I, being the queen of cardigans and a lover of all things knitted in general, am a handwashing fiend. This habit of mine arose out of a lack of funds for dry-cleaning, and a desire to preserve my precious sweaters from the beating they could take in a dormitory laundromat. It's very important to me to take care of my clothes, so I can wear them for a good, long time. And carefully handwashing is the best way to do that. Sometimes it's even safer for knits than drycleaning! Plus you get to avoid all those nasty chemicals, another pet peeve of mine.
SO, how to handwash?
I start by sorting all my knits into piles by colour. (that's right I have enough knits for piles. Let's not talk about it too much.)
Then I fill the sink with the coldest water I can stand to put my hands into. Temperature is important, because hot water is a fast track to shrunken clothes.
I add to the water a miniscule amount of my hyper-concentrated, no chemicals, only the happy tears of vegans detergent. I've never had a problem using my regular detergent (as opposed to one specifically for delicates), because it's already very gentle and free from harsh soaps. In addition, I really only use a very few mililiters. My clothes always come out clean.
I put one or two of the lightest coloured garments into the water. Make sure they are completely submerged. Let them soak for five or ten minutes.
Carefully squeeze the soapy water through the garments. Carefully. Like the sweaters will break if you squeeze too hard.
I then put the garments in another container (I have a big mixing bowl) until I am done washing all the same garments in the same water. I like saving water.
When you have soaked and squeezed all your knits in order from lightest to darkest, drain the sink and fill it with plain, cold water. Dump the garments into it. If some are bleeding colour (which they shouldn't, if you're using super cold water) don't put them in together.
Squeeze the clean water through the knits.
Drain the sink and let the water seep out of the sweaters.
Gently squeeze the remaining water out. When you can't possibly squeeze any more water out, lay the knit flat on a clean towel. Roll up the towel and squeeze it gently. Yes, there is a lot of squeezing. I'm pretty sure I have muscles in my forearms entirely from handwashing.
Then lay your knit flat to dry.
TA-DA!
It seems time-consuming, and it is, if you do all your sweaters at once (and you have as many as I do.) I just do a few at a time, and it works out fine.
Here are a few links about handwashing that might also be useful:
The
Laundress
eco-friendly detergent ideas
5.07.2010
E.R.A. Vintage Wear
So, last month I wandered down to St.Henri to look around at the vintage at E.R.A. The reviews online were very positive, stating that E.R.A. carefully selects all their clothes, so you don't have to fish through the dross to get to the good stuff. I actually happen to like fishing through dross, which explains my habit of popping into H&M to look around. But, sometimes I wish I could find a vintage/thrift store that was edited to my taste and budget, so I could just walk in and fetch something the way I (used to) walk into Bedo.
Well, the collection at E.R.A. is very well selected. Everything is sorted by colour, and there's quite a selection of shoes lined up in neat rows around the bottoms of the racks of clothes. They carry a wide selection of decades, from the 50s to the 90s. The clothes are all impeccably cleaned. Positive, very positive.
I spent a blissful twenty minutes pawing through the racks, lusting after a heavily beaded black skirt in particular. But I left without trying anything on. The problem? Price. The skirt was well over $200. Almost everything was well out of my reach, price wise. While I am happy to drop contemporary money for vintage items (especially such exquisite, squeaky clean items), I'm not prepared to do it all the time. In fact, I have a few vintage Holy Grail items that I would like to buy first, before I go throwing around the big bucks on stuff I may never wear ( a heavily beaded skirt would just end up with wine on it, I'm not going to lie.) The prices at E.R.A. also reflect the stock they carry. For the most part, these are semi-formal and formal items. Cocktail dresses, skirt suits. I'm much more about knits like my beloved cardigans; maybe a little shirt-dress or sun dress might be in order. So, next time you have a big event to attend, this may be just the place to check out for a one of a kind number. But if you are looking for bell-bottom jeans, this is probably not your shop.
