We hope that you will get lots of wear out of your Bloom pieces for years to come! We design them with this in mind, and use the highest quality fabrics and sequins that we can get our hands on.
Here are a few tips to help you care for your clothes.
WEARING
Our clothes are designed to be worn - they are made with festivals and parties in mind, so we do our upmost to make them as practical and durable as a garment covered in hand-stitched sequins possibly can be! A couple of little tips whilst wearing to keep them looking tip-top:
1) When wearing any of our sequin one-pieces or bottoms, you can do a nifty smooth down of the sequins on your bum before sitting down, or slide backwards slightly as you sit, to help the sequins lie the right way and prevent them getting bent!
2) This applies to any stretch garments: when dressing or un-dressing, avoid stretching your garment beyond its natural stretch - you will feel when it has reached close to maximum stretch, don't force it beyond this as that may cause the thread by which the sequins are attached to break, and therefore sequins to drop off
3) You may on occasion lose the odd sequin - don't panic! This can sometimes be simply a loose sequin that has got caught up in your garment while it was being made, or it could be that a stitch has come undone. If you see gaps on your garment, first check that the sequins haven't just got flipped up the wrong way. If you turn your garment inside out, you can see if any stitching is coming undone. If you find a loose thread, tie it to the next stitch to stop it coming undone any further. All garments come with a few spare sequins for repairs, and if you ever need any more in future, just email us and we will send you some.
STORAGE
Always store your sequin items out of direct sunlight, and away from any heat sources. Strong sun or heat (such as sunlight that gets magnified through a window, or direct heat from a radiator) can cause the sequins to warp or even melt.
When travelling with your sequin garments, fold carefully and smooth the sequins down in the correct direction. Avoid packing tightly or under too much pressure, so as not to bend the sequins.
WASHING
All of our garments are totally washable. No need for dry-cleaning (which uses nasty chemicals that are harmful to the environment)
Sequin items: You have two options! Our primary recommendation would be to hand wash your item gently, in warm (not hot) water, with a small amount of delicate detergent, or shampoo works equally well. Rinse thoroughly without wringing, and hang it inside out over a rack airer (for larger, heavier garments so the weight is evenly distributed), washing up tub, or folded towel. Option two: if you are feeling particularly lazy, you can wash your piece on a delicate or wool cycle in the washing machine - make sure you turn it inside out, or even better put it in a mesh bag. And be sure to use a delicate detergent, not your regular detergent. DO NOT use any bleach or harsh stain removers, or any wet wipes containing alcohol. Please note we do not recommend machine washing for our kimonos with fringing or velvet detailing.
Non-sequin items: Wash at 30 degrees on a regular cycle in the washing machine.
Silk items: Hand wash with a small amount of shampoo. Hang to dry and iron on the coolest setting.
Natural dye items: For their first wash, we recommend washing these items alone at 30 degrees as they may lose a little colour. After that, they can be washed with similar colours. Please note, they will fade a little over time - this is a characteristic of the nature of these naturally dyed fabrics, and will add character to your piece!
REPAIRS
If your Bloom piece has been damaged, we may be able to offer a repair for a small charge. Please contact us with details and photos of the damage and we'll let you know if we can help.
If you have any questions about caring for your Bloom garments, please contact us and we will be more than happy to help.