Help me not ruin my Cos dress

[Brocone]

Got a black Cos dress for five pounds from charity shop. Am absolutely delighted - it looks amazing on and as a mature student I can use it for interviews/work experience etc.

Label says viscose and I’ve had issues washing viscose on the past - it tends to “streak” (doesn’t come out with ironing) even on a wool/delicate/gentle wash.

This happened to two Boden dresses which were black/dark brown (oddly though my primark viscose black roll necks tend to take a normal wash no problem! )

Label says it’s ok to machine wash but I don’t want to ruin it. OTOH, not keen on hand washing (one website I saw says to soak it then press it between two towels which seems a bit excessive really!)

Any advice? I’m contemplating just to delicate wash in the machine but not spin dry at all.

Delicates wash, inside a pillow case and add a towel to the wash to add some additional protection . Low spin, dry flat (On a towel on the floor works well)

Although i find cos stuff pretty hard wearing in general

My entire wardrobe is Cos. It all goes in the machine, on the fastest spin (unless wool), and then gets pegged or hung up like everything else. No casualties so far. I don’t iron it either. That’s the point of Cos for me! I’m talking about viscose that has a bit of stretch though, assuming that’s what you’ve got?

I wouldn’t put viscose in the machine having ruined some trousers by doing just that. Viscose shrinks.
I’d hand wash and squeeze as much water out as possible then do the towel thing. I know it sounds excessive but it does work. I’d then dry the dress flat.
Sounds a lot of faff, I know, but in my opinion, it’s worth it. You'll get longer out of the dress.

Handwash - no fabric conditioner!

Interesting! Must depend on the viscose. I’ve just checked my wardrobe and I’ve currently got seven COS dresses, some of which date back 4 or 5 years. They get worn a minimum of once a fortnight, mostly once a week, and washed after each use. 40 degree wash, 1600 spin. You might not want to replicate that but I suspect there is a happy medium! If it’s one of the heavier viscose things, especially if it has pockets, it will take forever to dry if you don’t spin it. (I’ve never tried their stuff in a tumble drier as I don’t have one.). The quality of their clothes is great.

Should have said seven that are majority viscose.

I've sometimes had colour streaks from viscose too - not always but enough to remember them - and they're far more noticeable on a dark colour. They also seem to build up over time, whereas I find shrinking happens mostly on the first wash so less of a risk if the dress is second hand.

I'm normally far too lazy to handwash properly but, if I needed the dress for things like interviews, then I'm afraid I would probably bite the bullet, or even fork out for drycleaning (although this may not be an option if you're on a student budget).

Great bargain by the way

I would put that on a hand wash cycle with no spin (with Woolite or similar) then yes, press between two towels to dry. I know it seems excessive but it's worth it to maintain something you love, especially a rare bargain find.

Ime it all depends if it's woven or jersey viscose. Their jersey stuff is bomb-proof ime, but I have had a few mishaps with woven viscose, even when I've followed the washing instructions to the letter. Anything I'm unsure of now I cold wash as delicates in a laundry net. As short a wash as possible and air instead of washing, if appropriate.

Fab bargain, enjoy your dress.

Agree withbrougeish. Totally depends on your viscose type.

I have COS clothes that are handwash only that I put in the machine with no ill effects so if it says machine washable it will be.