Ideal Bite

Are you a-wear that you're sporting a distressed look?

07.23.2008

Submitted by tmeronek on Wed, 07/23/2008 - 12:52am.

Fashion Care

The Bite:

Try washing your clothes less often. Unless you're a dirty, dirty Biter, tossing your duds in the machine every time you change (underwear not included) just beats them up.

The Benefits:

More freedom from fraying. Washing and drying less often keeps your duds looking newer, longer.
Less natural deterioration. Petrochems in conventional laundry detergents can harm fish and human health after they go down the drain, so the less we use, the better.
Less wear on your wallet. A load of laundry costs about $1.50 to do at home - with the price of gas these days, it all adds up.
More time for anything else. Less time spent doing your laundry means more time for activities you actually like...such as reading past tips.

Personally Speaking:

Jen recommends giving your clothes a quick look-see for stains before you hang them up after a day of wear - especially if you're like she is and tend to wear a lot of what you ate that day.

Wanna Try:

Put away "clean-enough" clothes right after wearing to keep them from rumpling and mixing with the truly unwearable stuff.
Hang already-worn items outside or near a window to air out, or in the bathroom while you shower to steam out light wrinkles.
Laundress Fabric Fresh - four freshening fragrances, including a nice, woodsy Cedar. Also: Crease Release de-wrinkler ($6/2 ounces).
DIY Bite: Pack some potpourri into envelopes or fabric sachets, and put them in your closet, dresser, or suitcase to up the freshness quotient.