tcl

Gee thanks For some reason I kept on thinking it was the suction cup one

try2cook

I found an unstructured jacket on sale at Nordstrom. It's crinkled silk chiffon lined with very thin cotton jersey. The label says, "Dry Clean," not "Dry Clean Only." I've had great success lately hand washing an unlined pure silk skirt and a silk blend (92% silk, 8% lycra) top that's matte jersey on the back and shiny silk on the front. (Every time I wear the top, I get something on it. The latest was an inch long jalapeno pepper that squirted when I stuck a fork in it. ) The skirt says hand wash or dry clean, but the top says, "Dry Clean."

Do you think I could hand wash the jacket? I'm excited because it's 55% off, and the PP (Petite Petite) size fits me. It's very light, takes up almost no room, and would not show wrinkles. None of that matters if I have to dry clean it, though. It doesn't look like it in this picture, but it's form-fitting:

http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/3101594?...esultback=3933

The lining's 100% cotton and the chiffon overlay is 100% silk. The two fabrics are sewn so closely together, and the whole thing is so close to the body, if one or the other shrinks or becomes distorted, I won't be able to wear it. It's on sale for $80, down from $178, but it's not free. I know Nordstrom would let me return it even if I screwed it up while washing it, but I wouldn't do that.

What do you think?

tcl

My main concern on hand washing the jacket is that shrinkage will be different for the cotton and the silk. You might end up with one layer shorter/longer and wider/narrower than the other. Dry cleaning it would ensure almost zero shrinkage and keep the original proportions.

rojaan

[QUOTE=VelvetKennedy;13875936]I'm one of the carry-on only people. I have a rubber travel clothesline and a sink stopper I bring with me, neither of which takes up any room at all. I usually bring one Woolite packet for each day of my trip. I'm very good about soaking whatever I wore that day in some Woolite at the end of the day and then hanging it to dry overnight so I never run out of clean clothes. I also use the hotel drycleaning when needed. However, some hotels have washing machines, which is really nice... I usually try to find this out in advance if its a long trip. Detergent, though, can be iffy.... you never know what will be available... it could be very harsh or it could be nice and they're charging some unreasonable amount for it. I found these Purex detergent/dryer sheets in Walgreens before my last trip, though, and picked them up, thinking they could be good.. they're solid, not liquid, and not even messy powder or anything! They fit nicely without folding into a quart size ziplock bag, too. We brought them along for a trip to Europe after doing a test run on a load at home and they work beautifully. These are great for travel if you plan to wash clothes in a washing machine while you're away.

http://www.purex.com/purex-3-in-1

Just thought I'd share. [/QUOTE

Thanks so much for sharing that tip VK. We just did a month driving trip around the US mainly staying at Hilton Garden Inns. These all have a washer/dryer guest laundry. So I bought the Purex sheets and they were excellent. I was very happy We are off to New Zealand in December and will use them again there. They are sooooo much easier than schelpping around powder or liquid detergent !

Ann

emma69

I use a liquid hand wash detergent - it is far more concentrated than something like Tide or Woolite, so a 50ml plastic bottle (drugstore travel bottle) will easily last me a trip. Handwash detergents foam less, and are easier to rinse out that machine detergents, and the one I prefer has a lovely lavendar scent, which removes the need for dryer sheets / febreeze.

I too do the 'grape stomp' if I have a lot of things to wash (usually beach holidays, when I will wash t-shirts, bikinis, sarongs etc a couple of times to freshen them up) but the sink for undies etc on shorter city type trips.

I've also used an umbrella in a pinch to dry some underwear - not opened tho, I put it extended, but not opened, between the desk chair and the TV stand which were the same height, and slung the items over - a mini rail if you like!

Rolling things in a towel, twice (2 dry towels) will minimize drying time. For jeans, I do that, then try to find a housekeeper who will get me a 'not attached to the wardrobe' hanger (they normally have some spares) and hang that them in front of an AC unit or window.

exbayern

Which brand please? I prefer a true hand wash for the reasons you give, and asked upthread for suggestions in the US. I prefer the Colgate found in France and Switzerland, and have had several failures in Germany (mostly due to scent) I did find Rossmann's house brand in Germany fairly decent, but there isn't a Rossmann near me usually.

Thanks.

try2cook

I finally had to agree, so I returned the jacket, though it was flattering and packable. Thanks for the second opinion!

