A commissioned suit will outlast its peers by a decade if you treat it well. It will also be ruined in a year if you treat it like an off-the-peg piece from a fast-fashion high street. The difference is not expertise; it's a handful of small habits.
Hangers — do this first
Replace all your wire and plastic hangers with wide wooden ones before your suit leaves the workshop. Shoulders on a bespoke jacket are structured with canvas and horsehair; the structure collapses if the jacket is hung on a narrow hanger. A €4 wooden hanger from any department store is fine — you don't need the cedar variety.
The hanger should extend to within ~1cm of each shoulder seam. Hang the trousers separately from the waist (dedicated trouser clips) or folded over a bar. Don't hang trousers from the hem — it stretches the weave.
Brush after every wear
A bristle clothes brush (horsehair is traditional, softer synthetics are fine) removes dust and surface grime before it settles into the cloth. Brushing after every wear is the single highest-impact care habit and the one most people skip. 30 seconds, head to hem, in the direction of the cloth's weave.
For stubborn fluff or lint, a rubber lint roller is safe. Avoid aggressive bristle brushes or anything sold for carpets.
Steam, don't press
A small handheld clothes steamer (€30–80 from department stores) is the second-highest-impact investment after the hangers. Steam removes wrinkles without flattening the cloth, refreshes the suit between wears, and puts off the need for dry-cleaning.
Pressing with a domestic iron, especially without a pressing cloth, will flatten the canvas and glaze the cloth. Don't. If a suit needs proper pressing (post-cleaning, after crushing in luggage), take it to your tailor — they'll do it correctly for €15–25.
Rest the suit between wears
Don't wear the same suit on consecutive days. Give the cloth 24–48 hours to recover its shape between wears. If you wear suits daily, rotate between three — you'll triple their combined lifespan for much less than the cost of replacing one every three years.
This is also why buying two pairs of trousers with a new commission is standard advice — the trousers wear out faster than the jacket, and rotating extends both.
Cleaning intervals
Rule of thumb: dry-clean a bespoke suit no more than twice a year. Once is often better. The dry-cleaning chemicals strip natural lanolin from the cloth and dry out the canvas; the mechanical agitation is harder on the structure than regular wear.
Between cleans: brush, steam, and spot-clean marks immediately (cold water, soft cloth, no soap). If something is spilt, act quickly — a dried stain is ten times harder to remove than a fresh one.
When you do clean, find a dry-cleaner who knows bespoke — your tailor will often have a recommendation. The €7 shopping-centre dry-cleaner is not the right answer for a €3,000 suit.
Storage
Long-term: breathable garment bag, wooden hanger, cool dark wardrobe. Avoid plastic dry-cleaner bags (they trap moisture and starve the cloth of air); always remove within 24 hours of the suit coming back.
Moth protection: cedar blocks or lavender sachets. Check the wardrobe for moth activity twice a year — signs are small holes in the cloth or faint webbing in corners. If you find an issue, bag the suit in a sealed plastic bag and freeze for 72 hours (this kills larvae without damaging the cloth), then brush and air.
Travel
If you travel with a commissioned suit regularly, invest in a proper suit carrier — not a garment bag, a two-fold carrier. For plane travel, hang it onboard if you can; if not, fold inside-out (lining on the outside) and pack it on top.
On arrival, hang immediately and steam any travel wrinkles. Most travel wrinkles drop out within 20 minutes.
Repair small things fast
A loose button, a split seam, a loose cuff — catch these at 1mm of damage, not 10cm. Your tailor will fix a loose button for free and a small seam repair for a few euro. Leave it, and what was a 2-minute repair becomes an irretrievable one.
Most tailors are happy to do small after-care on their own commissions. If you commissioned the suit from them, the relationship includes minor repairs at cost or for free.
When something serious happens
Moth damage, a tear, a burn, a wine-on-the-waistcoat situation: stop trying to fix it yourself, bag the suit, take it to your tailor. Many apparent disasters are repairable for less than €100 if handled professionally; the same damage handled by a domestic attempt can become unfixable.
One particular note: don't attempt to "press out" a burn mark. The heat will set it. Cool the cloth, then take it straight to the tailor.
How long should a well-cared-for suit last?
A fully-canvassed bespoke three-piece with correct care: 15–25 years before the cloth itself starts to give way at high-wear points (collar, cuff edges, trouser knees). The jacket typically outlasts the trousers by 2–3x, which is why commissioning spare trousers is standard practice.
A half-canvas made-to-measure suit with the same care: 7–12 years.
A fused (glue-canvassed) MTM suit: 4–7 years before the chest starts to bubble, regardless of care.