Sport and Suit Jackets
Jackets are easy to inspect because they can be spread out on the counter and typically do not have too many wrinkles. However, jackets do take a lot of abuse during wear, so be thorough during inspection. Stains are a challenge, but the real focus is on good pressing and keeping the buttons in good shape. Like blouses, jackets come in many fabrics – especially women’s – and can cost thousands of dollars.
INSPECTION
The “hot spots” for jackets are the lapel and collar, the back collar felt (under the collar), spills and deluster, lots of broken and missing buttons, holes in pockets, moth holes, fabric shine and seam impressions, and loose hems and stitching.
Top to Bottom …
Lay the jacket on its back. Start at the collar, feel the shoulders for lumpy pads, go down the front – both sides, touching the buttons to see if they are loose – follow the left shoulder and down the left sleeve, then flip the cuff to check the cuff buttons. Do the same on the right side. Open the jacket and look at the inside lining for fraying and needed sewing at the hem and underarms, check the inside pockets for holes. Then flip over the jacket to check the back, with special attention to the upper back and back collar felt area.
Stains
Stain Identification:
Stains on jackets run the gambit, from spills and delustered areas to underarm rings – on the fabric and the inside lining – to lipstick and ink swipes. Ink swipes can be a real challenge on silk, acetate and most khaki and cotton jackets. You’ll also see dots of hairspray and hair products on the shoulders, coffee spills from “sipping” when driving, occasional dye transfer on the shoulder from a leather shoulder bag, and many small yellow and brown spots on knits and light-colored fabrics.
When a light-colored fabric has a lot of little stains, they add up to a lot of extra time in spotting and re-cleaning.
Most water-based stains such as soda, coffee, milk and perspiration have an outline around the outside of the stain. Most oil-based stains are absorbed into the material and do not have an outline around the outside, however, some may be absorbed and can look like a cross.
Men’s lightweight khaki suit jackets can present many stain-removal challenges. I’ve seen perspiration stains inside the elbows, and some heavy soil at the collar. Tan and olive khaki fabric shows every little stain.
Pressing Quality, Shine & Impressions
Fabric shine can come from wear and from poor pressing. The elbows can shine from rubbing on the top of a desk at work and the upper back can shine from rubbing against chairs and car seats.
Many drycleaners do not “soft press” delicate fabrics, causing low-grade shine to appear on lapels, collar tips, pocket flaps, hems and on all double-thick seams. Gabardine, acetate, silk and polished cotton tend to show shine more than fabrics with texture. All of these conditions can be improved by carefully steaming and brushing the fabric, but should still be mentioned as pre-existing conditions on the ticket.
Lapels: Single and Double-Breasted Jackets
In most cases, lapels should be rolled to roughly one inch above the top button. Men that wear their jackets open – opposed to buttoned – often have a problem with this because the fabric memory trains the lapel to roll past the top button. This condition is usually fixed during pressing, but it’s worth noting on the ticket for extreme cases. Double breasted jackets that are worn open can suffer from this same malady.
Repairs and Alterations
Learn as much as you can about repairs and alterations, so you can help your customer.
With proper inspection, you will find needed repairs on many jackets. As I mentioned in the opener, check all side seams, hems, inside underarms, linings everywhere – especially the center seam inside jackets, back collar felt (lift to collar to expose the felt), inside pockets – especially inside men’s jackets where they stash their pens, wallets and calendars – repairing holes and frays, as needed. If the pockets are too badly worn to repair, then your sewing department can replace the old one with a new half for full pocket.
Elbows that are frayed, weak, or simply worn out – especially on woven and tweed fabrics – can be repaired and restored by adding suede or leather elbow patches. Though somewhat dated, many people still like the look.
When men and women perspire heavily, it causes purple and navy discoloration in the underarms and waist of the lining. Your seamstress can sew in underarm shields to protect the linings from further deterioration. And old underarm shields can also be replaced with new ones.
Linings and Ink Stains:
Jacket linings take a lot of abuse. Every time a person slips in their arms and puts on the jacket the lining can shift and pull. This can loosen stitches, break the fusing in the hem and cuffs and cause the lining to “droop.” Sometimes the droop can be “pressed up,” but most of the time it will require a minor repair. Many linings wear out in high-traffic areas, requiring mends, patches, half linings and, in some cases, completely new linings.
