Care Guide

The way we treat our clothes has a huge impact on how long they last. It takes a toll on our clothes every time we wear, wash and dry it, and if we don't treat or store it right it might lose its shape or colour. Therefore it is so important that you take good care of your clothes. Too many important ressources have gone into its creation, and just as many will go into the creation of its replacement. To help you, we have gathered our best advice for taking care of your denim and wool clothes, two materials that require some special treatment, but can last very long if treated right.

Don't. Or do it as seldom as possible to preserve  their shape, quality and color. Especially when it comes to "dry" (unwashed) denim which gets it personality and individuality by wearing - not washing. But clothes can of course get so dirty that there is no way around.

Our recommendations:

Only wash when visibly dirty. Every time you wash your denim product, you wear down the fibres a little, and they can lose colour and shrink. Try to limit washing to when your denim gets stained.

Limit to spot cleaning if possible. Accidents happen, and our clothes get stains. It is always best to treat stains as quickly as possible for the best result. Sometimes you can even save it from a full wash.

Wash inside out in cold water. To limit wear and loss of colour always turn your denim inside out before washing. This will also limit damages to other clothes in the washer from the buttons or zippers in your denim. Cold water helps prevent your denim product from shrinking.

Use a gentle laundry detergent without bleach. Too harsh chemicals have no place in our waters, and they can wear down the fibres our our clothes. If the detergent contains bleach it can make your clothes lose their colour.

Line dry in the shade. The dryer is denims most feared enemy. It can both shrink and wear down the material. Instead, hang to dry outside in the shade, preferrably by the waist to avoid creases or folds from the line.

Hang outside to freshen up. Sometimes our products just needs to be freshened up a little instead of a wash. Try hanging your denim product outside in the shade for a few hours.

Store hanging or rolled. If denim products are stored folded in the same way all the time, they can get lines and permanent creases. This can be avoided if you store them hanging on a skirt hanger or rolled on a shelf or in a drawer.

Through centuries we have relied on wool to keep us warm. Wool garments are great for layering and depending on the thickness of the weave or knit, they can be worn year round.

At Blue De Gênes, we use wool for our knitted sweaters and three-piece winter suits.There are many reasons to love wool as a material. It has been gifted with a specific set of properties that sets it apart from any other fibres, and which has proved very useful over the years and ultimately lead to its strong popularity. Not only is wool naturally stretchy, leading to a high level of comfort and less wrinkles. It also has great heat retention properties and handles moisture in a way that keeps you warm and dry.The fibre contains a natural grease, lanolin, which repels dirt and moisture, so the fabric needs less washing.

Our recommendations:

Wear a t-shirt underneath wool sweaters. Avoid sweat and body odour transferring to your wool sweater by wearing a cotton t-shirt underneath at all times.

Hang outside or in a damp bathroom to freshen up. If a wool products is not dirty, but could need some freshing up, you can hang it outside in the shade, preferrably in cold weather, or in a damp bathrom.

Only wash when visibly dirty. Wool is anti-bacterial, and therefore only needs to be washed when it has become visbly dirty.

Wash using wool detergent. Wool contains a special oil, lanolin, which contributes to its valued features. You should therefore always use a detergent developed for wool products, to make sure not to wash out the lanolin.

Wash at wool program. When wet, the strength of the wool fibres decreases significantly, and it becomes much more delicate. A wool program will wash your product gently and cold, so it does not shrink or lose its shape.

Dry lying flat on a rack. After a trip to the washing machine, your wool product is wet and delicate. Hanging it to dry can risk distorting its shape.

Store wool sweaters folded or rolled. Wool sweaters can lose their shape if they spend too much time on the hanger. Fold or roll it and store it in a drawer or on a shelf.

Repairs

In a perfect world, we would all possess the skills of a trained tailor, and know just how to mend a product if it breaks. But for now we must rely on skilleds hands to prolong the life of our garments when they tear or break.Denim and wool are no easy challenge to take on when it comes to repairs. Therefore we recommend that you have a trained professional, a tailor or seamstress, handle any mending of your garments. That way you are sure to get a more visually pleasing result and that the reparation can withstand the future use and does not break too easily.