Care
The Ritual
Fine lingerie asks for a little tenderness. Treated well, silk softens with age, lace keeps its delicacy, and a good bra holds its shape for years rather than months. The ritual is simple — a few minutes by hand, and your selections will repay you in the way they feel against the skin.
01
Washing
Hand wash is always best. Fill a basin with cool water — never hot, which weakens fibres and dulls colour — and add a small amount of gentle, pH-neutral detergent made for delicates. Submerge the piece, swirl softly, and let it soak no longer than fifteen minutes.
Silk craves the gentlest touch: cool water, no wringing, no soaking past a few minutes, and never bleach or enzyme detergents, which break down the protein in the fibre. Lace is fragile at its edges — wash it alone or inside a mesh bag so fine threads cannot catch and pull. Bras with underwire or structure should be washed by hand and never twisted; pressure at the seams and wire channels is what bends them out of shape.
If you must use a machine, choose a cold delicate cycle, place each piece in a mesh lingerie bag, fasten all hooks first, and accept that the machine shortens the life of anything delicate.
02
Drying
Never tumble dry, and never wring. Heat and friction are the enemies of elastic, lace, and silk alike. Instead, press the piece gently between two clean towels to draw out the water, then reshape it by hand.
Dry flat, away from direct sun and radiators — silk in particular fades and stiffens in strong light. Hanging a wet bra by its straps stretches them under the weight of the water, so lay it flat with the cups in their natural shape. Most pieces are dry within a few hours.
03
Storing
Store pieces clean and fully dry; damp invites mildew, and perfume or body oils left in the fabric attract moths and weaken fibres over time.
Bras keep their shape best laid flat with one cup nested inside the other — never folded inward, which creases the cup and breaks the structure. Silk and lace prefer to rest folded loosely in a drawer, ideally wrapped in tissue, kept apart from anything with hooks, sequins, or rough trims that could snag them. Give your most delicate selections a little room; lingerie crushed tightly together loses its form.
04
A Few Kindnesses
Rotate your bras and give each a day's rest between wears — elastic needs time to recover, and a bra worn every day loses its support far sooner. Apply perfume, lotion, and self-tan before dressing, never over the fabric. And fasten every hook before washing, always, so nothing tears its neighbour.
Ce que l'on soigne dure.
What is cared for, lasts.