Care Guide for the Fresco Suit

Congrats on your breezy new, summer-ready, Fresco Suit. We thought it’d only be fair to share a few tips on how to get the most out of it, from alterations to cleaning.

Happy reading, we hope it's helpful.

The chances of any suit being the perfect fit right off the peg are slim to none. We strongly advise you take your Fresco Suit to an alterations specialist, before letting it loose on party season.

The only alteration that’ll be a dead cert on your to-do list is taking up the trouser hem. Any other tweaks’ll be icing on the cake. Nothing feels better than a perfect fit. You won’t regret it.

It’s well worth getting in with an alteration specialist in your neighbourhood. If you’re in London, we’d recommend Shahid, he’s our number one guy. If you’ve got your own recommendations, please let us know. And, as with most interesting things, the 'never judge a book by its cover' rule stands here. Some of the best tailors shops we know look a little ‘untidy’, shall we say.

The Trousers:

Your trousers will arrive unhemmed, measuring 92cm. We’ve made them nice and long so you can decide whether you want a cuff or not. The Italians like to go big, with 5cm cuffs, but we’d recommend 4cm... if you’re a cuff-inclined type.

If the waist is nice and snug, but the trouser legs don't fit perfectly, take them in or let them out around the thigh. This is a pretty straight-forward alteration your new best mate can make in a flash.

The Jacket:

For the jacket, several things can be easily altered:

• You can take in or let out the length of the sleeves, if needed. We’ve made the sleeves easy to alter by not opening the buttonholes. That tweak also cut production costs, which ultimately saved you a little dosh. Good, right?
• You can take up the length of the jacket. We'd recommend keeping the jacket just long enough to cover your seat, and yes - that's your arse. Any shorter and you’ll look like a 50s rocker, much longer’s a bit old-fashioned.

Altering the chest fit:

• The jacket’s fit is very important. If the jacket fits well at the shoulders but is slightly too snug or too wide at the chest, this can be altered. This is the most complicated of the alterations that we'd recommend, so make sure your suits in good hands for this one.

Remember, that old saying: ‘clothes make the man’, doesn’t always apply to good tailors. Judge your alterations guy by the work, not the outfit. You've been warned.

Hopefully needless to say: always put your suit and trousers back on their hanger after wearing them. This isn’t your Sunday league kit, after all, time to get into good habits.

Putting your suit back on the hanger keeps the jacket's shoulders from losing their shape, the trousers from creasing and the front pleats disappearing. The Fresco Suit will be far happier hanging up than slumming it over a chair back.

If the jacket or trousers get creased, the first step is to leave them on their hanger for between 24 and 48 hours to give the fabric a chance to spring back to shape on its own. If that doesn’t sort things out, then iron the jacket or the trousers using the silk setting - 110°C tops. Iron your suit very, very carefully; it's more about the steam coming into contact with the fabric than that hot metal getting in on the action. Avoid the padded parts of the jacket, like the shoulders.

Remove any marks on your suit with a little warm water and some natural soap. A mild shampoo will also do. Never use hot water. Wool doesn’t like hot water.

Last but not least, you’ll see we gave you a few extra buttons for your jacket and trousers, just in case you lose one... or two.

If the jacket and trousers are really creased or seriously stained, take them to a dry cleaner you trust.

Friendly tip: remember to check your clothes when you pick them up from the dry cleaner’s. That way any damage you spot will be on them, not you. Once you've left the building it'll be more difficult to prove and you'll probably have to pay for repairing any damage yourself.

So, there it is. You now know everything about how to alter and look after your Fresco Suit. And, remember, apart from hemming the trousers, all other alterations are lovely bonuses... A perfectly fitted suit’s hard to beat, but don't feel pressured.

We know this suit’s pretty comfortable, but remember to give it a break now and then. It’ll benefit from an occasional breather. And the occasional dry clean, of course.

We'll be back in touch in a couple of weeks to see how you're getting on. If you have any comments in the meantime please do share them, minor or major, positive or negative. Just get in touch: support@asphalte.com

Thanks again,

The Asphalte Team