Washing guide for luxury designer kaftans

Lindsey Brown, designer of our luxury resort wear gives her tips on how to care for your garments, without the use of harsh chemical on how to keep your silk designer resort wear items looking fabulous and new.

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR LINDSEY BROWN RESORT WEAR

When packing your Lindsey Brown garments, wrap in tissue to avoid contact with other items that may snag or pull the fabric when compressed against each other in a suitcase. Or turn inside out to protect the detailing and pack within other plain cotton items. Belts, bra hooks and zips could damage delicate silk designer kaftans when placed directly on top of each other during transit when heavy suitcases are packed on top of each other.

When wearing be careful to avoid direct contact with watches or sharp jewellery that may catch or cause pulls in the fabric, as we cannot be held responsible for snags or catches caused by undue care or attention.

Be aware of wide sleeves take care not to lean over a naked flame.

When storing, hang or fold as you prefer. We recommend silk designer kaftans such as the silk short kaftans with silk ties on the back to be folded, as they could pull the back ties if hung tied, for long periods of time. Store garments with cords and beads away from children.

Follow our care instructions, to remove salt and suntan lotion that may have built up into the fibres from your holiday. Each item has a wash care label. If you are unsure, send a quick email and we can advise you on the care advice for each product.

COTTON PRODUCT CARE - We recommend hand washing in lukewarm water using a non biological powder or liquid for any cottons with beading or crystals on, to preserve the detail and quality of our cotton clothes.

When hand washing cotton beach dresses or cotton kaftans, as with all dark dyed and hand dyed fabrics, some colour may wash out which is more apparent when hand washing. Wash in lukewarm water. Rinse in cold water. Colour will only run if you have used hot water over 40* and if you have used a biological detergent which may contain a stain removing or bleaching agent.

Remove excess water and then hang dry immediately, always reshape whilst damp. Test any stain removers on the inside of coloured fabrics initially. We suggest gentle baby wipes to gently remove stains, always test. If you are washing your items on holiday, please rinse and drip dry in the shower and dry in the shade as direct sunlight may reduce the colour on the wet garment.

Cotton has a slight crinkle which may appear to shrink if you had dried in an airing cupboard or in direct heat. for best results, press or iron when slightly damp using a steam iron and your kaftan will spring back to length. Avoid ironing on necklines or areas with crystals or sequins.

Do not machine wash. Do not spin in a machine to remove excess water as this will make the cotton fabric compact and appear to shrink. Excess heat in a tumble dryer and washing machine may shrink your garment.

SILK PRODUCT CARE - Refresh your silk Items using a handheld steamer or steam ironing rather than washing and dry cleaning, as it preserves the quality of all silk clothes.

Do not wash in a machine.
Do not spin in a machine to remove water

You can dip silk in 100% cold water but we do mean a quick instant dip, do not soak. Only use a non-bio liquid or powder. Dilute the liquid in the water, and dip in and out, do not soak. Rinse gently in cold water and reshape whilst damp.

There is no need to wash your items before wearing them, all items are brand new and any website returns are steam cleaned before being sold online.

Please do not soak silk. Instead, we recommend dipping into 100% cold water, remove excess water and hang dry immediately. For best results hang when nearly dry and steam back to shape.

If you decide to machine wash, soak or spin your garment you do risk damaging your garment. We are not responsible for any pulls tears holes caused by machine washing or machine spinning.

We suggest gentle baby wipes to gently remove stains, or make up remover wipes to remove make up and fake tan. Always test on the inside of a garment.

SILK CREPE PRODUCT CARE - We recommend hand washing silk designer luxury kaftans in lukewarm water using a non biological powder or liquid for any cottons with beading or crystals on, to preserve the detail and quality of our cotton clothes. Luke warm means you can easily keep your hands fully in the water, if you can not the water is too hot. Prepare the water before adding your garment

When hand washing silk crepe, wash in lukewarm water by dipping not soaking. Rinse in cold water. Colour will only run if you have used hot water over 40* and if you have used a biological detergent which may contain a stain removing or bleaching agent.

Remove excess water and then hang dry immediately, always reshape whilst damp. Test any stain removers on the inside of coloured fabrics. We suggest gentle baby wipes to gently remove stains, test before hand. If you are washing your items on holiday, please rinse and drip dry in the shower and dry in the shade as direct sunlight may reduce the colour on the wet garment.

For best results iron when slightly damp using a steam iron. Avoid ironing on necklines or areas with crystals. You can also use a hand held steamer to press your silk crepe kaftan or dress back to shape.

STEAMING AND DRY CLEANING

Invest in a home hand steamer, as this is much easier than ironing and more effective as a garment steamer can be used directly onto any delicate fabrics, beads, sequins and silks and will not cause any damage. Steaming will remove all creases in seconds. These are great to take on holiday also, I never travel without mine.

Press with a clean steam iron instead of dry cleaning. Iron using a low setting only, for delicate silks and iron whilst damp. Test before on the inside to check the temperature. Always avoid ironing beads, sequins and threads.

If you wish to dry clean your garments, please check with the dry cleaner, that they are not putting your item into a generic dry cleaning machine as this will be too hot and can damage the garment, as we recommend zero heat on our beading or sequins. Many dry cleaners use a harsh solvent called perchloroethylene or perc which is too harsh for most fabrics, including the delicate silks of the Lindsey Brown collection. We advise you to check with your dry cleaner if they use Hydrocarbon instead, which is still a solvent but not as harsh as perc and can be used on our silk and cotton fabrics. We still prefer and suggest not to dry clean and simply steam to clean.

Green Dry Cleaning, is the best dry cleaning method a new environmentally friendly method which cleans and freshens a garment and replaces the need for harsh chemicals. Google Green Dry Cleaners in your area. If you choose to dry clean, your dry cleaner follows symbol F within a circle. You can also visit GreenEarth for a directory of local green dry cleaners.

We still prefer and suggest that you do not dry clean , don’t ever machine wash silk and simply steam ( with a hand steamer or steam iron) your silk and silk crepe luxury resort wear.

ALTERATIONS FOR LINDSEY BROWN RESORT WEAR

We often design our hemlines and sleeve lengths without embellishment so you can alter easily to your desired length. Please use a reputable service, or get in touch and we can alter your item for you, at a minimal charge by our in house skilled tailor.

A copy our our product care is enclosed with each Lindsey Brown order but if you are unsure how to care for your item, then please send our personal shoppers a quick email or call and we can advise you on the care for a specific product. Please call on (+44) 01162414627 or email us.