Machine Washable Sports Coat

[moneysmith]

I am trying to dress better and I want to get a couple sports coats. However, I get cold easily so whatever coat I wear I generally wear all the time whether in the lab, eating, or walking somewhere. It seems inevitable that my coat would get dirty quickly and I just can't see being able to use a dry cleaner all the time. Are there any fabrics or types of sport coat that can be washed at home?

[MikeAD91]

In theory, some cotton blazers should be able to be gently washed at home. In practice, I tried it with a cheap, unlined cotton blazer, and no damage was done, but I would be hesitant to do it again.

When I wear a sport coat, I wear it all the time, and I still don't dry clean that often. Actually, some of my jackets have never been cleaned. You may just need to budget to have them dry cleaned occasionally. Keep in mind that dry cleaning is a bit harsh on clothes, so you want to do it as little as possible anyway.

[ajk170]

The unlined cotton jackets that seem pretty popular right now that are machine washable might fair better in the at-home dry cleaning kits like Dryell - I've only tried it on a suit jacket once- didn't do anything wrong to it- made it smell better and took the worst wrinkles out of it. If you've never used those things before- it's a bag that you articles go into with a heavy moist towel type thing. The bag goes in the drier- not the washer. Works ok for stuff that's not heavily soiled.

[Redford]

Make sure it says it's machine washable. I know the JCP Stafford Slim Fits are since I was checking it out yesterday.

[Fred G. Unn]

When I wear a sport coat, I wear it all the time, and I still don't dry clean that often. Actually, some of my jackets have never been cleaned. You may just need to budget to have them dry cleaned occasionally. Keep in mind that dry cleaning is a bit harsh on clothes, so you want to do it as little as possible anyway.

+1. Buy a clothes brush and brush it off before you return it to your closet. That should take care of most dust and dirt.

[moneysmith]

Thank you everyone for the advise. Between a clothing brush and simple hand cleaning it sounds like I should be able to keep things clean. I also found out that Men's Warehouse offers free pressing for clothing bought from them so that might be an option. About how often do people usually dry clean a jacket they wear regularly? Are we talking monthly, quarterly?

Thank you again,
Moneysmith

[andrewlcraft]

I decided to throw caution to the wind and wash my navy Kensington. I've got the navy and light grey, and my local Target only stocks the navy and khaki, so I figured if I screw one up, it should be the one that's easily replaceable. Cold wash, gentle cycle, then dried on low heat for maybe 5 minutes. Pulled it out still wet, straightened things out and hung it up in my room with the heat up a bit. It was fully dry by morning and looks absolutely the same as before. Did the same for the grey Kensington and a khaki BR cotton blazer I've got with the same results. I'm no longer afraid of the process, but it will be kept to only when absolutely necessary.

[DXLi]

Remember that dressing for your lifestyle is one of the most important parts of dressing well. If you can't keep a sports coat clean, you might want to consider wearing an easily washable type of outer garment (though I'm not sure what off the top of my head) or something that hides/repels stains better. For instance, certain types of tweed were invented so that they hide dirt stains better. You could get a jacket with a stain-hiding pattern and apply some kind of stain-resistant spray onto it.