Whether you want to resell an item or just keep it for life, there are some important steps you need to take in order to keep it in the best condition possible. Working with high end items for around 4 years and having looked after my own personal collection for longer than that, I have gained a fair amount of knowledge on how to keep these pieces looking fresh.
- Use the packaging
If it’s a box, dust bags or even shoe trees, you need to make use of the packaging provided. If your buying preowned and the particular item doesn’t come with any packaging I would strongly suggest investing in some none branded dust bags to protect your items. Storing your items in dust bags will protect them from dust and other substances that could cause damage to the materials, they are extremely helpful when travelling also to protect your designer pieces from damage while in transit. Boxes are also useful, if you have the space, to store the items in and prevent them from getting dented or misshaped.
Top Tip: when travelling store smaller items inside any larger more structured pieces for further protection and room efficiency.
Here are some dust bags I would recommend:
- Store your items in a safe place
A very simple, but important step. Try and store all your luxury items, especially accessories, in a wardrobe or on a shelf, or anywhere they can be spaced neatly and not stacked on top of each other (unless you are storing them in their boxes). This helps to prevent scratches, dents, tears and misshaped items.
Top Tip for clothes: when hanging tops or polos make sure you put the hanger through the bottom of the top and bring it up to the neck instead of stretching the neck area in order to fit the hanger in. This prevents misshaping of the neck area.
- Use material protectors
Material protectors are a super easy, full-proof way of protecting your items, just spray, wait a couple of hours and you’re good to go! I would defiantly recommend this for items with suede in particular as this is a less durable fabric and can be easily damaged.
Here is a suede protector I would recommend:
- Always check the wash label
For designer garments such as tops and shirts make sure you always check the inside label for wash instructions. Some garments may require hand wash or professional care, depending on the materials used. Others may be easier to wash but most likely require a lower temperature and may not be suitable to iron, in this case I would recommend steaming the garment.
Top Tip: If you are going to use the washing machine or iron on your luxury items, I strongly advise you to turn them inside out to further protect the outer material.
Top Tip: If you are struggling with bobbling/fabric pills on your designer garments, check out our IGTV on instagram which shows you how we fix this problem!
https://www.instagram.com/tv/COxy4WjDnWg/?utm_medium=copy_link
- Regularly inspect/clean your items
This is the most important step in keeping your items in mint condition. Before putting your items away, just do a quick once over. If you spot anything, use a dry or damp cloth (or wet wipes if the material is suitable) and clean any dirt you see. If you spot it same day, you’ll prevent any stains or marks from sinking in. This is a really easy and cheap way of protecting your items and making them last a lifetime.
Thanks for reading, I hope you found these tips useful, remember the better the condition of your item, the better price you will get if you resell. If you have any questions please leave them down below & remember if you have any items you are looking to sell, we are always looking to buy!
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