Spring Cleaning: Bow Tie Care
Most people think about spring cleaning as a time to declutter their home, back yard, or their closet. For the bow tie connoisseur, this is an opportunity to take an assessment of their collection. From storage solutions, seeing what needs to be replaced, as well as proper care.
Bow Tie Storage
Once you have hit the 20th or 100th bow tie collection mark, one should take measures to ensure they are stored properly and ready to use when necessary. When it comes to storage or putting a tie away, rolling them up, stuffing them in a drawer, or laying them over a chair are common storage practices. However, just like any delicate clothing or accessory item, ties have to be cared for and stored appropriately.
Hanging your ties properly (around a tie rack or peg) makes it easier for the creases and folds from a knot to fall out. Spend a little on storage now, and save money in the long run by making your ties last.You can organize your ties by color or by style, the choice is up to you. Oh, and if you are traveling, fold (not hard folds) your ties in fours and place in a small pouch or a special container. This will help maintain its shape and reduce wrinkling while traveling.
Bow Tie Replacement
For the bow tie aficionado, there is always that one bow tie or that one color that you may wear the most. It is like having a favorite pair of denim, that has finally had its last quality wear and now the color is faded or the fabric is tattered (not intentionally). Please do not wear the tie, “until the wheels fall off,” if you are looking to replace your tie, we have a few tie options for you to select from.
Bow Tie Care
There reason why items have a care label—to ensure proper care and longevity! We understand bow ties are small and some may not believe that they don’t need to be cleaned but they do! Based on the fabric, brands will have care labels to help you care for them. But if you are faced with a particular stain that you can’t seem to remove, try these tips from the cleaning institute. Be mindful to NEVER rub fabric stains, but rather blot the stain. This may help remove some of the staining substance while avoiding damage to the fabric.
If you simply don’t have time to figure this out or to take the stains out yourself, refer to your nearest dry cleaner as soon as possible to prevent the stains from setting. Remember to request that your cleaner does not press your ties. Ironing a tie presses down on its rolled edges and ruins its shape. To launder any fabric, you will be faced with some wrinkles (for example, linen and African wax fabric is known to wrinkle faster than most). The best way to get these wrinkles out is to use a low temperature or slightly steam it.
Also, never wait for weeks or a full season to have your ties cleaned—it just makes it more difficult for your cleaner to remove dirt or hard stains. Don’t forget about creepy crawlers—the smallest unseen food crumb or spillage invites insect damage.
Leather Bow Ties:
Heavy staining (oil based or water based stains) of any kind and ground-in dirt is not a friend of leather. Protein stains such as blood, egg or milk are, difficult to remove from a natural hide because leather is also a protein. Saturated ink stains are virtually impossible to completely remove.So be sure that you are careful when wearing leather or use a leather protector before wearing certain leather goods.
Leather can dry-out or mildew if stored in a hot or humid environment. When you’re not wearing it, keep it in a cool ventilated area –never leave leather in a plastic bag (this is one way to have a moldy tie). But you don’t have to worry about storage when you purchase one of our leather bow ties.
We are sure there are several clever ways to declutter and organize your ties, the above are just a few tips. Share your ideas on how you are storing or organizing your ties.