We’ve got some big things cooking on Red Clay Soul this year. Not only are we going to introduce you to new brands, profile the ones you already like, and give some guidance on what to wear, but we’re going to talk about how to wear it as well. In the past, we’ve touched on subjects such as tailoring, re-soling shoes, dry-cleaning vs. hand ironing, etc., but this year we are going to go more in depth. Let’s start with a no-brainer: cedar.
With any good garment investment should come the mentality that ongoing maintenance is a necessity. Cedar wood is one of the easiest ways to care for your wardrobe, and should be considered when making any clothing purchase. It removes any moisture and odor, and is a deterrent to pests. Here are a few ‘must-haves’ for any guy’s closet:
1. Cedar hangar with locking pants bar from Woodlore: Any suit should come with it’s own hanger, for those that don’t, or for any older suit, this is a must. The locking bar is perfect for traveling.
2. Cedar hangars from Woodlore: These are perfect to hang randomly in your closet, or bring with you in your garment bag.
3. Loose cedar blocks from Cedar America: More for off-season storage and drawers, it keeps the folded stuff in ready-to-wear shape.
4. Cedar shoe trees from Woodlore: Don’t ever buy a pair of decent shoes without a pair of cedar shoe trees. They will exponentially add to the life span of your most expensive investment(s).
5. Cedar tie hanger from Woodlore: A heavy block of cedar for your neckwear…and closet.
6. Cedar shoe rack from Woodlore: More cedar for the closet, and more moisture prevention for your shoes.
The best thing about cedar is that it is extremely easy to care for. To keep it working at its best, get some medium/fine grit sandpaper and liberally sand the cedar once a year. Don’t go overboard, you’ll know you’ve sanded enough once you smell the cedar aroma.
Get to it, guys. Protect your investments…
Great post, great advice. Sierra Trading Post actually has a nice selection of cedar products, including most if not all of the ones mentioned above at great prices. I picked up 5 pairs of shoe trees and some cedar hangers the other week for under $50. Do a little searching for coupon codes and you can get a great deal. Keep up the good work.
Cool post. Im inspired to build my own cedar shoe rack now. I think I can do it for more than half the price of those stackable units.
Err less than half…
In addition to trees, I always outfit my shoes with toe and heel taps to provide an extra layer of durability to the most vulnerable areas. For ~$5 per pair, it’s a no-brainer preventive measure to lengthen the amount of time between re-solings.
H&B
@hudsonandbarrow
Outstanding post as always, JRS. I’m not an every day reader, but I’ve commented every so often. I’ve long been singing the praises of wooden hangers, but cedar wooden hangers really pushes it to a whole new level. I’ve been wondering, however, what you might think of modular cubbies made of cedar? You have a ceder shoe rack, but I have built my closet system around modular cubby cubes, and I think if I built them out of cedar, that would both obtain the same result while keeping my current system…
Congrats on sharing the spotlight over at MensFlair.com! I’m honored to have been included along side you and the others on the link list.