Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
Today, we discuss 15 life hacks for gentlemen or specifically, 15 men's style hacks.
Style hack number 1: Wash your dress shirts in a delicates bag.
When you wash your dress shirts a lot, you oftentimes see that you have a fraying collar
or cuff.
Now if you wash your dress shirts in a delicates bag, you'll get a lot more wear out of your
shirts because the edges don't fray as easily.
The delicates bag acts a barrier between your shirt and the washing machine and therefore,
the edges wear less.
Now, don't stuff your bag through the brim otherwise, your shirts won't get clean.
Add 2-3 shirts maximum per bag.
Number 2: Store your underwear or t-shirts vertically, not horizontally.
Now, it's easy just to toss your underwear and t-shirts into your drawer flat because
it's easy.
However, that way you only see what's on top.
Instead, if you fold your t-shirts or your underwear and put them in vertically, A. you
get more to your drawer and B. you see exactly what you have.
So when you fold your t-shirt, make sure it's shorter than the height of your drawer so
it'd fit right in there.
3: Use your hangers to see what you actually wear and don't wear.
To start, it could be your shirt hangers or suit hangers, and you have to align them,
so all face the same way.
Now, whenever you wear something, you simply turn it around and if, after one year, you
still have hangers hanging that way, take the clothes out, donate them or give them
to someone in need.
If you don't wear them for a year, chances are, they have to go.
Of course, if you have formal attires such as a morning coat, or a tailcoat, maybe a
tuxedo, that you don't wear that often, you should not throw that away.
In those cases, make sure those are stored properly for the long term in a clothes bag
that protects it from dust.
Number 4: Dry your fine, delicate sweater in a salad spinner.
If you have fine cashmere sweaters, they must not go into a dryer.
Instead, take your hand washed sweater, put it in your salad spinner and then spin it
dry.
Once you're done, remove the water.
Repeat the cycle, and then take the garment out, lay it flat on a towel, so it doesn't
stretch while hanging and let it air dry, that way it'll stay in shape, and you will
be able to enjoy your sweaters for years to come.
5: Iron the inside of your shirt placket from the back first and then from the front.
Sometimes, shirt plackets can be quite wrinkly if you just iron them from the front side,
they will just remain wrinkly and won't look as nice.
To prevent that, start from the back side first, iron all the way over it and then flip
it over and iron just between the buttons.
Make sure you use pressing motions especially if you have a check or a striped shirt.
Otherwise, you have a placket that is wavy.
6: If you want a new way or some inspiration to wear a garment that you already have, simply
go to Instagram and search for hashtags.
For example, you can use #chelseaboots, #navyblazer, or #greyflannel.
If you can't find good inspiration that way, go to google images and type in the words
like Chelsea boots, Balmoral boots, or red pants.
That way, you'll find exactly what you want and sometimes, the outfits may not be as sophisticated,
but in other times, they really have great combinations that you probably didn't think
of yourself.
Another great way to learn how to put together great outfits is by checking out our Gentleman
of the golden age eBook, here.
7: Fix stuck zippers with either a candle or bar soap.
We all had zippers that are stuck sometimes simply because they're not smooth enough.
Now, there are a number of ways you can change that.
First, you can rub some candle wax on the zipper like so.
Make sure to cover all parts.
If you use a white candle on a dark garment, you may see some wax, simply blow it off.
It's important not to use something dark like graphite because it can actually stain your
garments.If you have white pants, you definitely want to use white wax.
If you don't have any candles or tea light, you can also use bar soap.
That will have the same effect, and it literally greases the zipper.
Basically, you just apply it on one side and then from the other side, and you do that
with both sides, get rid of all the residue then you simply zip the zipper.
8: Use rubbing alcohol or a hairspray to remove pen stains.
We've all had a pen that has come undone and just created little marks on our shirts.
If you find your dress shirts with pen stains, simply use hair spray as a pre-treatment,
let it sit for about five minutes and then put it in your regular wash cycle.
