what wears out on your suits?

[davestlouis]

I wear a suit 6, sometimes 7 days a week. What I find wearing on mine is as follows:
1. shiny seat in the pants
2. torn up lining in the jacket from pens and other effluvia
3. pilling/wear/misshapen area on the back of the collar

What areas do other posters find as their primary visible wear points? At what point do you retire a suit? What do you physically do with the suit at retirement? Pitch it, burn it, whatever?

 

[boushi_mania]

At my first job in Japan, I was required to wear a jacket and tie daily—the only one apart from the principal who dressed that way, I might add. (I think the people I worked for were under the assumption that overdressing for the occasion made us "professional", thus somehow making up for their lack of explanation as to what it was we were supposed to be doing.) I noticed after just a couple of months that the trousers were wearing out around the hem and the crotch. In fact, I suspect this is why suits are often sold with two pairs of slacks...

I eventually got too small for those suits, and since then have changed jobs (only wearing a suit on conference/assembly days, as the rest of the teachers do), so I haven't really been able to notice patterns of wear on my current one.

 

[Paisley]

The lining.

 

[davestlouis]

Keep in mind too that my jacket almost never comes off, for 10-12 hours a day, so it gets more wear than one that is on a hanger most of the day.

 

[MisterCairo]

The cuffs/hems of the trousers. I always ask for/add double cuffs to ensure greater longevity.

 

[Tailor Tom]

My thoughts...

Davestlouis,

One of the first things that come to mind is the suit itself, and its quality. How many suits do you have? What is their quality? How are they treated when worn and not? How often are they cleaned?

Overall quality is what I would look at first when it comes to the collar and lining problems you are experiencing. The simple rule is that cheaper suits use cheaper products…canvas, interfacings, collar flannel, pocketing, lining, etc. is all of a cheaper grade in a cheaper suit…that’s why the cost less.

I tend to think that many men need more suits. They over-work their clothing. The idea is simple, the more something is used, the faster it wears out. You need enough suits to rotate the collection so each has a resting period between wearing (why does a woman have 5 black skirts?). If you wear a suit 5 days a week, I recommend a minimum of 10 suits, so the fabric gets the rest is needs to recover. Most people tend to over-clean their clothes too. They have garments “cleaned” when it really just needs steam and pressing. The chemicals in cleaning are harsh, and can help to break down fibers prematurely. I usually recommend full cleaning only after 10 wearing or quarterly. Most items can be spot cleaned for small stains. And always clean items before storing them for the season.

Shiny pants seat: I would first look at the fit, and if you sit all day. If so, you might need more room in the seat. You could also ask your tailor to line the crotch/seat or get the pants fully lined. This will certainly help with the wear. It could be you just sit alot , and even small reshuffling in your chair done a thousand times can have an effect (if you were leaning against a wall all day that area would wear too). A second pair of trousers is an excellent idea to combat this and increase the life of your suit.

Lining and pockets: As I mentioned above…inferior lining could be a culprit and so could the pocketing itself, but so could the pen! Many pens, no matter the price, can have sharp edges. Even if you think it is minor, repeated sliding over the lining/fabric will cause wear. I personally use a Mont Blanc without a clip, to avoid that problem.

Where is the rest of the lining wearing and rubbing? Is it over your wallet? Opposite whatever you carry in your pockets? Armholes? Sleeves? I have had customers wear/rip the sleeve lining when they repeatedly wore a big watch. I have worn out the lining in one of my own coats in the hip area. It turned out to be from rubbing on the outside. I was carrying a shoulder bag all the time, and mostly on one shoulder, so the bag bumped/rubbed that hip area. The outside of the coat looked fine, the lining shredded in the area underneath. So, look at where it is being worn out and think about the cause. If you are old enough to remember the 80’s, many men carried a large comb in their back pocket; I had to repair/replace many coat linings from that trend.

Pilling could be from a shoulder strap or other similar common item.

For those out there with the pant hems/cuffs wearing…try having heal guards put in. This will help with wear.

Wow, this got long…hope it helps.

 

[Edward]

Great post, Tailor Tom. I agree entirely that much premature wearing out of suits can be put down to the 'one suit, worn often' phenomenon.

Trousers always wear out faster than (any kind of) tops o jackets for me.... the real point of wear being about half an inch to an inch from the very top of the inner thigh. On better quality suits, it's definitely worth getting an extra pair of trousers if you can, though I've also had cheaper suits in the past where by the time the trousers are no longer wearable the jacket also is past its best.

For the most part, if the trousers are gne in a suit, a lot depends on the jacket pattern. A plain jacket I might use as a sports jacket; something very obviously patterned as part of a suit may or may not work in that context.

 

[Selvaggio]

Yes, I experience trousers wearing out between the inner thighs also - no doubt due to my chunky thighs rubbing them as I walk. I think our humid, sweaty climate doesn't help either.

I have sometimes repaired/strengthened them in this area by having a tailor run a fine, arching pattern of zig-zag stitching through that area, but is there another way?

I have thought about half-lining the trousers, but I don't think it would be effective, because the issue is the wool-on-wool rubbing on the outside.

Untreated chunky-thigh syndrome has been responsible for sending a number of my prized, otherwise perfectly fine suits to an early grave.

Wallet-in-back-pocket syndrome can also be a problem, but it's more easily treated.

 

[davestlouis]

I have 8 suits in rotation, some are nicer than others. I buy all of mine at Goodwill, with the exception of a Jos. A. Bank that I bought perhaps 10 years ago, that is getting to the point where the seat of the pants is getting shiny and thin. I find myself sliding on and off chairs at work, because most are tall, almost like stools, and all have tweed fabric on them that my behind doesn't slide against too readily. Short of jumping into the chair and plopping into it, I don't see any way to avoid sliding. I have one that is fraying on the lapels, I can't fathom why that is happening, but it was not an expensive item to start with...it's one of my "rainy day" suits.