Secondhand pieces have already lived one life. A few habits will get you a much longer second one.
Most damage to secondhand clothing happens after it arrives, not before. Wool and denim in particular are routinely over-washed, and both respond well to being left alone.
Wool
Wool is naturally odour-resistant and does not need washing after every wear. Airing a garment overnight resolves most of what you would otherwise reach for the machine to fix.
- Air it out rather than washing after light wear.
- Brush along the grain with a garment brush to lift surface dirt.
- De-pill with a comb or fabric shaver, working gently and in one direction.
- Store folded, not hung — hangers stretch the shoulders of knitwear over time.
- Wash sparingly, cold, on a wool cycle or by hand. Dry flat, never wrung.
Denim
Raw and selvedge denim develops its fade pattern through wear, and every wash softens the contrast. How often you wash is a matter of taste rather than a rule — but hot water and tumble drying will shrink and age denim faster than anything else you can do to it.
- Wash inside out, cold, on a gentle cycle.
- Skip fabric softener; it coats the fibres and dulls the surface.
- Hang dry. Tumble drying is the main cause of unexpected shrinkage.
- Spot-clean small marks rather than washing the whole garment.
If a pair arrives already faded and soft, that work is done and it is not coming back. Wash it as often as comfort demands — the fade pattern you bought is already set.