Our tagline begins with product life, and most of that is decided after you take a piece home. Alexandria is hard on clothes — salt in the air, strong sun, humidity that lingers. Here is how to keep things looking like themselves.

Five rules that matter more than the rest

  1. Wash less than you think. Most garments need airing, not washing. Washing is the main thing that wears clothes out.
  2. Cold water, always. 30°C or below. Heat is what shrinks, fades and distorts.
  3. Never dry in direct sun. Alexandrian sun will bleach a black abaya to grey in a season. Dry in shade, inside out.
  4. Turn everything inside out before washing. It protects the surface that people actually see.
  5. Do up the fastenings. An open zip in a drum is a small saw.

By fabric

Crepe

The workhorse of most of our abayas and trousers. Hard-wearing and forgiving.

Cold gentle machine wash inside out, or hand wash. Never wring it — squeeze gently and hang wet so its own weight pulls the creases out. Iron on low through a cloth if you must; usually you will not need to. Crepe recovers well from a night on a hanger.

Satin

Beautiful and unforgiving. Satin shows every watermark and snags on a rough fingernail.

Hand wash cold with a mild detergent, or dry clean. Do not rub or twist. Roll in a towel to take out the water, then hang in shade. Iron inside out on the lowest setting, never with steam directly on the face of the cloth — water spots satin permanently. Keep rings and bracelets in mind when dressing.

Chiffon

Light, sheer and weaker wet than dry.

Hand wash cold only, moving it gently through the water rather than rubbing. Never wring. Do not hang while heavy with water — the weight will stretch the weave out of shape. Lay flat on a towel until it stops dripping, then hang. Iron on the coolest setting through a cloth.

Cotton jersey

Bodysuits and T-shirts. The easiest thing we sell, and the easiest to ruin with heat.

Cold machine wash inside out. Never tumble dry — that is what shrinks jersey and makes the neckline go wavy. Dry flat if you can, or hang from the hem rather than the shoulders so it does not grow points. Fold rather than hang for storage.

Tweed and structured jackets

Dry clean, and rarely — once or twice a season is plenty. Dry cleaning is a chemical process and each one takes a little life out of the cloth.

Between cleans, brush gently along the weave with a soft clothes brush and air overnight. Always store on a broad shaped hanger; a wire hanger will collapse a shoulder within a month. Spot-clean marks immediately with a barely damp cloth, working from the outside in.

Embroidered and embellished pieces

The most delicate thing in the wardrobe, and usually the most expensive.

Hand wash cold, or dry clean and tell them where the embroidery is. Never machine wash: the drum catches threads and pulls beads off. Iron only on the reverse, on a towel, so the raised work is pressed into the towel rather than flattened. Store folded with acid-free tissue between the layers rather than hung, so the weight of the beading does not drag the cloth.

Silk scarves

Hand wash cold with a drop of mild shampoo. A teaspoon of white vinegar in the final rinse restores the shine. Never wring. Iron damp on the lowest setting. Store rolled, not folded — folds become permanent creases in silk.

Storing for the season

  • Clean everything first. Invisible marks oxidise into visible ones over a summer, and moths are drawn to what you have worn, not what is clean.
  • Make sure it is bone dry. Any dampness in an Alexandrian cupboard becomes mildew.
  • Cotton covers, not plastic. Plastic traps moisture and yellows white cloth. If a piece came in a plastic sleeve, take it off.
  • Fold the heavy things. Knitwear and beaded pieces stretch under their own weight on a hanger.
  • Cedar or dried lavender rather than mothballs — it works, and your clothes will not smell of chemicals.

Travelling

Roll jersey and crepe; fold structured pieces along their existing seams with tissue in the folds. Pack the heaviest at the bottom. On arrival, hang everything in the bathroom while you shower — ten minutes of steam does what an iron does, without the risk.

When something goes wrong

  • A pulled thread — do not cut it. Push it through to the reverse with a needle.
  • A fresh stain — cold water, blot, never rub. Rubbing drives it into the weave.
  • Oil — cover with talc or cornflour, leave an hour to draw it out, brush off, then wash.
  • Deodorant marks — rub the cloth gently against itself, or use a clean dry sponge.

And if you are unsure, bring it into a branch before you try anything. We would far rather look at it than see it after a home remedy.