This month’s post for Oxfam Fashion is now up on the site and the topic was something of a neccesary evil; a guide to washing vintage clothes.
I love my ever-expanding vintage collection, most of which has come from within my family, but it can be a pain to keep clean! Vintage purchased from charity shops, fairs and flea markets can also come with that trademark musty smell, which can be off-putting to vintage virgins, so the Oxfam Fashion post demonstrates how to hand wash vintage clothing – and a tip for getting rid of the odour!
My inspiration for the post came from this blue polyester number, which not only had that tell-tale vintage smell, but also a clothing label that was completely indecipherable.
I find hand washing is the best solution with a new item of vintage descent as one has more control when washing it and if there are any issues, such as shrinking or the dye running, they can be identified and dealt with straight away.
You can read the How to Wash Your Vintage post here, and please feel free to share your vintage care tips below. Are you a fan of hand washing or do you bung your vintage in the washing machine with all your other clothes?
There’s always that dilemma isn’t there? Particularly if the previous owner decided to cut out the labels (perhaps something a lot of the North West lot do?) or as you say the label’s in a foreign language.
I either hand wash items, or if I’m feeling lazy/time-short I do what I did with this garment – http://mancunianvintage.com/?p=1509
This involves sticking the washing machine on its most delicate/coolest setting.putting the garment inside a pillow case and using my normal washing powder.
I’ve been very lucky that in all cases I’ve done this it’s turned out ok.
But if it’s a rich blue (like your dress) I’d recommend hand-washing all the way!
Great how to btw! :)
http://www.mancunianvintage.com
This is such a handy post! I am terrible qith knowing what to do with vintage, and it normally jsut leads to a v expensive dry cleaning bill!
Author
Same – that’s why I try to save money and hand wash where possible x
Very useful information, some vintage clothes are made from delicate fabrics and were made before everyone had washing machines.So this means they should be washed by hand like they would have been by the original owner.
Author
Thank you – I’d never thought of that but it makes sense that older fabrics wouldn’t necessarily stand up to washing machines.
I really like looking for vintage pieces but the smell does put me off, I prefer my clothes to be odourless when I buy them haha! Something about them having a smell makes me more mindful that they’ve been worn before. xx
Author
Yeah, the smell isn’t ideal – vinegar can really help though, and if that doesn’t work then adding a drop of essential oil can work too. x