KEY POINTS:
Clothes may maketh the man, but when it comes to the business suit, they can also make a hole in the pocket - thanks to hefty dry cleaning bills.
Why can't a suit be thrown in the weekly wash like everything else, many time-strapped men wonder.
The answer is shrinkage. You'll more than likely end up with a stuffed suit, unable to be worn, except in the hours of darkness in country towns.
The cost of dry cleaning a suit can reach $30, and dry cleaners recommend customers get their suits cleaned every couple of weeks - an annual cost of almost $800.
But relief is at hand, in the form of a 100 per cent polyester suit retailing for less than $200, which Farmers thinks is the only machine-washable suit widely available in New Zealand.
The Herald On Sunday decided to test the Bracks suit - first with a hard day's reporting, then a workout in the sea off Auckland's Mission Bay.
It was comfy in springlike conditions, retained its shape when wet through and was surprisingly easy to swim in - handy if you fall off the yacht at a summer party.
When hung on a peg in the changing rooms, the sea water literally fell out of it. After five hours in a plastic bag and a trip on a train, the new suit received its first cold wash at 9pm. We can report that the suit was mostly dry and wearable early the next morning, without pressing.
If polyester's not your thing, AgResearch unveiled a machine-washable 100 per cent wool suit at this year's Fashion Week, although it has yet to go on the market. The Bracks suit is available from Farmers for $199.99.
