When it comes to putting your best foot forward in the business world, having the right wardrobe is essential. Along with making a strong impression on everyone you work and interact with, a sharp appearance can help you hold your head up high as you strive to climb the corporate ladder, blank, or blank. Once you’ve invested in an assortment of pieces that are suited to your profession, it’s important to properly maintain them so that your attire stays in top condition for years to come. Check out these essential tips from the experts at OXXO Cleaners that Care to keep your professional wardrobe looking as good as new.
The Basics of Professional Wardrobe Care
The way that you care for your professional clothing matters. While it may be tempting to throw your blouses, trousers, and other pieces in the washer with the rest of your laundry, doing so could ruin their color, shape, or texture. Rather than treating your business clothes as you do more casual pieces, it’s worth taking the time to understand how they should be cleaned and maintained. Here are some simple tips that can help you extend the life of your professional wardrobe:
- Always read the care label of each piece to understand the best way to clean it.
- Sort clothes that are safe to wash at home into categories (whites, colors, and darks). This will prevent white pieces from becoming dingy and keep your colorful items bright.
- When in doubt about whether an item is safe to be put in the dryer, lay it out flat on a clean surface to dry.
- Use the lowest setting possible when ironing wrinkled clothes. Typically, synthetic materials should be ironed with a low temperature while natural fabrics, such as cotton and linen, can withstand a higher heat.
Suits: The Cornerstone of Professional Dressing
Nothing conveys professionalism and confidence quite like a good suit. Whether you recently purchased your first suit or your closet is filled with them, taking good care of your suits has many benefits. In addition to helping you look your best, a well-cared-for suit won’t need to be replaced any time soon, making it a great investment for your closet.
To get the most out of your suits, knowing how to properly store and clean them is a must. If you think that hanging them on a flimsy hanger is good enough, think again. Hangers that are thin with sharp edges could negatively impact the shape of your garments, particularly shirts. For this reason, it’s a good idea to stick with thick hangers that have rounded edges to protect the integrity of your shirts and jackets. Likewise, be sure to choose hangers that are the appropriate size for your clothing. This will provide adequate support for each piece so it maintains its shape over time.
Along with the right hangers, it’s important to provide plenty of space in your closet for your suits to hang without being pressed against other pieces. This will prevent them from becoming wrinkled. Covering them in breathable garment bags can also protect them from dust mites, moths, and moisture that could damage them.
While dry cleaning is certainly the best way to keep your suits clean and crisp, having your suits dry cleaned too frequently can cause them to wear down prematurely. Unless it becomes heavily soiled, it’s best to only have your suit dry cleaned twice a year, wearing them no more than two times a week to protect their fibers.
Keeping Dress Shirts and Blouses Pristine
Crisp dress shirts are a staple in any well-rounded professional wardrobe. Fortunately, keeping your business shirts and blouses in pristine condition is easier than you might think with a few practical tips, such as these:
- Separate your dress shirts by color, then remove any collar stays.
- If the care instructions allow, wash your shirts with a quality laundry detergent on the highest heat setting that the fabric will allow.
- Put them in the dryer just until the fabric is heated through, then place them on a hanger to finish drying and allow any wrinkles to fall.
Don’t feel like you must wash your dress shirts after each use. If the garment is free of marks and odors, you can wear it up to three times, being sure to iron out any wrinkles between uses. When stains do occur around the collar, cuffs, and armpits, pretreating them with an oxygen-based cleaner and soaking them in warm water before washing can help.
While many dress shirts claim to be wrinkle-resistant, ironing them after cleaning is the best way to help them look as polished as possible. To iron your dress shirts like a professional, be sure to slightly dampen wrinkled areas of the shirt with a water spritzer. Then, iron one section of the shirt at a time, using the lowest heat setting possible for its material, starting with the collar and upper back of the shirt, followed by the cuffs, sleeves, and front of the garment.
Skirts and Trousers: Ensuring a Polished Look
Just as dress shirts, trousers, and skirts should be cared for as their instruction label recommends. While some may be safe to wash and dry at home, others will require professional cleaning services to protect their integrity. This is especially true for pants and dresses with crisp pleats and creases.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you must have your trousers and skirts dry cleaned after each wear. To preserve the pleats in your skirts between trips to the cleaners, keep these tips in mind:
- While the skirt is laid flat on an ironing board, clip each pleat into place with a paperclip and press down.
- Set the iron to the highest temperature that the fabric will allow, then press it down the panels of the skirt starting from the waistband and working down. Repeat as necessary until the pleats have been set.
- Hang the skirt up right away and remove the paper clips.
Achieving a crisp crease in your trousers should be approached in a similar fashion. Simply, align the seams of the pant leg and fold where you’d like the crease to be, making sure the fabric is flat. Firmly the iron down at the top of the trousers and work your way down, misting the garment with steam or water as needed. For a particularly sharp result, spray a light layer of starch over the trousers before ironing.
The Care and Keeping of Dress Shoes
The shoes you pair with your business attire can make or break your overall look. To ensure that you put your best foot forward every time you step into the office, here’s what you need to know to properly care for your dress shoes:
- Waterproof leather and suede shoes with a spray-on conditioner at least once a month to protect them from rain and moisture.
- Protect and enhance the appearance of your leather dress shoes by polishing them with quality shoe polish once a month.
- Use a horsehair brush to remove debris from the surface of any shoe.
- Protect the heel of your shoes from breaking down by using a shoe horn to slip them on.
- Place a wooden shoe tree in dress shoes that aren’t being worn to maintain their shape.
- Avoid wearing the same shoes every day. Alternating the shoes you wear with your business attire will extend their life expectancy and keep them looking fresh for the long haul.
Accessories: Ties, Belts, and Bags
Accessories are the key to pulling your professional wardrobe together. Ties, belts, and bags can help you personalize and mix up the look of staple business pieces, creating a look that is chic and one-of-a-kind. Like the staple pieces of your closet, it’s important to thoughtfully care for your accessories to keep them looking their best. Here are some tips to help you get started:
- After your ties have been professionally cleaned and ironed, hang them on a tie rack in your closet or carefully roll them, being sure to arrange them in a way that won’t wrinkle them before their next use.
- Likewise, belts can be hung on a rack or rolled and stored in your dresser, depending on the space available.
- Store handbags and briefcases in a cool dark location, such as the top shelf of your closet, making sure that their shape is maintained.
Maintain Your Professional Wardrobe with OXXO Cleaners That Care
Building a well-rounded professional wardrobe is no small feat. Once you’ve invested in quality pieces that will help you look and feel your best when you step into the office, it’s important to maintain those pieces so that they can serve you well for years to come. Fortunately, the experienced team at OXXO Cleaners that Care is here to help make keeping your business pieces in tip-top shape simple. Whether you help remove a difficult stain, you have delicate pieces that can’t be safely cared for at home, or you’re looking for a convenient option to launder and press your clothing, we’re proud to offer the best in professional dry cleaning services. Visit us online to learn more about our dry cleaning pick up and delivery. We look forward to showing you how simple maintaining a polished professional wardrobe can be!
