If you play golf, then no doubt you already know the importance of quality golf clothes. Historically, a major requirement of golf apparel seemed to be that it be staid and boring! However these days, golf apparel is moving more and more in a stylish direction that welcomes personal expression. But whatever your taste in fashion, your main goal in buying golfing clothing should be to make sure you are as comfortable as possible when you play.
Men’s golf clothing usually consist of a golf shirt and trousers. The days of plaid and checkered patterns have faded into the past, and modern men’s golf shirts are fashionable enough to be worn off the course, whether as casual wear or even at the office. Modern golf shirts are also products of intensive research, and are now made with highly durable materials that offer excellent performance in all conditions. Read the rest of this entry »
Remove Dirt and Stains From Hats Without Damage
Some folks have owned their caps for years, and the attachment is more than utilitarian – it’s emotional. There’s a real chance a grungy, well-worn baseball cap may be damaged by improper cleaning. Maybe the cap will lose its shape. The brim might be damaged or deformed. Or the cap could shrink. Better to wear a dirty hat than roll the dice.
Cleaning a favorite cap may be a little nerve-wracking, but the following tips can provide a little peace of mind.
Preventive Medicine for Baseball Hats
It’s best to keep dirt and stains off a new cap if possible, but hard-worn caps will pick up dirt, especially if used in sports.
Spraying with Scotch Guard before wearing, or with a product called Hat Saver, will help to protect the cap from dust and dirt, at least for the short-term, and give it a longer life.
Before Washing the Baseball Cap
First, check the cap’s tag. It should list the material the cap is made from, and may also provide the manufacturer’s suggested cleaning instructions.
Baseball Hat Materials
• Most baseball caps are made from cotton or polyester; both of these materials withstand washing well.
• Cotton Twill is a good, durable fabric, as are the Cotton/Polyester Blends. This material is tough and bright, more than likely color fast.
• Jersey Mesh is a stretch fabric, also durable.
• The other main material is wool. Wool is warm, even when wet, but can shrink in hot water or air.
Testing Ballcaps for Color Fastness
Once the baseball cap’s material is determined, it’s time to check for color fastness. Add a splash of mild detergent (Zero or Woolite) to a wet cloth. Choose a spot on the cap’s inner rim, one not readily visible. Rub gently with the cloth. Rinse the spot with a clean cloth and cool water. If the color’s don’t run or fade, proceed with confidence.
Alcohol and hairspray have been used in the past as home-remedy stain removers, but according to the National Cleaners Association, hairspray or alcohol should never be used on caps having heavy grease or ink stains. Alcohol and hairspray can cause color damage and may contain resins or lanolin that could actually create more stains. Read the rest of this entry »
Men and women have long been using underwear. Whether you wear panties, briefs, boxers, or knickers, you can definitely say that people all over the world have long been using underwear. And this is something that won?t change anytime soon. But are you aware of the very interesting history that comes with underwear?
It was only just about a century ago that the practice of wearing underwear and undergarments was introduced as one of the necessities in life. It was roughly in the 16th century when the very first tried at creating and designing underwear started out.
In 1510, for instance, long underpants made of either silk, velvet, or linen were already being worn. Interestingly, around this time, it was deemed decent for women to stay naked underneath all those clothes. This is pretty ironic because the decent thing to do today is to wear undergarments beneath clothes. At the time, however, the opposite was deemed innocent. Read the rest of this entry »
Browsing through the aisles or displays at popular department stores will yield interesting results with regards to popular consumer menswear – an increasing amount of attention being paid to fit and cut, with an emphasis on providing variety to intrepid gentlemen seeking a shirt that fits like a glove.
Athletic Fit, Aggressively Fitted Dress Shirts for Slim Men
Athletic fit dress shirts have been popular for some time, typically marketed as “slim-fit” shirts for men who were looking for aggressively tapered dress shirts for wear to a bar or nightclub, or simply as a more professional alternative to the classic cut for men with slimmer or smaller builds.
Athletic fit shirts are becoming much more commonplace in consumer brands or retail locations such as Le Chateau or Banana Republic, having always been commonplace in designer brands such as Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Etro, or Geoffrey Beene.
The benefit of an athletic fit dress shirt is an appeal to modern sensibilities, a cosmopolitan, urban edge that will most certainly factor into the final look of your ensemble.
Modern Fit, a Moderate Taper, Semi-Fitted Dress Shirt
Modern fit is a relatively new entrant in the menswear circuit, although shirts that would commonly now be described as “modern fit” have existed in some incarnation or another for decades, simple alternatives to the more traditional, accommodating classic fit.
Modern fit describes a moderately tapered dress shirt, otherwise known as a semi-fitted shirt. This particular cut looks great on men of average build as well as leaning either way from that starting point – the somewhat slim and the somewhat heavy. Read the rest of this entry »
New Lighter Fabrics Are Now Becoming Available
Wearing a suit in hot weather is rarely much fun – especially during what promises to be a hot summer. But the good news is that as temperatures rise suit fabric weights are falling with some of the lightest, coolest ever cloths being produced this year.
A lightweight fabric for mens suits is made from fine yarns, which are usually then finely woven. “In terms of wool we consider the fabric light when it weighs no more then 170gsm. Previously a wool fabric of 200gsm was considered light,” says Pier Luigi Loro Piana of the fashion house and fabric producer Loro Piana in an email interview with the author of this article.
Cashmere and Silk Light Fabrics
Loro Piana has a cashmere and silk fabric weighing only 100gsm. Specially processed, it has the strength necessary to withstand weaving and a kilo of this yarn would extend for around 570 km, the company has calculated.
The GSM is the weight of the cloth in grammes per square metre. One of the lightest available find at the moment is, for example, just 190gsm with Ermenegildo Zegna’s Trofeo 600 fabric while the heaviest is around 480 to 500gsm and is used for coats, according to a company spokeswoman in an interview with the author of this article.
There are wool-only fabrics which weigh just 110gsm but few tailors can work with something so light just in wool unless they’re treated or mixed with something else. Read the rest of this entry »