The Brandy Melville brand might be the fashion brand with the most one-size-fits-all clothes, having the feature included in virtually all of its products.
Despite the quite infamous rumors floating around about the brand, many of us still find it hard to resist the offer, while there are also some unpopular complaints about the brand’s products.
There are a few reports on Brandy Melville shirts shrinking and you are probably wondering if you got a fake product.
It’s not a general complaint but the Brandy Melville shirts do shrink. You shouldn’t hold this against the brand, as there are foresaid precautions to prevent this.
How Do Your Brandy Melville Shirts Shrink?
For every piece of fabric that is said to accommodate multiple sizes, there has to be a level of stretch.
This applies to every clothing, including the Brandy Melville shirts.
As mentioned earlier, the Brandy Melville shirts have the one-size-fits-most feature (usually called one-size-fits-all by similar brands) which allows two to four people of different sizes to get in the same piece of cloth and remain comfortable.
The Brandy Melville clothes are composed of different fibers that range from denim to corduroy and elastane.
You should expect elastane in any stretchy fabric… and a lot of elastane in any fabric that can stretch as much as this.
The denim fabric is mostly found in jeans and that explains why ALL jeans shrink. It’s probably hard for you to believe since some effects are a lot more obvious than others.
The denim fiber is organic so the shrinking process is similar to how plants wilt when exposed to high heat.
When a denim fabric gets wet, heat-drying will make the fabric shrink. However, this is temporary.
Corduroy is the synthetic fabric you’ll find in virtually every clothing made for the Winter.
The fabric is soft, thick, and pretty durable. However, the durability doesn’t prevent it from shrinking.
Similar to the denim fabric, the corduroy shorts will shrink when exposed to heat.
The elastane, which is one of the most evident features of your Brandy Melville shirts, can be considered the basic tool for Stretch.
In fact, Elastane can shrink as much as 10% of its original size. Like the earlier mentioned fabrics, the Elastane doesn’t just shrink.
It has to be exposed to a high level of heat before the shrink becomes obvious.
Generally, the application of heat doesn’t sit well with any of the fabrics used in your Brandy Melville shirts.
How To Prevent Your Brandy Melville Shirts From Shrinking
Some shrinks are good for you, some shrinks are just okay and manageable, and some shrinks are totally unwanted.
You can imagine yourself barely fitting in a cloth and hoping it stretches and finally becomes comfortable for you to wear but the opposite happens and it shrinks instead.
The Brandy Melville one-size-fits-most feature doesn’t satisfy everyone and a shrink might just ruin every other good part.
Before that happens, it is necessary to take precautions and make a shrinking process impossible.
- Know the fabric and texture
- Avoid practices that shrink fabric
- Only air-dry cotton clothes
- Wash Elastane Clothes In Warm Heat
- Tumble Dry Clothes With Little Elastane At Low Heat
- Keep Corduroy Clothes In Dryer For Short While Before Air-drying
Know The Fabric And Texture
We have been able to point out the features in most of the Brandy Melville shirts.
Some of the lighter wears are basically just cotton and elastane.
Some other fabrics are thicker and require extra steps to maintain. Once the fabric composition is noted, you’ll know whether to use a machine and a dryer or not.
Avoid Practices That Shrink Fabric
Once you know the fabric you’re dealing with, you know the right way to care for it. In general, keeping your Brandy Melville shirts from shrinking requires the following:
Only Air-Dry Cotton Clothes
Most clothes are either 100% cotton or have at least 80% cotton in them. Many don’t bother to ask or find out the best way to care for their cotton clothes.
They just put their cotton clothes on and everything goes well. That is because Cotton clothes don’t shrink so much.
You can wash your cotton clothes in the machine and the size is retained.
However, drying your cotton clothes with a machine will cause the shrink process to set in. Air-drying your cotton clothes is the best practice.
