Fashion Tragedies / Damage Control

[lucy92]

i checked around and 50$ is the going rate for shearling, sadly.

there's no real signs of wear on my shearling jacket. but i am ready to pack it away for 5 months. i'd rather there not be any skin cells on it to cross contaminate any other garments i might pack with it. moths love to munch on garments that have skin cells on it.

i think what i will do is walk to the city sports store next door and buy the ugg branded sheepskin cleaner for 11$ and try that. i think i will dilute it a lot and just sort of dab it on.

i think it will also work on deerskin. i have some deerskin mittens that have an oily discoloration on the tips. (deerskin is very good at blocking out the cold - i recommend it)

i have become very paranoid about packing away garments for the winter. i bought these cedar liners and blocks from the container store also. i also have a bottle of cedar oil to re-annoint the blocks when the blocks lose efficacy also.

 

[fashionista-ta]

I would suggest if your worry is skin cells, to give it a really good brushing. What about putting it in the dryer on fluff?? What about just leaving it alone

 

[softgrey]

i agree with ta-ta...

 

[Curious]

Oh.. I've a couple to sadly report

The moths got me this year! My favorite light heather gray long cashmere cardi (the go with every thing kind of cozy winter staple) was victim to two moth holes - along with a couple of other winter items.

In preparation of packing up again for the season until I can make use of them again next year, they all got a bath in lavender wash, a mend (my weekend activity!) and a 3 day trip to the freezer to take care of any "baby moths" that might have been hanging on for dear life. Wish me luck that my efforts worked as the sweaters/scarf head to storage bins with my other cozy winter staples (and an array of lavender sachets) for the winter. I can't wait until I have my dream cedar lined dresser and/or closet!

My other disaster is the curse of the ivory bag. I got a GREAT deal on a lovely ivory satchel and then (naturally) spilled coffee on it in it's first outing. Luckily, I drink my coffee light so maybe only I can see it but... THEN, I mysteriously got a light blue mark on it, almost like a stain from rubbing against dark denim (though I can't place that in the outfit I wore with it). Again, the stain is very light so probably only something I can see but...

I've some saddle soap to take care of it but I'm terrified to start! I've never done this before, what if I make it worse?! Any tips as I head into this ivory leather purse cleaning venture

 

[eizhowa]

Moths Is it possible to store cashmere knits in the freezer? Anyone know if they will get ruined? I have more available freezer space than storage space

Have you tried Apples (not the ones selling Mac) leather cleaning supplies? They have gentler cleaning and moisturizing products. I got them when I bought my Balenciaga city. They are less harsh on the leather, and they don't cost too much either. I'll send you a link via PM.

 

[Petit Lucille]

Oh.. I've a couple to sadly report

The moths got me this year! My favorite light heather gray long cashmere cardi (the go with every thing kind of cozy winter staple) was victim to two moth holes - along with a couple of other winter items.

In preparation of packing up again for the season until I can make use of them again next year, they all got a bath in lavender wash, a mend (my weekend activity!) and a 3 day trip to the freezer to take care of any "baby moths" that might have been hanging on for dear life. Wish me luck that my efforts worked as the sweaters/scarf head to storage bins with my other cozy winter staples (and an array of lavender sachets) for the winter. I can't wait until I have my dream cedar lined dresser and/or closet!

My other disaster is the curse of the ivory bag. I got a GREAT deal on a lovely ivory satchel and then (naturally) spilled coffee on it in it's first outing. Luckily, I drink my coffee light so maybe only I can see it but... THEN, I mysteriously got a light blue mark on it, almost like a stain from rubbing against dark denim (though I can't place that in the outfit I wore with it). Again, the stain is very light so probably only something I can see but...

I've some saddle soap to take care of it but I'm terrified to start! I've never done this before, what if I make it worse?! Any tips as I head into this ivory leather purse cleaning venture

So good to hear from you, bummer about moths and stains. There are a lot of good leather cleaning products out there, why don't you try at some shoe repairman store? I'd ask him the way you should apply it, because sometimes, the color goes, but a newer stain can replace it from the cleaning product.

 

[softgrey]

two tragedies in one week!
it's slightly more than i can bear...

first one-
my lovely chambray smock top w. pockets from j.crew...
i had pulled it out and was seriously enjoying it and wearing it often when i had a fatal mishap...
out to dinner- my friend set a votive candle on my menu and when i picked up my menu to hand it to the waiter...
the candle went flying (still LIT) into my lap, spilling wax down my front and all over my lap!
*luckily the napkin in my lap saved my shorts and my skin!...
the shirt was not so lucky and i've made many efforts to remove the wax but i am aftaid that the oily stain left behind may be permanent...
...

second incident-
out for a day at the musuem and central park...wearing a pair of pale peach walking shorts from dries van noten...sat on a park bench to enjoy the view and have a cigarette...when i got up---two dark brown stains on my behind!!!
...
chocolate!---the bench was brown so it was impossible to see...
argh!!!
...

have washed them and they are drying now, but the chocolate also may leave an oil stain behind...
*sigh*...

ah, well...
i have one more trick up my sleeve- that oxyclean stuff seems to work miracles...
if that doesn't do the trick...
i'm afaid they are done for...
...

