Materials, how they wear over time, and the washing advice that actually applies to them.
We list the fibre content and the fabric weight rather than describing a hand-feel with adjectives. Whether a knit has width stretch, vertical stretch or both is on the page, since the direction changes how a garment ages.
Knitwear stretches and springs back, so it should be dried flat rather than hung. A garment with elastane will keep its fit longer if it is never tumble dried, and a fine-gauge rib should be washed cool and dried flat to stop the collar and the cuffs losing their tension. Anything containing elastane loses its recovery in a hot dryer faster than in any other way.
Wash cool, turn garments inside out, and skip fabric softener — it coats the fibres and flattens brushed surfaces. Dry in the shade to slow fading, and press on the reverse at the lowest setting that does the job.
Composition is listed as percentages, because a blend is a different garment from either fibre on its own: cotton with a little elastane recovers its shape, the same cotton without it does not. Two tops can look identical on screen and wear completely differently at 140 and at 260 grams.
Elastane content above a couple of percent changes how a garment behaves over a season, and we name it where it matters. Where drape is the point — a fluid knit, a heavier woven — the listing says which and what it does.
Ribbed and fine-gauge knits dislike heat more than they dislike water. Hanging a wet ribbed top on a hanger is what turns a fitted cuff into a loose one.
Woven pieces tolerate a normal cool cycle and a warm iron, but a printed surface should be pressed from the reverse or through a cloth — a hot iron on the face of a print will glaze it. Turn anything with a zip or metal trim inside out before washing so the hardware cannot abrade the fabric it sits next to.
Put things away washed and bone dry. A breathable cotton bag is better than a vacuum pack, which crushes a pile or a rib flat.
Roll rather than fold anything prone to creasing, and lay knitwear flat on top of the bag. Most creasing drops out of a hanging garment within a night, whereas a squashed rib or a print pressed against a zip can be permanent.
Questions about this page? Write to [email protected] and we will answer within one business day.