Hello, proud owners of the 4-Season Suit Jacket.

If you're reading this, you're looking for advice on how to make your new friend last. Fair enough – here's what you need to know.

Not exactly breaking news: we all come in different shapes and sizes.

Height, weight, shoulder width, body type – we’re not all built like Leonardo's Vitruvian Man. Yet when making ready-to-wear clothing, we work with a single model that needs to fit all body types.

While we do our best to make our pieces work for as many people as possible, it's worth remembering we can't promise made-to-measure results, especially with a Suit Jacket.

So we recommend considering alterations if your prized possession isn't perfectly fitted at first try-on. Most tailors handle these common adjustments well and will help you make those final tweaks. For example:

• Sleeve length. These can be lengthened or shortened as needed – that's why we've left the buttonholes closed. The cost? Rarely more than 40€.
• Jacket length. If you feel it sits too low on your behind, your jacket can be shortened. It's a fairly simple job, but will set you back around 30€.
• Taking in or letting out. To accentuate your waist or give yourself a bit more room, your tailor can adjust the fit for about 20-something euros. You don't need to visit the finest tailor in the country, but this does require some expertise – be discerning about the quality of your tailor and don't hesitate to ask for references before diving in headfirst.

How long your 4-Season Jacket lasts depends somewhat on how you use it and greatly on how you care for it. The golden rule here is simple: put it on a hanger whenever it's not on your shoulders, and vice versa. To minimise creases and maintain its shape, this is the only way to go.

For stains, quick action is best: some lukewarm water with gentle natural soap should tackle most of them if you act fast.

You probably know this already: suits are too delicate for machine washing. When your Fresco® wool Jacket needs freshening up, we recommend taking it to the dry cleaner. Ask for dry cleaning to restore its lustre. It'll cost you about 15€, but it's definitely the safest option.

PS: to prevent the colours developing different tones over time, we strongly recommend taking your entire suit to the cleaner, keeping the Jacket and Trousers together.

One last friendly tip: check the condition of your clothes in the shop after the service. If you leave the premises, you're effectively "accepting" any potential damage caused during cleaning, and repairs will be at your expense. If you spot damage while still at the dry cleaner's, it becomes their responsibility.

Since 1 January 2024, the New French environmental legislation known as The AGEC Law stipulates transparency from our lot in the fashion industry so that you can make an informed purchase. As you can imagine, this is something that we fully support at Asphalte. So here's some additional information about our 4-Season-Suit Jackets:

• They’re 100% recyclable after being dismantled, which means that the day their services are no longer required every component can be fully recycled. If you stop wearing yours for whatever reason, you might want to consider making someone else happy by passing it on to a friend, family member or donating it to a charity. The best way of reducing an item of clothing’s impact is by keeping it in circulation, and only recycling it when there really is no life or use left in it.
• Unlike many garments that release microplastics during washing, our 4-Season-Suit Jackets have been designed not to do so. Plastic microfibres are tiny particles of plastic that have a negative impact on aquatic and land ecosystems.
• They do not contain any hazardous materials. They’re manufactured in compliance with strict standards aimed at eliminating the use of harmful substances and other chemical nasties.
• They do not contain any recycled materials. We try and incorporate recycled materials whenever we can, unfortunately, it hasn’t been possible to do so with the 4-Season-Suit Jacket.

So there you have it, you now know everything there is to know about looking after your 4-Season-Suit Jacket. With these few care tips, yours should last you a good many years.

We'll be back in touch in a couple of weeks to see how you're getting on.

Until then, if we've missed something or you have any questions hit us here support@asphalte.com or on our Insta.

The Asphalte Team