As a trained spotter, I’ve always been fascinated by the number of men that came in our store with damaged linings from broken and leaking pens. Pockets and linings that have large ink stains can be very difficult to remove, as well as very time-consuming and expensive. In these cases, it’s usually safer, and more cost affective, to replace the pocket (or half pocket) and lining than to spend 30 minutes trying to completely remove the ink – where there’s always a chance that the ink may bleed onto the rest of the jacket during the removal process. Ask your spotter about this!
Buttons & Hardware
Jacket buttons come in all styles, materials and shapes, but they are usually larger than blouse buttons. Most buttons on men’s suit jackets are plain and reasonably strong. However, most men’s sport jackets have fragile shell or metal buttons, so be sure to check these closely.
To tell plastic from real shell, you can discretely and gently tap the button on your tooth to hear and feel the difference.
Women’s blazers will have many fragile and unique buttons; real shell that are thin, oblong and scalloped – and painted or decorative wood and plastic. Think about protecting or removing all unique and fragile buttons.
Look over these buttons very closely and pay special attention to designer buttons; Chanel (with the CC), Gucci, Armani and others. Some buttons are glued, some are held together by wax and can unravel, and some chip and break like glass. Here are some pictures that illustrate the problems listed above:
Decorative hardware, such as buckles, zipper pulls, beads and crystals may also need protection or removal.
Pre-Existing Conditions
As usual, remember to discuss all conditions with the customer and to note them on the ticket; holes, tears, fraying, shine, broken buttons, color loss, torn linings.
Pre-existing conditions are, in many cases, an opportunity to show your company’s strengths and vision. Instead of just noting the shine, tears, color loss and such, use the “condition” to drive business to your sewing department and to show off the restoration skills of your spotter and pressers. Discuss this concept with your manager.
Shine:
Fabric shine can be caused from wear and from poor pressing. The elbows can shine from rubbing on the top of a desk at work, and the upper back can shine from rubbing against chairs and car seats. Some dry-cleaners do not “soft press” delicate fabrics, causing low-grade shine to appear on lapels, collar tips, pocket flaps, hems and on all double-thick seams. Gabardine, acetate, silk and polished cotton tend to show shine more than textured
fabrics. All of these conditions can be improved by carefully steaming and brushing the fabric, but should still be mentioned as pre-existing conditions on the ticket.
Color Loss and Deluster:
As a rule, inspect clothing in good light and always tilt it into and away from the light. This allows you to see delustered, dull, and roughed areas where the color may have been removed by the customer. Very bad things happen to clothing when people rub stained areas with a wet napkin. Try to catch these problems during inspection, show the customer, note them on the ticket, and do what you can to improve the affected area.
Fusible Construction
When a fabric is bonded or “glued” to an inner layer, there is always a chance that the layers can separate. When they do separate, bubbles – which look like drops of water on glass – form on the surface.
This condition, which is most often seen on gabardine and acetate jackets, can often be improved with careful ironing and pressing. It can also be repaired, but the process is tricky and not always possible.
Holes and Tears
Most holes on jackets come from burns and moths. Burn holes usually have a hard edge around them and moth holes are often small and smooth. Tears on jackets are less common, but are usually the result of a sharp edge on a file cabinet. Sometimes a man will rip the front pocket at the corners. Holes and tears can often be repaired, so ask your seamstress for an estimate. Be sure to ask if the repair will be visible and share the information with your customer. Many holes and tears can also be rewoven.
Reweaving
The reweaving process is more expensive than most repairs and is usually done by a specialist, outside your store. However, if the hole is smaller than a dime and the tear is clean and less than 1.5 inches, the weaving can often be “invisible.” Wool and other textured fabrics weave the best – which is good since most fine business suits are made from wool. Gabardine twill, cotton, acetate, rayon and silk present a bigger challenge to re-weavers.
Note: All garments with moth holes should be cleaned before repairs or reweaving to make sure that all the holes have been found, before spending money on even one hole. It may be a good idea to put a safety pin in the existing holes before cleaning, to know if more holes show up.
Special Fabrics
Silk, satin, taffeta, sueded silk, velvet, chiffon, organza and acetate require special care and attention during inspection.
Velvet is very sensitive to water, perspiration and all kinds of liquids. Look for crushed areas in the underarms, elbows, waist and back. Steaming can help, but may not completely restore the crushed areas.