What survives a Mumbai monsoon.
Ninety per cent humidity is a materials exam. Most fabrics fail it.
June to September, your cupboard is a climate. Buy for it.
SHOT: SUEDE JACKET, RAIN ON WINDOW BEHIND
Suede: leave it
Suede drinks humidity and never forgives it: spotting, stiffness, mould at the seams. If you must own it, it sleeps four months a year in a breathable bag.
SHOT: CONDITIONING A LEATHER SLEEVE, CLOTH IN HAND
Leather: feed it
Finished leather survives if you work for it. Condition before June, never dry it in direct sun, stuff it with newspaper if it soaks. Cracked leather was rushed leather.
SHOT: KNIT ON A HANGER BY AN OPEN WINDOW
Wool: air it
Wool handles damp air better than you’d think. It’s drying flat and airing weekly that saves it. The enemy isn’t rain. It’s the cupboard that never opens.
SHOT: WATER BEADING ON WAXED SHOULDER, MACRO
Waxed cotton: this is its weather
The one fabric that wants the monsoon. Water beads and rolls off. Rewax yearly and a waxed jacket outlives the decade, which is why they’re worth hunting.
- 01Suede sits out the season.
- 02Leather: condition, shade-dry.
- 03Wool: air weekly, dry flat.
- 04Waxed cotton wins the monsoon.
Questions people ask.
How do I stop clothes smelling musty in the monsoon?
Keep air moving. Open cupboard doors for a while each day, use moisture absorbers or silica gel, never put anything away damp, and air wool and denim weekly.
Can I wear a leather jacket in the rain?
A light shower won't ruin finished leather. Blot it, stuff it with newspaper, and let it dry slowly away from direct sun or heat, then condition it once it is fully dry.
How do I get mould off clothes?
Brush it off outdoors first. Wash cotton with a cup of white vinegar in the water and dry it in sunlight. Mould on suede, silk or wool is a job for a specialist cleaner.
Your cupboard
Before the first rain: suede bagged, leather conditioned, one cupboard door left ajar. Twenty minutes now saves three pieces by September.
Built for weather. Found for you.
Workwear exists because someone needed clothes that survive conditions. Yours are just wetter.
MAT 309What a darzi can fix, and what he can’t.
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