Frequently asked questions

If your question isn’t answered here, write to us — reader questions decide what we research next.

Getting started

Where should I start if I’m new here?

Start Here lays out the site by situation — rebuilding a closet, replacing one piece, or trying to stop wasting money on a category you keep re-buying. Each path links the guides that answer it, in the order they’re most useful.

How do you decide what gets reviewed?

Two ways. Reader questions first — the topics that keep arriving through the contact form move up the queue. Then gap-filling: where a wardrobe category has lots of marketing and no clear spec comparison, we write the guide we wished existed. The full method is on How We Review.

Do you buy everything you write about?

No, and we don’t pretend otherwise. Every guide states its evidence plainly: manufacturer specifications we’ve checked for consistency, testing and reporting from named independent sources, and patterns across verified owner reviews — with the negative reviews read first. Where a claim can’t be traced to one of those three, it doesn’t make it into the guide. The rules are spelled out in How We Review.

Why do some guides end with picks and others don’t?

Guides labeled as reviews or buying guides end with picks, scored against the spec written at the start. The rest — care deep-dives, fabric explainers, label decoding — are research pieces. They end with what to look for, not what to buy, and most carry no shopping links at all.

Do you make money from links?

Sometimes, and only when it doesn’t change the verdict. Some outbound shopping links earn a commission at no extra cost to you; picks are scored before any commercial consideration, and a product that scores badly stays out of the picks even if the commission is good. The full arrangement is on the affiliate disclosure page.

Care and fabrics

How do I care for a specific fabric?

The Care Companion is the quick reference — washing, drying, storage and the common mistake for each fabric, on one table. The Care File series goes deeper on one fabric at a time, starting with why linen is supposed to age.

What do those jewelry labels actually mean?

That’s the Label Reader series — what “gold-filled”, “vermeil” and similar stamped terms legally promise, and what they don’t. Latest installment: what gold-filled actually promises you .

How often are guides updated?

Every guide shows its published and last-updated dates at the top. Prices, availability and owner-review patterns drift, so guides get re-checked on a rolling basis — material changes get a dated note at the top rather than a silent rewrite.

Can I suggest a product or topic?

Please do — the contact form is the fastest route. Questions with the most requests get researched first, and if you flag a specific error in a guide, corrections are checked and published with a dated note.