After owning a boutique for many years and seeing the same fabrics, I want to teach you how to best care for your boutique clothes. The primary goal in giving your clothing the best care is to keep it looking as nice as possible for as long as possible. Most boutique clothing tags direct you to hand wash in cold water. Fortunately most modern washing machines have a delicate or hand wash cycle. Garments that contain rayon should be washed in this cycle. My personal experience has shown that rayons can often shrink, so I often choose to dry clean my rayon clothing items. If you do decide to wash these yourself, remove from the washing machine promptly and give the garment a thorough shake to remove wrinkles. Hang or lay flat to dry.
Garments made of polyester are more resilient and can be washed in a regular wash cycle. I always make sure to sort my colors into loads of blacks and other darks, reds and pinks, whites and light colors. Polyester items may come out of the dryer with lots of static, so I recommend removing your garment from the dryer while still damp and hanging to dry completely.
Cotton garments are cared for in the same way as polyester except caution needs to be used when drying because most cotton garments will shrink. I recommend dryer for just minutes and then removing from the dryer and hanging to dry completely.
When caring for my sweaters, I try to wash infrequently. I usually wear a tank or cami beneath my sweater to absorb any sweat and to provide a soft layer against my skin. I typically dry clean my sweaters to keep them looking their best, but they can be washed. I recommend turning them inside out and washing on a delicate or hand wash cycle. A garment bag is a good tool to use when washing your sweaters because when there is less abrasion to the fibers, the sweater will look nicer longer. Never dry sweaters. Always lay them flat to dry. Acrylic is commonly used in sweaters because it’s low maintenance and it’s easy to clean. I recommend never hanging sweaters because they may stretch. My recommendation is to fold them in a closet or drawer.
I also wash my jeans infrequently, which means I wear them a few times between washing. When I do wash them, I turn them inside out, wash on a regular cold cycle and only dry them partially unless they need to shrink and then I’ll dry them fully. Some garment tags say not to dry clean items. I always follow those guidelines. Dry cleaning could damage the fibers in the garment.
Here’s a little more information about the fibers that are in your boutique garments:
Acrylic, polyester, rayon and spandex are all synthetic. Polyester is highly breathable and moisture wicking, it resists wrinkles, fading and shrinking. Rayon has a similar look and feel to cotton but is a little higher maintenance. Spandex provides stretch and it is recommended to wash in a gentle cycle and air dry. Hanging items with spandex could cause a garment to stretch. Cotton is man made and more resilient.
Do you read your care labels?
Garments made of polyester are more resilient and can be washed in a regular wash cycle. I always make sure to sort my colors into loads of blacks and other darks, reds and pinks, whites and light colors. Polyester items may come out of the dryer with lots of static, so I recommend removing your garment from the dryer while still damp and hanging to dry completely.
Cotton garments are cared for in the same way as polyester except caution needs to be used when drying because most cotton garments will shrink. I recommend dryer for just minutes and then removing from the dryer and hanging to dry completely.
When caring for my sweaters, I try to wash infrequently. I usually wear a tank or cami beneath my sweater to absorb any sweat and to provide a soft layer against my skin. I typically dry clean my sweaters to keep them looking their best, but they can be washed. I recommend turning them inside out and washing on a delicate or hand wash cycle. A garment bag is a good tool to use when washing your sweaters because when there is less abrasion to the fibers, the sweater will look nicer longer. Never dry sweaters. Always lay them flat to dry. Acrylic is commonly used in sweaters because it’s low maintenance and it’s easy to clean. I recommend never hanging sweaters because they may stretch. My recommendation is to fold them in a closet or drawer.
I also wash my jeans infrequently, which means I wear them a few times between washing. When I do wash them, I turn them inside out, wash on a regular cold cycle and only dry them partially unless they need to shrink and then I’ll dry them fully. Some garment tags say not to dry clean items. I always follow those guidelines. Dry cleaning could damage the fibers in the garment.
Here’s a little more information about the fibers that are in your boutique garments:
Acrylic, polyester, rayon and spandex are all synthetic. Polyester is highly breathable and moisture wicking, it resists wrinkles, fading and shrinking. Rayon has a similar look and feel to cotton but is a little higher maintenance. Spandex provides stretch and it is recommended to wash in a gentle cycle and air dry. Hanging items with spandex could cause a garment to stretch. Cotton is man made and more resilient.
Do you read your care labels?
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