Garment Care

Machine washing your suit will end in tears from us both.

Laundering

Dry clean only as you need.

All E Nolan made-to-measure pieces are dry clean only. It is best to use small reputable dry cleaners with a premium service. Limit your dry cleaning to once or twice a year as a refresh. Ensure that your dry cleaner is pressing your suit with an iron guard and or replacing their ironing pads so as to not cause your suit to turn ‘shiny’ or damage the chest canvas. Always ask for your suit buttons to be covered/wrapt in foil as they can become brittle and crack if overexposed to the chemicals in dry cleaning. Between dry clean visits, a steam is sufficient to freshening up your garments. A good steamer isn’t cheap, but it’s a worthwhile investment. Steaming your suit is a delicate method of removing wrinkles and odours and won’t damage the fibres. Avoid using a regular iron to press your suits as the high temperature may cause damage. Also avoid steaming the chest area, which may disrupt the shape of the internal canvas.

Dry cleaning can involve harsh chemicals which can try out wool, linen and cotton over time, causing bubbling of the natural fibres. Any food, grog or oil stains should be acted on as soon as possible as stains can set and be difficult to remove. If your suit smells of smoke or food, hanging it outside for a couple of hours should be enough to freshen it up. However, if you have a mishap, such as a stain from food particles, don’t panic - most stains and marks will come out with a simple spot clean, dabbing water and do not always require a trip to the dry cleaners. Spot clean with water and a clean cloth.

I want to recommend Eporo Dry Cleaner in Brunswick East. Carlos is my go-to for dry cleaning. They use an eco-friendly solvent for their wet and dry cleaning service. This thoroughly cleans your garments, without putting stress on the fabric.

Go eco-friendly where possible; it is better for your garment and the environment.

Discolouration at the armpits

It’s Wear, Don't Despair

Underarm flaps are made of lining and are to protect the cloth from sweat damage. Depending on the deodorant of choice, the aluminium that is turning your white t-shirts yellow can also cause discolouration from perspiration to the underarm flap. Your underarm flap can be easily replaced and avoid damaging your jacket.

Garment storage

Your suit needs rest, too.

When your suit is sleeping, store your jacket hanging on the hanger provided as it best supports the chest canvas, shoulder and armscye (the fabric edge to which the sleeve is sewn). Hanging your trousers correctly is important to avoid damaging the structure of the waistband (to avoid clip marks making a waistband shiny or indented.) Hang with the fly undone, half fold the trouser over the velvet bar of a hanger, matching the pressing lines on the front.

pressing, steaming & ironing

YOUR MADE-TO-MEASURE GARMENT DOES REQUIRE PRESSING IN-BETWEEN WEARS

correct hangers

It has been very difficult to find suit or coat hangers that are appropriate for the shoulder width of women. Gender bias is rife in product development of everyday items (read Invisible Women), and the majority of coat hangers made generally are designed to the average male shoulder width. A suit jacket has a carefully formed shoulder comprised of several materials. The hanger has to be wide enough to support the width of the shoulders without exceeding to the bicep to distribute the jacket’s weight and if the hanger is too wide it will force the bicep to stick out, damaging the shoulder pad and sleeve. If you opt for a wire or a hanger without the means to support the width of the shoulder, a crease will form as the weight of the jacket indents at the shoulder point. At E Nolan we have custom recycled plastic hangers made to the average width of my clients, this is about 3-4 cm narrower than the rest of the market.

wear, tear, repair

Em prefers to operate on her own children

We are very proud of our pattern and of our clothing. We welcome garment mending should you require it. We have specifically created your pattern from scratch so we know the seam allowance and alterations possible. On our trousers we have a Smoking Split at the centre back seam of the waistband. This is a detail we have pinched from menswear - it is for the means of comfort and protection of the cloth. It allows more flexibility as you move or sit. This detail can come apart with wear and it is an easy repair.

Our garments are hand sewn and use a tack stitching that may need repair with wear. Our buttons are attached with long thread and can over time become tired and on double breasted jackets, the internal ‘jigger’ button may also need repairing due to tension. Best to repair/mend as soon as you can so you can get your suit back in rotation in the wardrobe. We can mend and make any alterations for you. We do require garments to be dry cleaned before we commence any alterations so please arrange for this before booking an alterations appointment.