Bra and Lingerie care is so very important!
You invest your hard-earned dollars in beautiful garments that make you feel amazing, but to keep them looking newer for longer, they will require maintenance. One of our jobs here @ Romantic Notions is to make sure you leave with all the information to take care of your new bra, panty or lingerie.
First thing we will tell you is you HAVE to buy the brand of bra wash we carry in store... kidding! We carry Forever New Laundry Essentials; while we love them, and hope you love them too, we know you might have other brands at home already. We recommend a gentle bra or delicate detergent for your garments. The formulas are gentle and stop the break down of delicate fabrics. Delicate laundry detergent will also help with breaking down the natural body oils we produce during the day. If you do not have some already, we can throw in a sample to try out and because you will love it, grab a bottle.
Now you have your garment and your detergent. When is the best time to wash them and how often? This is a great question and an important one. For the when, that is easy, when ever works best for your schedule. Now for the how often, there is not one easy answer for that, it is going to depend on how you wear them, and how active you are. The general rule for sports bras is after every wear, for everyday bras you might be able to get away with every second or third wear if you were not perspiring heavily during the day. If you tend to run warm, you may need to wash more frequently because the heat of your body may stretch the band out quicker, and if you run cold well you might be able to stretch it out to three wears. You might notice we mentioned wears instead of days, and this is because we recommend alternating your bras day on/day off, so the fabric has time to rest in between. See like we said… not an easy answer. We will talk about this with you at your fitting appointment, which you can book here.
How do I wash my bras? We are not going to recommend in the washing machine, for a few reasons, and the biggest one is delicate items tend to be at risk in a machine. However, there are always ways to reduce the risk of damage; like using a wash bag, making sure your hooks and eyes are done up before going in the wash and using a delicate cycle. Avoid the dryer!! Lay flat to dry or hang by the center gore for bras. This method for drying goes for both machine and hand washing. Speaking of which, hand washing is the best method. Run the sink with cold water, as cold as you can stand putting your hands into and add a bit of detergent. Mix it up and start soaking. (If you have several bras to wash, start with the light colors and work your way to the darker ones, to prevent any color transfer. (This isn’t not usually a big worry, but why take the chance!) Once they have soaked for 10 minutes or so give them a gentle once over with a soft toothbrush, focus on the areas that may be subject to more body oils, like under the arm pit and under the cup along the wire. Gently pat/squeeze out the water and lay flat to dry. Voila! Done and done.
The same can go for panties, soak them and then rub the fabric against itself making sure anything left behind from wear is washed away. Although with panties, many of our clients prefer to machine wash. Throwing them into a wash bag into a gentle cycle should not be a problem. Remember to lay them flat to dry as well, this will help the lifespan.
Lingerie can be a bit trickier, and it is important to read the tags attached, or the packages they come in. Different fabrics and styles may recommend different methods. Throwing a corset into the machine is probably not ideal, and a lot of the hosiery may require a wash bag, and a special detergent to preserve them. Much of our lingerie is beautiful with vibrant colors, while their colors should in most cases be pre-set, the occasional item may transfer. We do our best to collect information and give you the best wash care instructions to make sure you can easily wash and wear your items. We encourage you to check tags and be cautious as well to avoid any issues.
We also have a great swim wash in store, to help preserve the life of our swim wear! Help break down harsh chemicals from the pool and keep your colors vibrant with the Forever New swim wash, Splash!
While we are on the topic of hygiene and cleaning, we also have cleaner for our adult novelty items as well. If you happen to be purchasing spicey lingerie and maybe a fun toy, don’t forget to grab our cleaner to keep you safe, healthy and happy!
As always, we try to make sure to go over all this information with you at time of purchase, and we also provide a cheat sheet for you to take home. Often, we have gone over so much information with you, its hard to remember it all. If you are not sure you can always call with any questions.