E.R.A. Vintage Wear 1800 Notre-Dame O. Montreal QC
Metro Lionel-Groulx
5.01.2010
An informative article
The Independent
It's a few years old, but it's a very interesting article about textile production and China's dominance because of the enormous workforce.
It's a few years old, but it's a very interesting article about textile production and China's dominance because of the enormous workforce.
I have an insatiable desire for beautiful clothes
Like a lot of women, I love getting dressed. I love leggings and huge sweaters. I love miniskirts and lacy underthings. Shift dresses are a weakness. I've never met a cream sweater I didn't like. I absolutely adore an afternoon of shopping, especially when I'm spending someone else's money.
The problem is, my frivolous desire for cute cardigans is perpetuating a system that oppresses people, keeping them in poverty. That'll kill any buzz I get from a new pair of shoes, and fast. I feel overwhelmingly sad that when I think "this is so cheap! 2 camis for $15?! heck yes!" I forget that someone made those camisoles, and they probably did it in unsafe conditions, in a factory that has no union for threat of violence, while working overtime. And this woman or man (or child, in an alarming number of cases) probably isn't taking home a wage at the end of the day that is going to begin to meet his or her family's needs.
So, what to do?
Well, I could become a sour person who boycotts the entire clothing industry and demands that her family and friends do the same. Alternately, I could explain that "any job is a good job to those people" and scoop up armloads of camisoles and run on my merry way.
I'm sure you can tell what I think of those options, both of which I have attempted to exercise in the past, to little benefit.The former effort failed almost before it started because I hate being unpleasant and I am acutely attuned to deprivation, no matter how small. The latter failed because the evidence is not in favour of that position, if you ask me.
So, I am attempting to adopt a third way. This third way is a multi-faceted approach. In some cases, I am contemplating a full boycott of certain brands and even countries. I am committing myself to buying locally whenever possible. I am buying second-hand and vintage clothes more and more. And I am trying to simply buy less. I am a student, so my budget already provides many constraints. However, with the plethora of cheap clothes available, and all of the sales lately, I have been tempted to buy a lot of things that I cannot account for the origins of.
This is to be the chronicle of my wee adventure. I hope it will provide useful information about secondhand and vintage shopping in Montreal, tips for caring for clothes, and information about the textile industry and what can be done to improve the lives of people who work in it.
The problem is, my frivolous desire for cute cardigans is perpetuating a system that oppresses people, keeping them in poverty. That'll kill any buzz I get from a new pair of shoes, and fast. I feel overwhelmingly sad that when I think "this is so cheap! 2 camis for $15?! heck yes!" I forget that someone made those camisoles, and they probably did it in unsafe conditions, in a factory that has no union for threat of violence, while working overtime. And this woman or man (or child, in an alarming number of cases) probably isn't taking home a wage at the end of the day that is going to begin to meet his or her family's needs.
So, what to do?
Well, I could become a sour person who boycotts the entire clothing industry and demands that her family and friends do the same. Alternately, I could explain that "any job is a good job to those people" and scoop up armloads of camisoles and run on my merry way.
I'm sure you can tell what I think of those options, both of which I have attempted to exercise in the past, to little benefit.The former effort failed almost before it started because I hate being unpleasant and I am acutely attuned to deprivation, no matter how small. The latter failed because the evidence is not in favour of that position, if you ask me.
So, I am attempting to adopt a third way. This third way is a multi-faceted approach. In some cases, I am contemplating a full boycott of certain brands and even countries. I am committing myself to buying locally whenever possible. I am buying second-hand and vintage clothes more and more. And I am trying to simply buy less. I am a student, so my budget already provides many constraints. However, with the plethora of cheap clothes available, and all of the sales lately, I have been tempted to buy a lot of things that I cannot account for the origins of.
This is to be the chronicle of my wee adventure. I hope it will provide useful information about secondhand and vintage shopping in Montreal, tips for caring for clothes, and information about the textile industry and what can be done to improve the lives of people who work in it.
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