How to Care for Delicate Summer Tops

Summertime fashions, particularly for women, often include lacy blouses, stringy tank tops, embroidered camisoles, frilly peasant tops and other fragile garments. Warm and breezy summer days and nights call for such fun fashions. Still, these delicate garments may require a bit of extra care to keep them spotless and intact.

Try these seven tips for gentle maintenance of fragile summer fashions. Although these instructions are aimed at delicate summer tops, the same principles apply to fragile dresses, hosiery, lingerie, skirts, sleepwear and many other fragile fashion items.

Gentle Maintenance of Fragile Fashions: Wear Delicate Tops Carefully

Dress gently. Unfasten and unbutton fragile blouses and tops to put them on and take them off. These items may tear quite easily, so extra care is needed during dressing and wearing. Obviously, delicate fashions ought to be worn gently as well, rather than for athletic or strenuous activities.

Gentle Maintenance of Fragile Fashions: Keep Delicate Tops Clean

Delicate fabrics and ornamentation can break down easily, even with unapparent soiling. It is essential to keep fragile fashions as clean as possible. Using non-staining antiperspirants and avoiding cosmetic staining can help a lot in preserving delicate or fragile summer fashion items.

Gentle Maintenance of Fragile Fashions: Read Fabric Care Labels

Most ready-made garments contain fashion care labels. Usually, these are sewn into an internal seam of a blouse, top, dress or other apparel item. Read these carefully to determine how to care for a delicate summer top. Does the manufacturer recommend dry cleaning, hand washing or machine washing on a delicate setting?

Gentle Maintenance of Fragile Fashions: Dry Cleaning

If a delicate summer top contains a fabric care label calling for dry cleaning only, then this is what must be done. One of the benefits of professional dry cleaning is that many cleaners will assume responsibility for the results of the cleaning process. However, some cleaners will not guarantee the safety of delicate garments. Check the policies of any dry cleaner before submitting your treasured delicate summer tops for dry cleaning.

Gentle Maintenance of Fragile Fashions: Hand-Washing

Hand washing is often the safest method of cleaning delicate summer tops. Each item must be washed individually, using a gentle hand-washing soap, such as Woolite.

Of course, colored items may run, particularly in warm water. It's best to try cleaning a sample first, such as a portion of an inner seam of the garment.

After washing, you can gently squeeze excess water out of your delicate summer top. Do not twist or wring your garment. Then lay your apparel flat on a clean, dry towel or a flat drying screen.

Gentle Maintenance of Fragile Fashions: Delicate Machine Washing

Some delicate summer tops may actually be washed in an automatic washing machine. However, these items must be cleaned individually to avoid tangling and tearing. Be sure to set the controls on the automatic washing machine for the most delicate and gentle setting possible.

It is never a good idea to machine-dry delicate summer tops, even if the garments' fabric care labels suggest it. These items may easily shrink, tear or otherwise become damaged.

Drying delicate summer tops on a flat drying screen or even a snag-free drying rack is far safer. Be sure all items are fully dried before placing them on coat hangers.

Gentle Maintenance of Fragile Fashions: Storing Delicate Items

Of course, wire coat hangers may rust or even snag delicate items, so these ought to be avoided. Padded cloth hangers are the ideal choice, although smooth plastic hangers may also be used.

By caring thoughtfully for your delicate summer tops, you may ensure these favorite seasonal fashions will last for many summers to come.