STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

flknight24 · Dooney & Bourke

DC for Rachel Pally?!

blink · Coach

clothing makers are kind of lazy about the washing instructions, for liability reasons it is just easier to put the dry clean only instruction on all delicate or specially dyed items. plenty of dry clean only fabrics could actually be hand washed. check the fabric, google it for some home cleaning tips, and you are bound to find a martha stewart type website out there that will provide some instructions about hand washing. I hand wash all my cashmere and carefully measure it out now because I found that dry cleaning actually removes some of the luster.

dot · Marc Jacobs

i would think it would be weird to only dry clean them. dry cleaning clothes is basically washing them in gasoline. i would imagine with natural fibers like cotton it would just break down the material over time.

are they super worth it?????????????????????? btw?

I posted this earlier and most people think no.. but something in me still says YES! I'm short so I feel like the gauchos are too flowy for me.

sage · Dooney & Bourke

I have washed, on the delicate cycle, several items that are tagged dry clean only. Sweaters, trousers, etc. I won't attempt anything with a lining or 100% wool. And most linen I dry clean. But other stuff usually works out well. I just do one or two pieces at a time. If the knickers are 100% cotton or a cotton majority blend I would do them on delicate. It also helps that I don't like hand washing. I hang dry the stuff but the hand washing thing....I guess I am willing to take risks.

luckylily · Gucci

I'm always dubious of anything that says Dry Clean Only. For example, most cashmere sweaters say Dry Clean, when in fact dry cleaning will break down the fibers much faster than a gentle hand washing. Dry cleaning also removes the natural oils in the fiber and this can change the look of the fabric.

Here's an article on hand cashmere, but it would apply to any hand washed item...http://www.ehow.com/how_7805_wash-cashmere-sweater.html

Of course, there are some things that shouldn't be washed. Generally, I think silk should be dry cleaned.

I'd probably do a google search as someone suggest. There are tons of websites about best ways to clean stuff.

flknight24 · Dooney & Bourke

Thanks for all the great washing tips. I ended up wearing the knickers all weekend (just as I thought I would) so I obviously have to keep them. I think I'll do the google search as suggested and see if I can do some creative washing.

Dot - I LOVE these knickers and I definitely think they're worth the price. I material is so nice and the fit is great. Also if you get them on www.nessaleestyle.com you can use the ilovejess code and get 20% off.