Most of what happens to a tee happens in the laundry. A top that comes out of the dryer two inches shorter, fuzzy at the side seams and a shade paler than the day you bought it was not ruined by wearing. It was ruined by heat, friction and time in the machine, and all three are easy to reduce.
Start with the care label
Every garment sold in the United States carries a permanent care label, and the Federal Trade Commission requires the maker to have a reasonable basis for every instruction on it. The label must say whether to wash by hand or machine, give a water temperature if hot water would harm the fabric, and warn you about steps you might assume are safe but are not, such as "Do not iron".
Some labels use symbols instead of words. In the U.S. those are the ASTM care symbols, which the FTC allows in place of text. A tub means washing, a triangle means bleach, a square means drying, an iron means ironing, and a circle means drycleaning. A cross over any of them means do not.
Tees, 3/4 sleeves and tanks
- Wash cold. The care lines of our knit tops ask for cold water. It protects both the size and the color.
- Wash with like colors. Darks with darks, whites with whites. New bright colors go in apart the first time.
- Turn them inside out. The outside rubs less against zippers, buttons and denim, which is where fuzz and pilling start.
- Skip the bleach. None of our tops call for it.
- Hang or line dry, or tumble low. Most labels in our catalog say hang or line dry, and a few allow a low tumble. High heat is the fastest way to shrink cotton.
Wash cold, hang dry
TICTICMIMI Everyday V-neck tee
The everyday V-neck tee: cold wash, no bleach, hang to dry.
21 colors · S to XXL · from $9.99
Lace, pleats and puff sleeves
The dressy styles ask for more care. Hand wash, or wash cold inside a mesh laundry bag, then lay the top flat or hang it to dry. The bag keeps lace from snagging on other clothes. Keep the iron away from lace, and smooth pleats with your hands while the top is still damp.
Sweatshirts and fleece hoodies
Fleece is thicker and holds more water, so it needs a gentle cycle and a low dryer or a drying rack. Pull a hoodie into shape before it dries: straighten the cuffs and hem, and lay the hood flat. Some of our light fleece styles also ask you to avoid stain remover pens, which can mark thin fleece.
Wash a new dark sweatshirt apart from light laundry the first time, and whenever you wash it with other clothes, keep the colors together.
Empty the pockets first
TICTICMIMI Crewneck sweatshirt with side pockets
The crewneck sweatshirt with pockets hidden in its side seams.
21 colors · S to XXL · from $19.99
Buttons, pockets and zippers
Undo henley buttons before washing, so the placket lies flat and the buttonholes do not stretch. Empty the pockets of the crewneck sweatshirt and the hoodies, and close the zipper on the quarter-zip, so the teeth cannot catch on a knit.
When the label and a habit disagree
If your habit says hot wash and a hot dryer, and the label says cold and hang dry, follow the label. It was written for that fabric, and the maker had to have a reason for every line of it. For how our blends differ from one another, see what 60% polyester, 35% cotton, 5% spandex means.
