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. Where a knit has stretch, we say which direction it runs.
Knitted fabrics follow the body and recover; woven fabrics hold a shape and crease. 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.
Three habits cover most of it: cold water, inside out, and no softener. Dry in the shade to slow fading, and press on the reverse at the lowest setting that does the job. Press from the reverse and never directly onto a print, a placket or a button.
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. Natural fibres move a little in the first wash; anything expected to shrink more than that is stated on the page rather than discovered by you. Shrinkage on a first cool wash is normally within a centimetre, and anything beyond that is flagged.
Treat a knit as you would a wool jumper even when it is cotton: cool water, low spin, dry flat and away from a radiator. A cool wash, a shorter spin and drying flat keeps a rib from stretching under its own weight; a tumble dryer will take the shape out of a cuff in one cycle and it does not come back.
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. Hardware, zips and buttons do better with the garment turned inside out before it goes in the drum.
Store clean and completely dry, folded rather than hung for anything knitted, and out of direct light — natural fibres yellow where sun reaches them over a season. Fold knitwear instead of hanging it, keep everything away from direct sun, and use a cotton bag rather than sealed plastic so the fibre can breathe through the winter.
Roll rather than fold anything prone to creasing, and lay knitwear flat on top of the bag. A creased woven usually hangs out overnight; a flattened rib or a glazed print generally will not, which is worth remembering when space is tight.
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