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Garment care: The best tips and tricks for caring for your ada + lou treasures in the laundry

Garment care: The best tips and tricks for caring for your ada + lou treasures in the laundry

All ada + lou pieces are handmade with love, with a focus on quality finishes like French seams, fabric covered buttons and detailed embroidery stitching.

Slow fashion like ours is created to be enduring. We want it to last a lifetime and for you to be able to pull it out of your wardrobe at any time and look as fabulous in it the 100th time as you did the first.

That means when it comes to the laundry, like all treasured items, your ada + lou pieces will need a little extra care.

two young girls frolicking in a tropical garden while wearing ada + lou
Choosing eco-friendly wash options leaves a better world for the future ...

Garment care for ada + lou

We recommend:

🌿 Treat all stains as soon as possible and wash entire garment immediately afterwards

🌿 Handwash in cold water using mild, eco-friendly detergent if you can. Baking soda is a great eco-wash option, and a little vinegar is perfect as a fabric softener.

🌿 If you do use the washing machine there are a few steps that will preserve the longevity of your adored ada + lou pieces:

  • Use cold water and a mild, eco-friendly detergent. As with hand washing, baking soda is a great eco-wash option, and a little vinegar is perfect as a fabric softener.
  • Wash all items individually, not mixed in with other laundry
  • Ensure all buttons, zippers and ties are fastened, then turn your garment inside out before placing it in a mesh wash bag
  • Place the wash bag in your machine and select the gentle or handwash cycle

🌿 Avoid the dryer

🌿  Once washed, hang your ada + lou items to dry or lay them flat on a towel or clean surface

🌿 Once dried and hung you’ll find most creases and wrinkles will soon drop out of your ada + lou pieces, however if they do need a little attention, that is best given with a quick steam, rather than an iron if possible.

 

A little fraying of the fabric on the outside of any embroidery is to be expected and won’t impact the rest of your frock.

How to hand wash delicates

Ensure the sink, tub or bucket you to wash and rinse your delicates is clean to begin with. We recommend using two - one for washing and one for rinsing - if possible.

Ideally you would wash each item individually, however sorting colourfast items into lights and darks will allow you to wash multiple items without the risk of dyes bleeding into each other and damaging precious pieces.

Cold water is your friend. If water is too warm it may shrink your garment or impact the dyes.

🌿 Use an eco friendly detergent option. It is a good idea to mix your detergent with a little warm water to help dissolve it before adding it to your washing water.
It may take some experimenting and practise to get your water - detergent rails right - too little and the clothes won't be clean, too much and you'll be rinsing for days!

To wash, gently swirl your clothes in circles, from side-to-side and up and down. Take extra care when garments have lace, embroidery, sequins, tassels and other delicate features.

Delicate trimmings need extra care in the laundry.

 

Now you can either refresh your water to rinse, rinse your clean delicates in a second container with clean water or rinse them gently with a kitchen sink hose attachment.

Repeat the swirl motion you used during the wash cycle to get out all the detergent.

Squeeze to remove excess moisture. NEVER wring out delicates. It's a big no no! Wringing out delicates can damage the fabric or trims and cause your garments to lose their shape. 

Hang your ada + lou items to dry or lay them flat on a towel or clean surface.

Once dried and hung you’ll find most creases and wrinkles will soon drop out of your ada + lou pieces, however if they do need a little attention, that is best given with a quick steam, rather than an iron if possible.