HEY GUYS: IT'S VALUABLE ADVICE TO MAKE YOUR CLOTHING $$$ COUNT!

#1 Possibility of hiding inferior quality or

#2 To price the garment higher than it should be

• Many men have been told to cup their hands under their suit coat or sport coat to know if the jacket is the right length...it's an old wives tale! Look, if two guys both wore a 42 Regulars and one had 32" sleeve length while the other guy had 36" sleeve length (under this old premise),  one guy would look like Peewee Herman and the other one would look like  Johnny Cash! A coat should  nicely cover the fly and nicely cover the rear. Once a man finds a length  he likes, he can then use his hand position as a future gage...when buying a   suit, make sure the shoulders fit comfortably and the length is  correct...the rest can be altered. Remember: Tailoring is just as important as buying a good suit; if it doesn't fit right, it doesn't matter how much you paid for it.

• Caring for suits and sport coats...you should only dry clean them once or twice a year! The heat and cleaning fluid is more damaging than normal wear and tear...always hang your coats after wearing...try not to wear them again for a week, this gives them time to air out and to have the wrinkles fall out.

• Lay off the starch! In fact, you should use starch every other cleaning or every third cleaning. Starch will dry rot your shirt eventually, so less is more. And don't think that light starch is the answer; most cleaners don't have that capability, but will smile and say "SURE!" Remember, starch stays in the shirt for a long time. To quote Nancy Reagan: "Just say no starch."

• NEVER wear your suit pant with another coat or as a casual pant; your suit coat never wears out...it's always the pant. Don't wear it with other things, you'll murder the suit!

• Shoe care...try not to wear the same shoes two days in a row...it takes about 24 hours for the inside of a shoe to completely dry out from foot perspiration...if they don't dry out completely, you run the risk of rotting the inside of the shoe, and this can't be fixed. You can re-sole the outside of a good shoe 4+ times and make them last 10+ years, but you can't fix the inside once it has deteriorated. Always put cedar shoe trees in your shoes to keep the shape and take the moisture and odor out and while you're at it, use good shoe cleaners and polishes for the outside. (By the way: The new brown tones like chili and saddle have now become as neutral and versatile as the old stand-by Cordovan; remember your belt and your shoes should always be in the same color family!)

• Dress shirts...men tend to buy their shirts too small and not allow for the shrinkage. Always buy your shirts ½" larger than your actual neck measurement; a good store will measure you...and your sleeves should (unbuttoned cuffs) come to the top of the pinkie knuckle when new (allowing for shrinkage). By the way: If you have a very round face, don't wear a spread collar! A longer point collar will elongate your face; likewise if you have a long thin face, the spread collar will visually widen your face.

• Wear colors that are good for your coloring for a more powerful look...a good store will help you with this. Example? A pale, silver-haired gentleman shouldn't wear a light yellow/tan color, it'll wash him out. A pale, brown-haired gentleman shouldn't wear light grays.