Only wash your clothes when necessary
We tend to over-wash our clothes! Don’t make me say what I didn’t say, hygiene is very important of course, but apart from certain parts like underwear, socks, sportswear and parts that directly touch our skin, it It is not necessary to wash each* item of clothing after a single wear. Some items such as wool sweaters, jeans, skirts or any item of clothing that is not worn next to the skin do not have to be washed as regularly as one might think.
Obviously, it depends on the season, the climate in which you live and your lifestyle in summer for example, we sweat more, and it is therefore necessary to wash your clothes more regularly. The infographic below sums it up pretty well:
Washing your clothes only when necessary and not just by reflex saves water and in this it is also an ecological gesture too!
In July 2022, I discovered a very practical (and portable) little device to refresh your clothes between 2 washes: the Bosch FreshUp textite refresher! It neutralizes bad odors on textiles (body odors, food, smoke, etc.) without chemicals, without water but thanks to plasma technology which dissolves the bonds of odor molecules. What’s cool is that it doesn’t just mask odors, it neutralizes them! Recently I have often used it on the lining of my blazers to refresh them between 2 dry-cleanings and it is really effective!
To each subject its maintenance
Obviously, when washing, each material requires specific maintenance. Personally, I machine wash almost everything I have in my closets, even my delicate sweaters! Here is a quick summary of the most common materials and their associated maintenance guide.
Cotton: it is easy to maintain, machine washable between 30 and 40°C and is perfectly iron-friendly to be smoothed out.
Wool and cashmere: I wash almost all my sweaters in the washing machine, cold (or sometimes even 30°C but cold is safer in case of doubt) with a wool/delicate program, especially without spinning hard (very important, I put 400 rpm, never more). The label often states, “hand wash”, but the wool cycle of the machines is perfectly suitable for this type of washing. Personally, I prefer washing in the washing machine on a gentle cycle rather than by hand, because the garment is better rinsed and wrung out, which prevents it from deforming when drying.I dry all my wool or cashmere sweaters flat on a towel. Do not use the dryer for these materials, at the risk of ending up with child-sized sweaters It is not necessary to iron wool or cashmere.
Also, you should wash your wool and cashmere sweaters fairly regularly so that the knit gets tighter, and they don’t pill too much. The best is to use a special detergent for woollens, personally we use Eric Bompard cashmere shampoo (a discovery by Vincent who loves researching everything to find THE best product) and it’s great!
Lyocell / Tencel : this material can be washed at a temperature of 30° with a wool/delicate program, as for wool, especially for clothes made of 100% lyocell/Tencel. On the other hand, avoid dryers! In fact, lyocell weakens when wet and hot parts cause the fibers to break. You can iron this material by turning the fabric inside out, but at a low temperature.
Viscose: This material can be washed at 30° using the Wool/Delicate theme. It is recommended to clean the viscose parts and other parts so as not to damage the drum of the machine. You'll notice that viscose feels different when it's wet (viscose tends to be stiffer, like cardboard), but when it dries, the material springs back into shape. However, drying should be avoided and lyocell/tencel can be ironed. Turn the pan over low heat. You can iron this material by turning the fabric inside out, but set the iron on a low temperature. This is usually when the clothes are still slightly damp.
Polyester and polyamide/nylon: These are not delicate fibers, so they are easier to wash. 30°C. It's a synthetic material that gets dirty during the production process, so I try to recycle it when I buy it.
Washing polyester or polyamide (even if it's recycled, not or) captures microplastics that come from synthetic materials. You can invest in a GuppyFriend cleaning bag that does just that. When textiles are washed, they release pollutants into rivers and oceans. These bags not only protect your clothes (thus increasing their durability), they also significantly reduce plastic production by up to 86%. The microplastics in the bags can be thrown in the trash. Vincent and I have been using it for a few months since we found it good and very easy to use (just the right strength).
Canvas and hemp: machine wash at 30-40°C. All can be ironed, but you can iron on a low temperature.
