LAUNDERING + CARE (LABELS) PART 1 || WELL MADE, WELL CARED FOR, WELL WORN SERIES

Welcome back to our vintage care series, in this series we're considering laundering and care: how you want to get your fabric wet, what kind of movement it best responds to, the temperature you'll want to use and some pre-laundering practices that will come in handy.

To make your life easier, we've taken the time to list fabrics, decipher symbols, explain some details and make suggestions for each piece listed on our website to get you started. Read on for more in depth care information. 

(edit. This is turning into a two and possibly three part-er. Head over to the journal to find more topics and details to come.)

Reading Care Labels

Let's start with care labels. If you're lucky enough to have a piece of vintage clothing that retains its care label, thats already a big win. Most of us know it will take us down the right road for caring for our piece, but we don't always immediately recognize the shapes, numbers, the lines, the colours, when, what, where and how to use these to help prolong the life of our piece. Here's a handy infographic that can help you on your way. 

 

Let's do a quick breakdown deciphering a real care label that gives partial written instructions and part symbols:

 

The exact symbols are going to vary quite a bit depending on the age of the piece, but the gist is the same. Referencing the laundry symbol code, we've got a hand in bucket which means hand wash (in this case, yellow means low heat, so, cool to cold water), triangle with an X through it tells us not to use bleach, the third indicates drying (the symbol here recommends line drying which is where we have some wiggle room, line drying could mean a flat drying rack or hanging to dry, depending on the garment), followed by a suggestion of low heat iron OR dry cleaning. 

I find a good many care labels indicate both laundering instructions AND a dry cleaning symbol. While I sometimes take the latter as a loose recommendation, if you're feeling less than confident about laundering a piece yourself, assess whether you can wear it just one more time and then take it to the dry cleaners to have them clean it for you. A rule of thumb I follow with all my clothing, new or old, is if the piece isn't smelly, sweaty or stained, it can probably go another round before washing. 

 

>>Here is where we're going to split off for PART 2* and continue on with basics. Pop over to the second instalment where I get into it about laundering practices (I've turned into someone who takes laundering seriously, who knew) and you can check out the composition series when it releases for more on fibre-specific care.

 

When There's No Care Label

You've got your symbols legend, but what if your garment is missing a care label? Here are my go-to washing machine and hand wash routines for unknown fibres (for everything except knit sweaters). 

1. When in doubt, use cold-lukewarm water, place the clothing in a garment bag on either a gentle wash cycle with like colours or gently hand wash solo
2. press with a clean, dry towel without wringing it and air dry as flat as possible on a drying rack 
3. steam out any wrinkles using low heat when the clothing is almost dry and use your judgement to either store it hanging or gently folded
4. always, always treat the fabric more gently than you think is necessary

These tools and formula should set you up for success, but again, if you are unsure, taking a batch of vintage clothes to the dry cleaner, while time consuming, will be your safest route.

Hope you enjoyed brushing up on some care label info to keep your pieces in their best possible condition! Join in next time as we dive a little deeper into pre-laundering practices and special fibre care. 

 

Xx Jesse