The final post about men's suits is about their care and handling. It was generally believed that having the suits dry cleaned ruined them. The best way was to have them "sponged and pressed." This meant dabbing at them with a wet sponge and then applying a hot iron over a damp cloth. It certainly revived any tired fibres. But the truth of the matter is that over time, and this could mean years, the suit took on all the pollution that was in London's air. Everybody smoked, including the wearer, there were coal fires and lots of exhaust fumes covering a suit every day it was worn. But having it dry cleaned seemed to knock the stuffing out of it. In truth all the pollutants were removed giving it an unaccustomed soft feel which men thought had altered it in some way.
One firm, University Tailors, had a business where they would call once a month, take away the suit, repair any small tears, replace any broken or missing buttons and care for it. I used them for a year and they certainly helped with my suits.
I wonder what they did to stay in business, when everybody opted to wear jeans every day?
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