Silk: Silk is a noble and fragile material. For wool or cashmere, I prefer to wash in the washing machine on a soft and cold wool program so as not to damage the clothes. Do not use fabric softener (risk of oiling the material). Do not use a tumble dryer to preserve silk. If you hand wash silk items, do not soak them for too long (no more than 5/10 minutes).
As with wool, dry silk items on a flat towel. If you wash your clothes and want to dry them by hand, place them on a towel and let them sit for a few minutes to allow the towel to absorb the moisture before you change the towel and clean them. dry land If the silk gets dirty, do not wash it, but take it to the dry cleaners.
Jeans/Denim: There are many schools of thought and it all depends on whether the jeans are denim or not (it's a special form of thread color - if you look closely you'll see white and blue thread in the denim). When it comes to denim, the rule of thumb is to wash whenever possible on a cold, gentle cycle. Otherwise, you run the risk of bleeding the blue, resulting in a washed-out product. The lighter the jeans, the less likely they are to fade. Jeans in certain colors (white, red, etc.) are mostly fake denim (no white thread, only colored thread), so they can be washed without these fading issues.
Leather (bags and shoes ): remember to be careful. Wash and wax the leather parts to keep them supple and dry. How do you store and organize the year's clothes?
And how do you wash them?
Sometimes I use dry cleaning. This is especially true for very delicate items such as shirts and jackets. At the end of each season, I take the coats I’ve worn the most to the dry cleaners before putting them away in their covers and finding them all clean the following year!
What laundry?
We use detergent and softener from the Ecover brand that we buy in organic stores.
Repair and retouch the parts we own.
Repairing damaged clothes means learning to resist the phenomenon of “disposable fashion” Personally, I use a lot of alterations for my clothes. Whether it’s to repair clothes that come unstitched or torn (it happens, but it’s not necessarily irreversible) or to have certain pieces taken back so that they fit me perfectly.
Indeed, it is utopian to imagine finding a garment – whatever it is –that will fit us perfectly, as if it were tailor-made for us! We are all different, with our own morphologies and two people who are the same size will never have an identical body! It happens very often that I buy clothes that I like and have them slightly taken back in length, at the waist or at the level of the chestso that they fit me perfectly. A garment that we decide to have altered is a garment in which we invest since we will pay alteration costs (but which are often less expensive than we think, sometimes even offered by certain brands) and we therefore take the time to make sure that we really like this piece before depositing it with a retoucher or a retoucher.
You often ask me for my addresses to have your clothes taken back : in Paris, I entrusted all my ready-to-wear pieces to Alice Retouche in the 17th arrondissement , she is wonderful! She touched up from the most basic pieces to the most precious pieces (a rhinestone dress that I wore at the Cannes Film Festival and my civil wedding dress in particular). In Bordeaux, I entrusted several clothes to Atelier D Retouches in the Chartrons district and I was delighted with the result! Obviously if you know how to sew yourself, it’s even better!
The same goes for shoes: taking them regularly to a shoemaker to maintain them and resole them allows you to keep the same pair for years! I have a pair of André Chelsea boots that I’ve worn hundreds of times and that I have re-soled every year: they’re perfect, with just the right patina to give them charm. In Paris I left my shoes at Retro by Mickael for 3 days (the team did a great job), but in Bordeaux I didn't try on the shoes (if you have a good place to live I will) Important to take care of your clothes Tools.
There are two tools that cannot be left aside to take good care of your clothes every day.
The steamer that I have mentioned sometimes. I got this model from Philipps for my birthday at least 4-5 years ago and despite frequent use and lots of travel it still works well. It's very useful (sort of), and I always organize the clothes that come out of my bag, as I discussed in my article on the art of packing correctly. I also have a classic iron, but I use it more than a steamer. For heavily wrinkled garments, I recommend an iron better, but if you want to "smooth out" the garment I think steam is faster and easier to handle. Me!
I love my "pill free". My friend Juliette introduced me to anti-pilling razors and they really changed my life. haha! At first I thought it was a tool, but I still use it a lot. After pilling, all your sweats, pants, hats, scarves, socks and more will be stored away. ! I gave it to everyone around me haha! try it You won't be disappointed.
NB: If you want to remove hair or dust from your clothes, it is very useful to use a clothes brush like this one.