One of the reasons I was so taken with the jacket was because of admonitions on another thread about fire resistant fibers. I love the idea of wool, especially cashmere, and silk, both because they're natural, renewable resources and fire resistant.

Hey, did you know cashmere and other wools don't retain odor? My boyfriend got black wool briefs that never smell bad, even if he's been camping in them. Plus I find them really sexy. I told him we will slowly replace all his other underwear with the sexy ones.

Returning the jacket did give me an excuse to go shopping again. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, since I bought a silk wrap dress online. Am I the only one who finds fit charts inaccurate?

freecia

try2cook - I'd go with a wool blend over pure silk. I might not be buying the right silk? When I inevitably get a stain on a silk top, trying to take it out in a jiffy with basic bathroom soap, paper towel, and water tends to leave a water stain after it dries. I know I shouldn't be treating my clothing that way but I don't always have ready access to my tide stain remover pen.

I find wool to be more klutz proof and warmer, which I like. As for fire safety, well, good luck finding a 100% cotton bra that does the job. Let us know if you succeed on that score

My tip is to take an empty ziplock, puff it up with air, and shove it inside tops to separate the layers for quicker drying. Read the trick from Rick Steves forum, I think? The poster used water balloons or animal balloons but I always travel with several spare ziplocks so that is what I use. I've dried jeans in this manner with a gallon size at the waist and some spare plastic grocery bags shoved at the ankle. I think quart size bags would work there, as well.

MissRoseDarrensAngel

I like the Purex 3 in one. When my mother wanted to do laundry a few days before leaving our Disney hotel, it made it easier to pack 3 or 4 of those sheets in a plastic bag so she could just throw them in the washer then dryer as she was washing 4 people's clothes (mine, hers, and my sister's 2 kids).

I've been lucky that a few people I've stayed with allowed me free use of their washers/dryers & they supplied the washing supplies - that way I went home with mainly clean clothes.

try2cook

The silk jersey Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress I bought turned out not to fit at all. I'd recommend ignoring the fit chart and go by which size you wear in, say, Ann Taylor. I ordered a size 8, and it was huge. My search for a silk robe that I can pack as an emergency out and about dress continues.

An amazing thing about the DVF dress is its weight. I don't know if they use the same weight fabric in all their other silk jersey wrap dresses, but I weighed the thing, and it turned out to be 1 pound, 1.4 ounces!

Another thing: don't buy from emphaticnyc.com! I found the DVF dress there for $99. Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, and dvf.com have long sleeve wrap dresses in the $300 range. I thought I'd found a bargain and was very excited about my first classic DVF wrap dress.

Well, emphaticnyc.com has a returns policy that, for a refund, requires the return to be postmarked within seven days of receipt of the garment. Otherwise, like today, which is eight days after my mail service signed for it, you only get store credit. Since the store is an outlet sort of place, they only get one of a particular garment, with no consistency in brand, size, color, or style selection. If you're traveling and can't be home to get your mail, try on the garment, and return it within seven days of receipt, you may find emphaticnyc.com not to be such a bargain. I think I looked at every single item on the site but couldn't find anything else worth the money.

I had seen the returns policy before I bought, of course, but I figured if they have a customer clear across the country and I explained the whole not getting my mail until I'm home thing, they'd make an exception. But they are not, as it turns out, interested in my being a returning customer.

Teresita

I like the Purex sheets also---but I cut them in half or even 1/4's for sink washing. Now, don't laugh, but I've discovered another use for them---once you've washed some clothes on the road, the sheet makes a pretty good loofa-like pad for bathing!

emma69

Ah sorry, only just seen this. The one I have right now is a lavender scented one, I think it is a European brand, but I picked it up in Winners. Otherwise, independent lingere shops often have decent handwashes too.

oldpenny16

The Dropps brand detergents come in little plastic pillows in a bag of 20 for about $5.

Really handy to have and light in weight.

I find that the product they make for washing baby clothes does a really good job on stains.

For hand washing, I just stick a pin into one of the pillows and drip out as much as I need to use. To avoid a slightly used pillow making a mess, I put it into a Zippy bag.

Lately I'm finding it difficult to find the Purex sheets in stores.

clarelouise44

Another vote for hotel shampoo. I use the sink, though, and add a little of the hair conditioner that they also supply.

brunotattaglia

Is the Rick Steves elastic clothesline any good? I bet it has a high chance of being the same as the magellan.