I am soooo glad you asked this question, and have thought about posting it before.

This has come up for me with so many different things - do you cut tags off of a scarf? A shawl? A sheer top where the tag is going to show through the back? What about washing labels? I have some sheer blouses where you can see the labels through those.

I've pretty much come to the conclusion that if it might show, it comes off. The downside of that is if it's ever something I might send to a resale shop, I've just decreased its value or made it unsaleable ... and I better hope I never forget the care instructions.

My son has always had me cut tags off of every shirt he's worn since the time he was about 2. Bugged me because I knew I was paying a lot for that silly tag, but kids tend to be smart enough to know it's about comfort not the label. My issue is more one of aesthetics though. I keep thinking I don't want the label to show at all.


wingless: Do you remove all the tag stitching so you leave no trace the label was ever there? I think that keeps it from looking tacky. OTOH, with certain things, such as where a label is sewn into a seam, you have to be careful you don't create a hole in the seam.