We tend to over-wash our clothes! Don’t make me say what I didn’t say, hygiene is very important of course, but apart from certain parts like underwear, socks, sportswear and parts that directly touch our skin, it It is not necessary to wash each* item of clothing after a single wear. Some items such as wool sweaters, jeans, skirts or any item of clothing that is not worn next to the skin do not have to be washed as regularly as one might think.
Obviously, it depends on the season, the climate in which you live and your lifestyle in summer for example, we sweat more, and it is therefore necessary to wash your clothes more regularly. The infographic below sums it up pretty well:
Washing your clothes only when necessary and not just by reflex saves water and in this it is also an ecological gesture too!
{ads}
In July 2022, I discovered a very practical (and portable) little device to refresh your clothes between 2 washes: the Bosch FreshUp textite refresher! It neutralizes bad odors on textiles (body odors, food, smoke, etc.) without chemicals, without water but thanks to plasma technology which dissolves the bonds of odor molecules. What’s cool is that it doesn’t just mask odors, it neutralizes them! Recently I have often used it on the lining of my blazers to refresh them between 2 dry-cleanings and it is really effective!
To each subject its maintenance
Obviously, when washing, each material requires specific maintenance. Personally, I machine wash almost everything I have in my closets, even my delicate sweaters! Here is a quick summary of the most common materials and their associated maintenance guide.
Cotton: it is easy to maintain, machine washable between 30 and 40°C and is perfectly iron-friendly to be smoothed out.
Wool and cashmere: I wash almost all my sweaters in the washing machine, cold (or sometimes even 30°C but cold is safer in case of doubt) with a wool/delicate program, especially without spinning hard (very important, I put 400 rpm, never more). The label often states, “hand wash”, but the wool cycle of the machines is perfectly suitable for this type of washing. Personally, I prefer washing in the washing machine on a gentle cycle rather than by hand, because the garment is better rinsed and wrung out, which prevents it from deforming when drying.I dry all my wool or cashmere sweaters flat on a towel. Do not use the dryer for these materials, at the risk of ending up with child-sized sweaters It is not necessary to iron wool or cashmere.
Also, you should wash your wool and cashmere sweaters fairly regularly so that the knit gets tighter, and they don’t pill too much. The best is to use a special detergent for woollens, personally we use Eric Bompard cashmere shampoo (a discovery by Vincent who loves researching everything to find THE best product) and it’s great!
Lyocell / Tencel : this material can be washed at a temperature of 30° with a wool/delicate program, as for wool, especially for clothes made of 100% lyocell/Tencel. On the other hand, avoid dryers! In fact, lyocell weakens when wet and hot parts cause the fibers to break. You can iron this material by turning the fabric inside out, but at a low temperature.
Viscose: This material can be washed at 30° using the Wool/Delicate theme. It is recommended to clean the viscose parts and other parts so as not to damage the drum of the machine. You'll notice that viscose feels different when it's wet (viscose tends to be stiffer, like cardboard), but when it dries, the material springs back into shape. However, drying should be avoided and lyocell/tencel can be ironed. Turn the pan over low heat. You can iron this material by turning the fabric inside out, but set the iron on a low temperature. This is usually when the clothes are still slightly damp.
Polyester and polyamide/nylon: These are not delicate fibers, so they are easier to wash. 30°C. It's a synthetic material that gets dirty during the production process, so I try to recycle it when I buy it.
{ads}
Washing polyester or polyamide (even if it's recycled, not or) captures microplastics that come from synthetic materials. You can invest in a GuppyFriend cleaning bag that does just that. When textiles are washed, they release pollutants into rivers and oceans. These bags not only protect your clothes (thus increasing their durability), they also significantly reduce plastic production by up to 86%. The microplastics in the bags can be thrown in the trash. Vincent and I have been using it for a few months since we found it good and very easy to use (just the right strength).
Canvas and hemp: machine wash at 30-40°C. All can be ironed, but you can iron on a low temperature.
Silk: Silk is a noble and fragile material. For wool or cashmere, I prefer to wash in the washing machine on a soft and cold wool program so as not to damage the clothes. Do not use fabric softener (risk of oiling the material). Do not use a tumble dryer to preserve silk. If you hand wash silk items, do not soak them for too long (no more than 5/10 minutes).
