Caring for Silk

According to Chinese legend, Empress Hsi Ling Shi, wife of Emperor Huang Ti, was the first person to accidentally discover silk for its ability to be woven as a fiber.  The story goes that one day, the empress was having tea under a mulberry tree, and a cocoon fell into her cup and began to unravel.  As she watched the threads, she discovered their source and then began cultivating silkworms and invented the reel and loom.

Today, silk is a soft, luxurious fabric that is versatile, practical, and durable.  Some benefits of silk garments include breathability, regulating body temperature, moisture wicking, doesn’t irritate your skin, no static cling, and can come in a variety of weights.  But with all its advantages, silk can sometimes be temperamental to care for.  Because of that, we’ve assembled a list of tips to help you keep your silk garments looking their best.

• Always blot, never rub a spill – especially on silk.  Silk chafes easily.
• Apply perfume, cologne, and hairspray before dressing to avoid color loss and staining. 
• Make sure your deodorant is completely dry before putting on a silk garment.
• Use great care when handling household cleaners (especially products containing bleach, alcohol, and chlorine) and products (like hand sanitizer, moisturizer, toothpaste, face cleansers, dish detergent) when wearing silk.  If left on silk untreated, it could lead to color loss or color distortion.
• Never use bleach or products containing chlorine when cleaning silk.  They can permanently change the color.
• Store silk garments in a dark area.  Prolonged exposure to sunlight or artificial light can cause the color to streak or fade.
• Wash or clean all pieces of a matching ensemble at the same time so they continue to look uniform.
• When it comes to cleaning silk garments, they respond well to dry cleaning.  Washing silk at home could cause shrinkage, chafing, and color loss.
• But if you decide to care for your silk garments at home, we recommend that you follow the directions on the care label and check for colorfastness before cleaning.

If you are apprehensive about caring for your silk at home, our staff is trained to handle delicate garments, remove difficult stains, and solve problems.  Simply drop your silk garments off at any one of our three locations, and we’ll be happy to take care of it from there.