Vintage garments and their care

Yesterday was Earth Day, and to celebrate it I wanted to write this article.

Today I'll explain how to take care of your clothes.

Knowing how to make clothes last longer is an important factor when trying to create a more sustainable wardrobe.

Extending the life of our clothes will allow us to master slow fashion and save money by reducing the amount of clothing we need to buy in our lives.

We've all had a few items of clothing that we carelessly threw into the washer and dryer, only to find that they were ruined because we didn't consider the proper way to wash them.

I've been there too and learned my lesson pretty quickly.

By not taking care of our clothes, we end up throwing them away, causing them to end up in a landfill or incinerated somewhere on the planet.

It's terrible for the environment considering the pollution clothing creates by being produced, shipped, and maintained, only to land in a place that will cause more pollution.

Not to mention it's a waste of money spent on the purchase, even if we got it cheap by buying second-hand clothes.

For this reason, it is essential for ourselves and the environment to ensure that our clothes have a long life.

I want to give you a few little tips to help you keep your clothes healthy over time.

1. Buy high-quality clothing

Buying better-quality clothing is an important factor when considering the longevity of your clothes. Cheaper items won't last long after repeated washing in the washer and dryer and may be more prone to shrinking and fading. By cheap items, I mean items from fast-fashion chains.

Learn how to stop buying fast fashion and instead focus on buying clothing made from high-quality fabrics like silk, linen, and cotton, or sustainable fabrics like organic cotton and eco-leather, and avoid cheaper materials like polyester and various synthetics.

2 Protect your clothes

Try to avoid getting your clothes dirty by wearing protective gear when performing certain activities. If you're cooking, wear an apron to prevent food or potential stains from ruining your clothes. You'll undoubtedly have some stained or damaged items. Use them to protect your healthy clothes.

Stains can be a death sentence for clothes, so by taking precautions ahead of time, you ensure your clothes last much longer.

You should also protect expensive clothing items you don't wear often, such as dresses or formal wear, in a garment bag when storing them in the closet to help preserve them. These are fabric garment covers that can be found anywhere. I also recommend placing mold-repellent bags in the pockets if you live in a humid environment, and camphor moth-repellent tablets if the item is wool. Moths are the number one enemy of wool and similar items.

3. Bring a stain remover pen with you

As mentioned above, a stain is usually a determining factor in determining when a garment has reached the end of its life cycle. Certain stains are impossible to remove if you don't act immediately.

To avoid this, carry a stain remover pen with you to tackle a stain while it's fresh.

Alternatively, if you are at home, wash it as soon as possible so that the stain does not set.

3 Don't wash your clothes too much

Plain and simple, clothes last longer if they aren't over-washed.

Sweaters worn over a T-shirt don't need to be washed after every single use. The same goes for jeans, skirts, tank tops, and dresses.

Unless the garment is actually soiled with something, they can generally be worn about three times before needing to be cleaned, especially in winter.

Just make sure you hang up your worn clothes to freshen them up in the fresh air. Clothes are like us. Imagine washing your hair every day. It can happen, especially in the summer, but just like our skin and hair, your clothes can get irritated too.

5. Use a delicates laundry bag

Mesh bags for certain types of clothing such as underwear, lingerie, and delicate fabrics are important to ensure that clothes last longer.

Some items of clothing can easily get caught on other items of clothing or zippers, which could damage them and eventually lead to them being thrown away.

6. Zipper and buttoning to avoid damage

Speaking of zippers, to reduce the risk of damage to your clothes during the wash, zip up sweaters and jeans before putting them in the washing machine. Jeans should always be washed inside out.

The same goes for buttons. This way, you reduce the risk of your clothes getting caught or tangled and damaged.

Ensuring your clothes stay intact is an important factor in having long-lasting clothes. By buttoning and zipping them before washing, you can help prevent that damage.

7 Follow the washing instructions

The clothing does not come with laundry instructions on the tags for nothing.

It is extremely important to read these tags to learn how to wash each piece of clothing to ensure a long life for the garment.

Some items of clothing should be hung to dry or thrown in the dryer. Others should be washed on a cold cycle without a spin cycle; others should be hand-washed. Delicate items, for example, should always be hung flat to prevent water from distorting their shape. Delicate items, such as wool and similar items, should never be washed with fabric softener, for example, and should always be washed with a special detergent. White items should be washed in a dedicated room. Black items should always be machine-washed at 30°C (86°F), and no hotter, to prevent discoloration. They should never be hung out to dry in the sun. Black items will fade in the sun, while white items risk turning yellow.

You don't want to take a piece of clothing out of the washer or dryer only to realize it's shrunk, faded, or lost its softness. After that, there's no going back.

8 Separate your laundry carefully

After reading the laundry labels, you need to sort your laundry accordingly. Sort by colors, delicates, etc.

Separating your laundry will help your clothes last longer because some items of clothing may get damaged,

9. Don't fill the washing machine

You certainly don't want to wash with too few clothes because it's a waste of energy and water, but you also don't want to put too many clothes in your washing machine.

If the washing machine drum is overfilled, it won't wash your clothes properly. Furthermore, the clothes will rub against each other, which could damage and fade your garments. It can also cause pilling.

You should also wash your clothes in cold water to prevent fading, shrinking, and stains.

It is also more environmentally friendly to wash them in cold water despite the fact that it requires less energy.

10. Wash clothes inside out

To reduce fading and keep prints from cracking, turn clothes inside out before throwing them in the washing machine.

While it may seem tedious to have to turn them inside out after they've dried, it will help certain types of clothes, such as T-shirts with slogans or designs, last longer.

11 Hang clothes to dry

Hanging clothes to dry on a clothesline is an excellent way to preserve their quality and thus prolong their life. However, be careful with the clothespins when hanging silk or similar items. A too-tight clothespin could damage the garment and leave marks on the fabric.

As mentioned above, if the fabrics are delicate, such as silk, wool, or other fabrics that require a cold wash and no spin cycle, they should be hung horizontally on the clothesline so that they don't lose their shape under the weight of the water.

If, like me, you live in a very humid area, you need little tricks to avoid damage to your clothes and your health.

You need a dehumidifier that keeps your living space dry, and if possible, one that also has a clothes dryer function. Hanging wet clothes indoors will create humidity.

Buy a dryer to avoid having clotheslines around the house and a buildup of humidity during the winter.

Place special anti-humidity bags inside your wardrobe and replace them every two to three months.

There are also anti-mold packages for shoe racks.

13 Learn to repair your clothes

A little sewing knowledge can go a long way. There's no need to throw away clothes because a button fell off or there's a small tear.

Learning the basics of sewing is easy, easier than you think. Often, one of our greatest rivals is laziness.

Make sure you always have a supply of buttons on hand, and threads in the most prevalent colors in your wardrobe.

You can also rely on an expert seamstress for more demanding jobs.

They seem like long procedures, but I assure you that once you begin to get familiar with these steps, you will no longer be able to do without them.

You will realize how beautiful it is to see your clothes healthy and indestructible over time.

Also remember that we only have one planet and that when you open your wardrobe you always have something to wear and not the other way around.

And if you really want to do some shopping, it's better to buy one quality item than three cheap ones. What you wear is your second skin.

Remember to take care of your clothes as you would the people you love.