Care

Start with the label

Every piece carries a care label, and where it differs from anything here, the label wins. It was written for that fabric and that construction.

What follows is how we would look after these clothes generally.

Tailoring and structure

Dry clean only, and sparingly. Structured pieces are built with interlinings and shaping that repeated cleaning breaks down.

Between wears, hang on a broad wooden hanger and air for a few hours. Most of what sends a blazer to the cleaner is a smell that airing would have removed.

Press on a low heat through a cloth, never directly on the face of the fabric.

Sheers and fluid fabrics

Hand wash cold with a gentle detergent, or dry clean. No wringing — press the water out between two towels.

Dry flat away from direct sun, which fades colour faster than washing does. Steam rather than iron; a hot plate will glaze a fine weave permanently.

Knitwear

Hand wash cold and dry flat, always. A knit hung wet will grow and never entirely recover.

Fold rather than hang for storage. Pilling on a natural fibre is normal in the first few wears — take it off with a comb or a fabric shaver rather than pulling it.

Storage

Give pieces room. Clothes crushed together crease along the fold lines and hold them.

In humid months, keep the wardrobe dry and let air move through it. Store everything clean — marks you cannot see now will oxidise and become permanent over a season.

Repairs and alterations

A seam that has gone, a hem that needs shortening, a button lost — these are worth fixing rather than replacing.

If something has failed in a way that looks like a fault rather than wear, write to us through the contact page with photographs before you take it anywhere.