Whistles silk dress

[cardoon]

Has anyone washed one by hand or delicate machine wash? Loath to spend money on dry cleaning if I can avoid.

Not specifically Whistles, but I throw most of my silk in the machine on a gentle hand-wash cycle. It is more robust than we think. eg I have washed silk dresses with towels on a 60 degree cycle to give them a sand-washed, softer texture.

The only thing to watch out for is the lining. All silks shrink a little in the way (usual "shrinkage allowance" that applies to any fabric). If you have a non-silk lining, you may find that the lining & the main fabric have differing shrinkage, potentially leaving your lining slightly showing beneath the silk outer fabric. One of the many reasons that irks me when brands put poly lining beneath a silk dress. It should be lined with either habitai silk or fine cotton.

I have ruined whistles silk dresses as a result of the point the PP makes - lining showing beneath dress and put of sync with silk around the bust. Not a good look. Sorry!

That's my main concern. How many have you ruined gower?
I wash everything in the machine - Uggs, leather jacket, wool coats, you name it but I can't afford to make my silk dresses any shorter!

At least two. Never learn. They were those semi-fitted ones - can't remember the name of the style, but they do them every season. A more fluid style might be safer...

I’ve washed various Whistles bodycon dresses (silk with polyester lining) by hand to no ill effect. I always use properly cold (not lukewarm) water with a specialist silk/wool liquid and don’t leave them to soak. Wouldn’t ever trust them to the machine, even on a delicate cycle, though I do spin them on the lowest setting (inside a lingerie bag).

(I am quite short, so I wouldn’t notice if they shrank a bit, but they certainly haven’t to the extent that they’ve exposed the lining)

I've handwashed silk clothes and put them in a silk cycle on the machine and they are usually fine. However I did once shrink a pair of silk linen trousers so much they became too short to wear (curiously they only shrank in length not in width). It was a traumatic experience.

I wash silk shirts by hand, no problem. It's the lining and length element that worries me. I have a few dresses , all bodycon with lining style - may start with a handwash on my least favourite...