As with wool, dry silk items on a flat towel. If you wash your clothes and want to dry them by hand, place them on a towel and let them sit for a few minutes to allow the towel to absorb the moisture before you change the towel and clean them. dry land If the silk gets dirty, do not wash it, but take it to the dry cleaners.
Jeans/Denim: There are many schools of thought and it all depends on whether the jeans are denim or not (it's a special form of thread color - if you look closely you'll see white and blue thread in the denim). When it comes to denim, the rule of thumb is to wash whenever possible on a cold, gentle cycle. Otherwise, you run the risk of bleeding the blue, resulting in a washed-out product. The lighter the jeans, the less likely they are to fade. Jeans in certain colors (white, red, etc.) are mostly fake denim (no white thread, only colored thread), so they can be washed without these fading issues.
Leather (bags and shoes ): remember to be careful. Wash and wax the leather parts to keep them supple and dry. How do you store and organize the year's clothes?
And how do you wash them?
Sometimes I use dry cleaning. This is especially true for very delicate items such as shirts and jackets. At the end of each season, I take the coats I’ve worn the most to the dry cleaners before putting them away in their covers and finding them all clean the following year!
{ads}
What laundry?
We use detergent and softener from the Ecover brand that we buy in organic stores.
Repair and retouch the parts we own.
Repairing damaged clothes means learning to resist the phenomenon of “disposable fashion” Personally, I use a lot of alterations for my clothes. Whether it’s to repair clothes that come unstitched or torn (it happens, but it’s not necessarily irreversible) or to have certain pieces taken back so that they fit me perfectly.
Indeed, it is utopian to imagine finding a garment – whatever it is –that will fit us perfectly, as if it were tailor-made for us! We are all different, with our own morphologies and two people who are the same size will never have an identical body! It happens very often that I buy clothes that I like and have them slightly taken back in length, at the waist or at the level of the chestso that they fit me perfectly. A garment that we decide to have altered is a garment in which we invest since we will pay alteration costs (but which are often less expensive than we think, sometimes even offered by certain brands) and we therefore take the time to make sure that we really like this piece before depositing it with a retoucher or a retoucher.
You often ask me for my addresses to have your clothes taken back : in Paris, I entrusted all my ready-to-wear pieces to Alice Retouche in the 17th arrondissement , she is wonderful! She touched up from the most basic pieces to the most precious pieces (a rhinestone dress that I wore at the Cannes Film Festival and my civil wedding dress in particular). In Bordeaux, I entrusted several clothes to Atelier D Retouches in the Chartrons district and I was delighted with the result! Obviously if you know how to sew yourself, it’s even better!
The same goes for shoes: taking them regularly to a shoemaker to maintain them and resole them allows you to keep the same pair for years! I have a pair of André Chelsea boots that I’ve worn hundreds of times and that I have re-soled every year: they’re perfect, with just the right patina to give them charm. In Paris I left my shoes at Retro by Mickael for 3 days (the team did a great job), but in Bordeaux I didn't try on the shoes (if you have a good place to live I will) Important to take care of your clothes Tools.
There are two tools that cannot be left aside to take good care of your clothes every day.
The steamer that I have mentioned sometimes. I got this model from Philipps for my birthday at least 4-5 years ago and despite frequent use and lots of travel it still works well. It's very useful (sort of), and I always organize the clothes that come out of my bag, as I discussed in my article on the art of packing correctly. I also have a classic iron, but I use it more than a steamer. For heavily wrinkled garments, I recommend an iron better, but if you want to "smooth out" the garment I think steam is faster and easier to handle. Me!
I love my "pill free". My friend Juliette introduced me to anti-pilling razors and they really changed my life. haha! At first I thought it was a tool, but I still use it a lot. After pilling, all your sweats, pants, hats, scarves, socks and more will be stored away. ! I gave it to everyone around me haha! try it You won't be disappointed.
NB: If you want to remove hair or dust from your clothes, it is very useful to use a clothes brush like this one.