9: When you're traveling, add a dryer sheet or a piece of bar soap to your dirty laundry,
so it will always remain fresh.
When you're travelling for a week or longer, and you have to have your laundry together
with your new laundry in the same suitcase, you really don't want the smell to take over
everything you have therefore, you need a bar soap with fragrance or a dryer sheet and
you'll see everything will come out smelling nice and fresh.
10: Use a paper towel holder core to prevent wrinkles in your pants.
If you can't afford really nice suit hangers with a thick trouser bar and you have to take
what you get from the dry cleaner or if you have these kinds of space saving hangers which
are quite thin, you may see creases in trousers especially if the fabric is very thin.
Simply take a paper towel holder core, cut it open lengthwise, then take your hanger,
put in on there and make sure the cut side faces down.
If you want, you can use a piece of tape and glue it on there, but the shape you'll get
will prevent your pants from wrinkling because now it's nice and round.
11: Add a tie dimple to your ties to create a three-dimensional texture.
That creates visual interest and a tie knot that pops out and makes you look very dapper
and debonair.
To learn how you can create a dimple that stays in there every single time you tie it,
please check out this video here.
You want the dimple because, without it, it looks limp and lifeless.
12: Avoid drying your dress shirts and other cotton garments at all costs.
If you dry your shirt in a dryer, the interlining will come loose, and it will create ugly bubbles
that look very cheap, and you have to get rid of your shirt because you can't repair
that.
If you machine wash your shirts, put it in a higher spin circle that way, you'll get
rid more of the water.
Once the wash cycle is done, you take the shirt out, you either air dry it on a hanger,
and you shake it out or you simply iron it right away, that way, you have no wrinkles
because the moist shirt will create a nice steam and all the wrinkles disappear.
That being said, it will take longer if you have a weak iron and it will also use more
energy.
13: Use a dryer sheet to remove deodorant marks on your shirt.
We've all experienced it.
You're in a hurry, you put on deodorant, you put on your shirt, and it's a little darker
and all of a sudden you see these ugly deodorant stains.
That's when you want a dryer sheet.
Simply take the dryer sheet and rub on them.
Voila!
It smells good too.
Now, if you want to get rid of those yellow deodorant stains that settle after several
washes, please check out our full-fledged guide here where we send you to a solution
for that.
14: Ironing your shirts wet if you don't have a steam iron.
We've all been in a hotel room where you just have those cheap irons without any steam,
and if you try to iron a dress shirt without any kind of steam the wrinkles will not really
come out, and it just looks like a shirt that wasn't properly ironed.
In that case, simply take your shirt, make it a little wet, just touch it in spots and
put it in a plastic bag, let it sit for about 20 minutes.
That way, the moisture is spread out evenly, and you can start ironing it.
Because of the heat in the iron, the water will evaporate, create steam, and you'll get
a wrinkle free shirt.
15: Use moth balls the right way.
If you're a clothes person like me, moths are your number one enemy.
Throwing mothballs just in your closet simply is not enough because it cannot create the
desired concentration necessary to keep the moths away.
Instead, you need a container.
Something like this, it needs to have a lid that closes thoroughly so it's not airtight
but it basically can help the moth balls actually work.
Bonus tip number 16: Making sure moths don't enter your closet in the first place.
Personally, I love vintage clothes, and whenever I find a bargain, I don't just put it in my
closet because even though it might have cost just five bucks, it can ruin my entire wardrobe.
Basically, I take the garment, put it in a plastic bag and place it in the freezer.
I leave it there for about 24 hours, I take it out, get it to room temperature, and let
it sit there until it warms up again.
Once it's warm, I put it back in the freezer, in the plastic bag, and I redo the procedure
and take it out after a day.
Moths are actually killed by the difference of cold temperature and the room temperature,
and once I've done that, I can put it safely into my closet and sleep well at night not
having to worry about the moths getting holes into my precious clothes.
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