Wardrobe Loft

Clothing, shoes & accessories, honestly reviewed

The Care File

The Care Companion

Last updated: October 1, 2026

I have watched more good clothing die of bad laundry than of bad design. The fiber tag tells you what you bought; the care label only tells you what the brand hopes will keep it alive until the return window closes. The rest — the real rules — come from how each material is built, and those rules are worth having on one page.

This is that page. Every row below follows the same order of operations: how to wash it, how to dry it, where to put it, and the single mistake that does the most damage. When in doubt, do less — agitation, heat, and time ruin more garments than any detergent.

Material Washing Drying Storage The common mistake
Cotton Machine wash cold or warm; shrinkage drops sharply below 86°F/30°C Tumble low and pull while slightly damp, or line dry to skip the iron Fold knits, hang wovens; no special care Drying on high heat — that is where the shrink happens, not the wash
Linen Machine wash cool on gentle; wash separately the first few times Line dry; press while damp if you want it crisp Hang on padded hangers; folded shelf creases set hard Fighting every wrinkle — creasing is the fiber, not a defect
Cashmere Hand wash cool with wool detergent, or dry clean only for structured pieces Roll in a towel, dry flat away from heat; never hang Folded with cedar, in a bag; moths find it first Hanging it — shoulder bumps on cashmere never press back out
Merino wool Machine washable on a true wool cycle, cold Dry flat; heat is what turns a fit into a felted rag Folded, with moth protection in season Treating 'machine washable' as license for the regular cycle
Silk Hand wash cool with silk detergent or dry clean; test dye bleed first Roll in a towel, iron on low from the reverse while damp On a hanger, away from direct light; light fades silk Wet silk under high heat — water spots and shine loss are permanent
Velvet Dry clean almost always; crushed velvet care labels lie the least Air dry on a wide hanger; steam never touches the pile directly Hung with space around it so the pile doesn't crush Pressing the pile flat with an iron — the mark never fully lifts
Denim Inside out, cold, rarely; spot clean instead when you can Line dry inside out; the dryer is what kills stretch recovery Folded; hanging by the hem stretches the waist Frequent full washes — the fade you paid for lives in the wash water
Smooth leather Never machine wash; wipe with a barely damp cloth, condition seasonally Air dry away from radiators; dried-out leather cracks, it doesn't shrink back Stuffed and on a shaped hanger, in a breathable bag — never plastic Trying to fix a stain with household solvents; set-in stains need a pro
Suede Brush dry with a suede brush; water and suede are enemies Blot wet spots, let dry naturally, brush the pile back up Cool and dry, with a cedar insert nearby Wet-cleaning it at home — most 'ruined' suede was simply scrubbed damp
Gold-filled jewelry Mild soap and warm water with a soft brush; dry fully after Pat dry with a lint-free cloth before storing Sealed in a small bag, away from perfume and humidity Treating it like plated jewelry — the bonded layer is thicker and wants normal wear
Pearls Wipe with a soft damp cloth after wearing; never soak the strand Air dry flat on a cloth before storing Flat, silk-lined, separate from metal; drilled holes hold moisture Spraying perfume or hairspray on them — nacre is a surface, not a stone

A note on scope: this table is the quick reference. The long version — how each material actually fails, and what can be rescued — lives in The Care File, one piece at a time.

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Found a row that disagrees with your experience? Tell us at [email protected] — reader corrections have rewritten this table before, and they will again.