Wash Elastane Clothes In Warm Heat
A shrinking effect on Elastane is rarely negative. The elastane fabric is made for stretch so when it shrinks, it can still span higher sizes easily.
Sometimes, you even need the elastane to shrink and get a bit tighter so you put it under hot conditions.
However, it’s not always good. Stretchy fabrics are usually made a bit smaller so the elastane can take effect.
When it shrinks, it may become too tight to keep you comfortable. It’s better to wash Elastane clothes at medium heat.
Tumble Dry Clothes With Little Elastane At Low Heat
Washing elastane clothes is pretty straightforward. Drying is not so. It is okay to wash clothes of low stretch with warm heat.
However, if you must use a dryer, keep it at low heat. Even medium heat can affect the elastane negatively.
Keep Corduroy Clothes In Dryer For Short While Before Air-drying
It is totally okay to wash your corduroy clothes at high heat. In fact, washing your corduroy clothes may require high heat to remove tough stains.
Drying your corduroy clothes is not very straightforward. The Corduroy fabric comes thick and absorbs water. This makes it pretty time-taking to air-dry.
Tumble-drying is an even worse idea, as can damage the corduroy fabric.
To dry the Corduroy fabric, keep the cloth in the tumble-dryer at low heat for a short while, then take it out and let nature do the rest. So far, this is the most supported idea on caring for the Corduroy fabric.
Corduroy is mostly found in cardigans and thick clothing so it may not apply to the Brandy Melville you own.
How To Make Your Brandy Melville Shirts Last Longer
Wash with cold water (Machine or Hand)
The advice you’ll often get on caring for your Brandy Melville shirts is to wash your cloth with your hands! It’s totally normal if you won’t wash your clothes with your hands.
However, if you have to make use of a machine, wash with cold water. Asides from the risks of shrinking, the fabric can get stretched out and lose shape.
Use a mild detergent
Most T-shirts can last up to six months and even longer. Some don’t last as long as that. Your Brandy Melville shirts are not better or less good when it comes to discoloration.
Discoloration is one of the most common reasons you stop wearing a shirt. One of the measures to take against this is the application of mild detergent when washing.
Also, you shouldn’t use as much detergent as you use for other clothes.
Air-dry
The most popular advice to care for your Brandy Melville shirts is to air-dry. You can have your Brandy T-shirts dried up without shoving them in a dryer.
This precaution applies to other shirts too, especially delicate ones. Tumble-drying can shrink and break down the fabric.
It can also totally devastate your clothes when there are loose threads to snag.
Hold Stain Removers
There are light stains that can be washed out with a simple rinse.
There are other stains that require more than that. Instead of dipping your clothes in the machine, again and again, you can blot out stains with a Stain Remover pen.
Asides the quick help it offers in emergencies, washing your clothes often affect the lifespan of your clothes.
Wash insides out
With a Stain Remover pen, you rarely have to worry about stains.
However, there are times you have to get rid of a pungent smell or dust, then actual laundry is required.
Instead of washing the cloth directly and risking discoloration, you can turn the shirt’s insides out and wash it.
That way, you get rid of the dust and the pungent smell, with less risk of having the colors fade.
Use a mesh bag
When washing light Brandy Melville shirts, it is advisable to use a mesh bag. This helps in the case of an undiscovered loose thread.
When you put your clothes in the laundry mesh bag before putting them in the washing machine, your clothes are washed and you don’t have to worry about a surprise snag.
Fold Sweaters or get a good hanger
Your sweaters and corduroy clothing tend to be heavy.
Sometimes, you mishandle your clothes and blame the brand without realizing it was totally your fault.
When you hang your Brandy sweaters, The weight will make them droop and cause them to stretch out over time.
You are advised to fold the heavy clothing instead.
However, if you will use a hanger, you would better go for a wooden hanger or a hanger that is incapable of bending.
When your sweater droops from a plastic hanger and manages to bend it, the arms lean downwards and may stretch out over time.
This also applies to other clothes, irrespective of the weight.
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