Figuring out the best practices to take care of your intimates can be daunting. Let me guide you through the different options based on product knowledge and years of experience.

For the Bordelle lingerie collection, find specific care instructions below

How often should I wash my lingerie?

When washing any garment, keep in mind that washing too often shortens the life of your clothes. There are a few tricks to extend the time between washes such as steaming or hanging your clothes in the bathroom when showering to refresh them. When in doubt, use your common sense.

Briefs

After every wear

Bras

On average every 3 to 5 wears. Common sense for bras, if it has a stain or on a hot summer day where your entire body is sticky, wash it straight away. For the stain, read below for tricks.

PJs and Loungewear

Rule of thumb, every week or so, same as your sheets. Common sense once again if they don't feel fresh, you can give it a nice steam or wash if there is a stain.

How to wash your precious underpinnings?

Machine Wash

A controversial method amongst the lingerie purists, however, I do understand the reality, most of us simply don't have the time to wash everything by hand. Everyday bras without delicate lace can take a turn in the washing machine in the delicate cycle with cold water. You must use a delicate lingerie soap and laundry bags. Ideally, each bra should have its own laundry bag to avoid the hooks damaging its sisters. If you don't have enough laundry bags, make sure to hook up every bra shut to avoid unpleasant tears. Wash colours separately and hang up to dry. Be warned that silk loses its shine after several tours in the washing mashing.

Hand Wash

Use a soap in a basin with cool to warm water. Gently rub your lingerie with your fingers and let it rest in the soapy water for up to 30 min. You can wash more than one item at a time but make sure they are the same colour. Take the lingerie out of the water, do not wring, gently press the lingerie through your finger to remove excessive water, hang up to dry. Change the water between colours. Make sure to treat any stains before hand washing as heat causes stains to become permanent.

Dry Cleaning

Most lingerie should never be dry cleaned, refer to the care label for further instructions.

Silk PJs and Kimonos are to be dry cleaned. Some do machine wash their silk PJs, but be warned, the silk will lose its shine after several washes and have more of a peach skin finish.

 

Stains

Stains need to be treated before washing. Different stains require different attention and products. Most stain can be treated with delicate laundry detergent. Put the soap directly on the stain, no water, and gently brush in with your nails or a soft bristle toothbrush until it is barely noticeable, add cold water and keep brushing until it disappears, you can then wash your delicates.

For blood, the awful stain that's so har to get rid of once it has dried, a great product is hydrogen peroxide. The main issue with using this is that it may alter the colour of the fabric, so use with caution. Spray or drip the hydrogen peroxide directly on the stain and gently rub. You should see some white foaming, this is good, it's the peroxide breaking down the stain for you. If the blood is heavy or dry, you might have to repeat the process. Do not use hot water, it will make the stain permanent.

We also have some fantastic stain towelettes from Eucalan which can be used for every day life on the go (coffee spill anyone) or for the intimates at home. Be sure to check them out here, they can prevent serious headaches.

Lingerie healthy habits

Never, ever use the dryer

The dryer is easily the biggest killer of clothes. The excessive heat causes the fibres to break. Have you ever noticed white strings coming out of your bras? those are the tiny elastics (spandex or elastane) being broken under heat. A more subtle deterioration happens to every other type of fibre under the stress of the dryer. So, No dryer, ever.

Bra rotation

Try not to wear the same bra all week. They need some time off for the fibres to relax from the strain of a full days work supporting you. Try wearing them no more than twice a week.

Don't clean too often

As mentioned before, the more you wash your garments, the shorter the life they have. 

Quick refresh by steaming or a shower trip

To extend the life of your clothes between washes, a simple pass of the steamer goes a long way to refresh your precious clothes. A quick alternative to give a little boost to your bras and pjs is to hang them in the bathroom when you take a shower, the humidity helps the fibres relax.

Store your bras

Please, I am speaking for your beautiful padded bra, do not fold in the middle and push one cup into the other. This misshapes the cup and alters the fit altogether. Simply lay them flat in the drawer, one on top of the other and they will rest happily until you take them out for a stroll.

 

 

Bordelle care instructions

 

Bordelle products are all crafted by hand either in our London Atelier or with leading Lingerie producers in Europe. Our collections are made by combining Bordelle’s customised satin elastic with an array of the finest couture laces and embroideries, 24 carat gold plated components and silk satin. Special care must be taken when washing garments. These must be hand washed separately in luke-warm water using mild detergent or soap flakes. Pay special attention to rings and finger nails as these fabrics are very delicate. After repeated cleaning, silk satin fabrics might experience a slight loss of lustre. This is characteristic of the natural fabric. Machine washed garments may become damaged or discoloured. We cannot accept any returns, exchanges, or issue refunds for machine washed goods. Leather, gold plated and Acrylic accessories can be wiped clean with a soft dry cloth. Special care must be taken with nude leather pieces, as this is untreated leather and may mark if it comes into contact with liquids.

Dresses made entirely out of satin elastic bands can appear crinkled after hand washing, but this does not affect the appearance of the garments when worn. Bra cups made from satin elastic panelling can be steamed back into shape if crinkled after hand washing. When steaming, ensure you do not touch the garment with the steaming devise used. Please follow the care instructions carefully for items containing delicate laces and embroideries, tulle and Swarovski Pearl attachments. Hand wash garments must be dried flat, no wringing, dried and stored away from direct sunlight or heat. Silk items such as Kimonos require specialist dry cleaning.