This is the first of two Bibliotheca theme posts I'm doing for this rotation: I recommended both themes, so I feel duty-bound to speak on both farewells and soup. I'm a big soup person: I love calling coffee and other such concoctions soup.
I recommended soup with the intention of discussing the most important lolita soup of all: laundry. Wash your damn clothes.
Laundry is a soup because it consists of a broth (almost always water), seasonings (detergents and the like), and noodles (garments). However, just like soup (food), soup (lolita laundry) is not necessary at all times.
Why tell people about laundry?
Most reasonable people wash their clothes. Unfortunately, this expectation is apparently unreasonable for some lolitas.
I am far from the first person to write on this topic. Raine Dragon has documented lolita laundry habits, a laundry directory/101 post, and posts on bleeding (actual blood) and bleeding (dye). The laundry survey revealed that a significant portion of lolitas just don't wash their clothing. This, put plainly, is disgusting.
Not washing clothing is more than just gross; it can actually accelerate the decay of the garments. The oils, salt, residual cosmetic products, and skin particles can feed bacteria, create stains, and weaken the fibers of the material. This degradation can take place even if a garment doesn't seem that dirty when it's put away-- many yellowed items got that way in storage.
Part of the issue is that many new lolitas are young teenagers who may never have done their own laundry before. When I started, I was certainly overcautious and got things dry-cleaned even when it wasn't really needed. But the abundance of caution shown by not laundering lolita can actually damage garments just as badly as improper washing. Nobody is born knowing how to do laundry, after all, and there's no shame in needing to learn. The only shameful thing is refusing to improve.
How I wash my clothes
You can skip this section if you have a good clothes washing procedure.
The first step to making laundry soup is to assess whether it is appropriate to make it. As Nicole Rudolph explains, historically, people washed their fancy clothes a lot less, preferring to wear washable underlayers to protect the more expensive outer garments. Lolita is similar; our dresses and outerwear are kept pretty far from the grossness of the human body. When it comes to underlayers, shorts (either cute bloomers or regular sports shorts) and undershirts are pretty common, but lolitas might also wear extra cushioning socks, opaque tights, thermal underlayers, or dress shields to protect their clothes from their bodies. These barriers help keep lolitas cozy and our petticoats and dresses clean.
Because of this, while bloomers, blouses, and socks should still be washed between every wear, they're less likely to get really gross or stained. Dresses and skirts should be washed about every other wear, more or less, depending on how much someone layers up and how sweaty a climate they live in. Cardigans only need to be washed every handful of wears, petticoats should be washed every seven to ten outings (more in the summer), and coats and capes can go longer than that, depending on materials. Hair accessories rarely need to be washed, but when they do, I hand wash them in the sink.
My standard washing routine almost never fails, and I've used it on cotton, wool, and polyester, including twills, broadcloth, chiffon, satin, and velveteen. Velveteen especially can require extra care, though, so consider hand washing or seeing a processional. I take the item, remove all the detachable bits, dump it in the wash with a couple Shout Color Catchers (basically papery sheets treated with sodium carbonate, a.k.a. washing soda), and wash with cold water and my usual detergent. I don't usually need a delicate bag, but my washer is a kind and considerate front-loader. Before the first wash, I spot test by scrubbing at a discreet spot (inside the garment or on the waist ties) with a paper towel and my detergent of choice. If the dye stays put, I can throw caution to the wind!
I never stick lolita items in the dryer, not even socks or bloomers-- it all goes to the drying rack until I remember to put everything away. Petticoats are the one exception: they actually get fluffier in the dryer. For items with lace or ruffles, I always stretch the lace back into shape when it's damp. That way, I don't have to iron or steam quite so much afterwards.
Dry cleaning is helpful for my wool items, but it isn't really effective at removing yellowing. Items that are clean but wrinkly usually get a spray of fabric refresher or a round with the steamer before going back into the closet. For storage, I keep my closet dark (to prevent fading) and the door open (to keep things breezy).
The Soup
Sometimes, my standard laundry routine just isn't enough. Newly-purchased used items often come in yellowed, stained, or reeking of cigarette smoke, and my usual procedure is too gentle to help. That's where The Soup comes in.
The Soup is a pet name for Oxyclean soaks. To prepare The Soup, activate the recommended amount of Oxyclean powder according to instructions with just enough very hot water to dissolve it, add cold water to dilute it to the desired concentration, then add your clothes, stir to make sure they're covered, and soak for anywhere from 30 minutes to multiple days. I typically do The Soup in a five-gallon bucket and use a wooden dowel to stir it, like some kind of enormous cauldron full of a fantastical potion.
As someone with a lot of solid black clothing, I also have a cure for fading black clothes in the form of Goth Soup. