Caring for a Velvet Jacket: Crushed Pile and Pressure Marks

Velvet looks the way it does because of a short, upright pile, and all the care a velvet jacket needs comes down to protecting that pile from being flattened. Pressure, heat and friction all crush it, leaving a shiny patch or a mark. Unlike plain wool, velvet will not tolerate an iron, will not tolerate folding, and remembers for a long time where you have been sitting.

Why velvet crushes

The face of velvet is made of countless short fibres standing, or leaning slightly, in one direction. Press them and they lie down, reflecting light differently, so the spot looks darker or shinier than the area around it. This is the nature of the cloth, not a fault in the making. How well the pile recovers depends on the type: cotton velvet, silk velvet and blends behave differently, and the types of velvet used for tuxedos explains each.

Velvet appears in two ways among our models. TUX-006 is a black tuxedo with a shawl lapel made of velvet, while the body is plain cloth. TUX-012 has a body in smoke-grey velvet-surfaced cloth with a woven tone-on-tone pattern, paired with a broad black satin shawl collar. They are cared for slightly differently: with TUX-006 only the lapel needs watching, with TUX-012 the whole body does.

Steam from the reverse side

When a velvet jacket is creased or marked by a fold, the safe cure is steam, not pressing. Hang the jacket in a bathroom full of hot steam, well away from the water, or use a handheld steamer from the reverse side, the lining side, holding the nozzle a little way off the cloth. The steam swells the fibres and lifts them upright again.

Never rest an iron on the velvet face. Heat plus pressure flattens the pile for good and leaves a shine that is hard to undo. If a mark is deep, do not force it; take it to a cleaner experienced with velvet or to a tailor. The same caution applies to the satin parts of the jacket, covered in pressing a tuxedo without shine.

Do not sit on it for long

Marks usually come from how you sit. Long hours on a hard chair, leaning back against a wall, or a seat belt pressing across the chest can all leave an impression. A few small habits help:

• When you sit, lift the skirt of the jacket and let it fall naturally rather than sitting on it.
• In the car, take the jacket off and hang it on the rear hook instead of leaning on it.
• Avoid leaning hard against rough upholstery, whose friction flattens the pile in patches.
• Keep heavy items out of the pockets, which drag and press the cloth around them.

Velvet on a lapel usually suffers less than velvet on the body, but a clip-on microphone or a boutonniere can crush it too, so pin lightly.

A soft brush, with the pile

After each wear, brush lightly in the direction of the pile with a soft brush. To find the direction, run the flat of your hand across the cloth: the smooth direction is with the pile, the other feels slightly rough. Brush the smooth way, as lightly as stroking, to lift dust and lint out of the pile without pushing the fibres down further. Brushing hard or against the pile leaves the fibres lying in different directions and the colour looks patchy.

A soft dry velvet cloth does the same job when you only need to flick off dust. For the general routine after an evening, see what to do after every wear.

Hang it, never fold it

Folding velvet leaves a crease as sharp as a knife edge, and it often never fully goes. Always hang a velvet jacket on a broad hanger that fits the shoulder so the body is not pressed. In the wardrobe leave space on both sides so other clothes do not crowd the face. For travel, lay the jacket flat in a cloth bag or roll it gently, then hang it as soon as you arrive.

Store it in a breathable cloth bag, never plastic. Velvet absorbs moisture and can pick up odours or mould if it cannot breathe, particularly in damp weather.

Cleaning, and when to ask the tailor

Have velvet dry cleaned by someone used to the cloth, and tell them it is velvet so they avoid pressing the face. Do not wash it in water or in a machine. If an area is still crushed or patchy after cleaning, a tailor can look again, sometimes with steam and a specialist brush to raise the pile.

The care of velvet in general sits alongside the classic jacket discussed in the velvet tuxedo jacket and the smoking jacket, which is worth reading for why velvet suits evening wear.

Bring the jacket in for a look

If your velvet jacket has a mark that will not go or a shiny patch, a Mon Amie specialist can examine it and tell you honestly what can be recovered. Book a visit to the showroom before the event so there is time to deal with it.