…a Laundry Maid!

This post is directly from an email from tina + rebecca wardrobe consultants.  This entire week, we will be bringing you tips from some of our favorite specialists in Nashville.  Enjoy!

Well, if you can’t hire your own personal laundress, here are some tips to help you care for & store your clothes to make them last and last:  (and Men, these tips are for you, too!)

Care & Storage Tips

• Leather  & Suede: Never store in plastic.  Spray before wearing and at the start of each season with a stain guard like Vectra (Calico Corners) or splurge on Coach’s leather treatment- it’s tops.  Brush suede frequently to remove surface dirt.

• Furs Climate Control: Never, ever plastic!  Invest in cold storage.

• Cashmere & Wool: Never store in plastic.  Never put in the washing machine or dryer.  I dryclean my sweaters at the end of the season and use Dryel to spiff them up in between wearing.  Order the Evercare De-Fuzz-It from http://www.thecontainerstore.com/ – it’s a great piller to get rid of the fuzzies.

• No-Iron Dress Shirts: Never dryclean – the chemicals will destroy the no-iron treatment.  Just wash and hang to dry.

• Silk & Lingerie: Handwash, rinse, roll in a towel to remove excess water, and when still damp, iron on the wrong side.

• Jeans, Velour ,Cotton & Most Everything Else: Wash inside out, as infrequently as possible because washing clothes destroys clothes.  We always run the rinse cycle on cold and hang-dry just about everything.

• Coat Lining: They’re important – repair any rips.

• Ironing: Ironing cheap fabrics like polyester and thin cotton can make them drape better.

• Necklaces, Ties, Belts: Hang them by hooks on a wall, readily visible and accessible.

• Pashminas: Hang, folded only once.

What’s in Our Closet Emergency Kit?

• Acid-free tissue paper (you can buy it f/ your dry-cleaners) for sweaters and silks
• Non-plastic garment bags (f/ Target) for storing off-season clothes
• Baby wipes for small stains
• Lingerie bag for washing

You know how we keep saying inventory will be down this Fall & Winter season?  Well, it is in a BIG way.  Case in point: we went to Stuart Weitzman for boots last week with a client, and they only had three pairs left in her size in the whole country!  Yikes!  But we know the manager and he loves to help us help our clients.  (She got them!)  So, if you haven’t booked your Fall Wardrobe Consulting appointment with us yet, you might want to so we can work our magic for you.

Best,

Tina & Rebecca

If you are interested in Tina & Rebecca’s services, please email them at [email protected]