The Complete Guide to Caring for Your Velvet
You might think we’ve already reached peak velvet, but this trend shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Nothing is immune to the velvet treatment this winter, as everything from boots to coats to skirts is coming in a rainbow (and we mean rainbow) of velvet. And we’ll be wearing this fabric right through to spring too—even Victoria Beckham is behind this trend, as crushed bright velvets were at the heart of her S/S 17 collection.
There are a number of advantages to wearing this material—it looks luxurious, it helps you to dress more like Alexa Chung, it keeps you warm and it will make you look super cuddly. Because let’s face it, who doesn’t want to stroke a velvet sleeve? It also has longevity and is worth investing in, but there is one practical downside to wearing this trend.
Velvet can mark easily, and you can’t just throw it in the machine, meaning it can be an impractical fabric to wear every day throughout winter. Especially if, like us, you had plans of wearing nothing but velvet shoes till March. There are a few serious no-nos when it comes to treating your velvet, and so we have turned to a fabric expert (yes, that’s a thing) to help you make sure yours lasts the season.
“The tactile nature of velvet means it is also very sensitive,” explains Neil Smith, fabric technologist at Johnson Cleaners. “Drink spillages can lead to sugar being absorbed into the fabric, which causes the yarns to stick together, and storing velvet carelessly and wearing velvet regularly can leave a flattened appearance on sensitive areas such as elbows.”
See below for his rules for giving your velvet some TLC this winter…