 

[eizhowa]

Oh, how unfortunate, Softgrey! but, you know, if you saturate the rest of the top in oil too, the stain won't show anymore...

 

[softgrey]

Oh, how unfortunate, Softgrey! but, you know, if you saturate the rest of the top in oil too, the stain won't show anymore...

Hahaha!
eizhowa-- you're a genius ...!!!

 

[Petit Lucille]

Hahaha!
eizhowa-- you're a genius ...!!!

You laugh, but I ACTUALLY thought of doing that once. And I restrained myself, but I kept wondering if it would work.

 

[eizhowa]

^The problem is that I think the "age difference" between the two oils would create a visible stain anyway, and also, you might need to use the exact same kind of oil.

Notice that I take this matter completely serious

 

[barbaraaa]

I think it would "layer" and the stain would still be there because it would have twice as much oil

 

[fashionista-ta]

There's a method to lift wax with an iron I believe ... I was just reading the other day about someone doing it successfully with a bridal veil that wax flowers had melted into. Perhaps a warm iron and paper towels? I expect Google would provide instructions ... But I would just take it to the cleaners & have them fix it.

 

[Fewormany]

There's a method to lift wax with an iron I believe ... I was just reading the other day about someone doing it successfully with a bridal veil that wax flowers had melted into. Perhaps a warm iron and paper towels? I expect Google would provide instructions ... But I would just take it to the cleaners & have them fix it.

You can remove candle wax that way, but I'm not quite sure if it would work for oil stains. Most of the time when I have oil stains I'm at home, so I throw the stained item in the washing machine and some special "stain lifter" and that usually works.

 

[Petit Lucille]

If you stain it right away it might go off with the same method as with a lipstick stain: mild detergent with a bit of water and rub it off.

 

[softgrey]

success!!!...

i am pretty expert at lifting wax...
learned that early on-
from using the batik technique with fabrics and dyes...
i think that was actually a craft we learned in the girl scouts...
...

so-
i got out the wax- even though there was a ton of it and it took forever, using tons of papers...(any fiberless, colorless paper works to absorb the melted wax- i used some tissue paper but newspaper is what i learned with and brown paper bag is good too)
but then it was stained, as i had feared...
maybe waxy oil or maybe it was slightly burned from so much ironing...
but there was a huge amount of damage all over the front...
...
but a run through the wash brought it back to it's original state...
...
*wish i had before and after pics of this, as it was a shockingly huge amount of wax...

the shorts have also come out alright---
i scraped off as much of the chocolate as i could and did treat the stain itself with just regular detergent before putting it into the wash on gentle...
it was even cold water...
the stain seems to be gone...

 

[eizhowa]

I recently noticed that my favorite wool blazer had a hole in the lining. I think my shoulder bag must have been too heavy and it caused my blazer lining to rub against my jeans or belt... I can't find any other explanation.

So, should I just slap a patch on it? Glue-patch or do I sow one on? Have any of you done something similar and have any advice? I really don't want to make it any worse than it is.... Karma to my knight in shining armour

My own pictures.

 

[eizhowa]

By the way, Nylondvask is just as wonderful as it says on the box. My grandmother uses it to wash windows, I used it to get oil stains (chocolate) out of my silk dress.

I don't know if it has a different name in other countries. Probably does.

jensenco

 

[fashionista-ta]

I recently noticed that my favorite wool blazer had a hole in the lining. I think my shoulder bag must have been too heavy and it caused my blazer lining to rub against my jeans or belt... I can't find any other explanation.

So, should I just slap a patch on it? Glue-patch or do I sow one on? Have any of you done something similar and have any advice? I really don't want to make it any worse than it is.... Karma to my knight in shining armour

My own pictures.

What I do in this case is have a tailor replace the lining. I have not had it done for a jacket before, but I'm sure it's perfectly possible.

If you're going to patch, I would sew it on for sure. It looks like it's not going to show while you're wearing it, is that right? If I were going to sew a patch on, I might consider doing it in a beautiful contrasting jewel tone.

 

[eizhowa]

Hmmm... I like the idea of replacing the lining. The current one is half cotton, half synthetic. There is a divide in the middle. Maybe they can just replace the lower half. I quite like the fact that it is made of two fabrics/colors. Very common in Noa Noa jackets. I would have to get a quote though...

my own picture