Ware and care: product durability and maintenance practices

Wearcare

The shirt is a Paul Smith; size XS (UK 6 and USA 4). The official measurements of the shirt are 77 cm for the chest/bust (about 30 inches). As it is a women's cut, there are no official neck measurements. A loose measure reveals it is 12 inches. The length of the shirt (body length) is 27 inches, and sleeve is 24 inches. This particular model is the blush pink dog on a bike print, with cuffs that roll up to reveal a deep indigo-purple with white polka dot.

Wearing the shirt for half a day incurred some collar stains on the inside and no noticeable stains on the outside. It is an elite designer shirt that I have no interest in dirtying, so am very careful when wearing it. Even the cuffs, which turn up to reveal the underside print (a Paul Smith signature), remained clean. I did not wash the shirt, as it did not need it, and I don't believe it good for the shirt (or the environment) to over-wash. I waited until the second time I wore the shirt. This time, I wore the shirt to work and afterwards went out with colleagues for a drink. Eating salty snacks, I managed to get some of the oily salt on some spots, leaving tiny but noticeable stains. The color of the shirt is light and shows the little specks.

3. The length of time between that second wear and the time I laundered the shirt was about four hours.

4. I pretreat the shirt first by turning it inside out and dabbing with a Tide stain remover stick at all the necessary areas. Leaving the shirt inside out (believing that this will help preserve the life of the pattern and the brightness of its colors), I place it in the laundry with a few select items to be washed on a delicate cycle. Only some underwear (mixed colors but I have washed them many times and know they do not bleed), one machine washable bra, a knit jersey dress (beige), and one other light shirt (a well-worn white background button down shirt) go into the wash with the Paul Smith. I am nervous about washing the shirt because it was expensive, and I have lost many shirts to poor washing cycles.

Consulting the machine manual, I select the best options for the cycle. Delicate vs. hand wash is my first question. Hand wash cycle is more of a soak, so I opted for delicate cycle. I set the temperature to cold water only, which is what I would use for my other clothes anyway. My choice of detergent has been lately to use an ecological brand I purchase from Whole Foods called Seventh Sun. They make a detergent for delicate clothes that works well in cold water, and it is liquid. I have never had a problem with the detergent leaving streaks or unevenness, but I doubt its ability to tackle tough stains. Hopefully the pre-treatment does the bulk of the work.

Now that the shirt has undergone its pretreatment, I push start. I do nothing else. I do not use fabric softener as a rule. No bleach was used either. When the cycle is complete, I immediately remove all the clothes from the washing machine. None of these items is slated for the dryer. These are all delicate items that I hang on a line inside my apartment. My only dilemma now is how to hang the Paul Smith: do I use clips or drape it? I opt for clips because it will dry more evenly. The buttons (on the cuffs and all along the front) are closed during wash and dry.