or needle. Gentle steaming will also help.
- The most common wear area for missionaries is through the pockets and side seams of pants.
- Wash your dress pants weekly. Remember to use a ward iron to remove wrinkles and give your pants a nice crease in the front.
SHIRTS
- Have enough shirts to wear a clean shirt every day.
- In warm/hot climates, you may need to change shirts in the middle of the day. You will wear dress shirts 730 days, for 14 hours a day. Most manufacturers say you should get 50 washings out of a shirt. Expect to lose a few shirts. You will typically go through 14-15 shirts.
- Collar stays make the collar straight and stiff. If you have removable collar stays, always remove them before laundering.
TIES
- If a tie has 25% of the color you are trying to match, it will bring that color out in the suit.
- Carefully cut any loose threads on your tie. Pulling threads can cause damage.
- The knot on your tie should be proportional to the collar spread.
- Your tie length should just be long enough to “kiss” the waist of your pant.
- Be sure to hang your ties on a tie rack to allow the fabric to “relax”
- Silk ties do not do well in hot humid climates because colors tend to bleed. Polyester ties are typically easier to care for by hand washing or spot cleaning.
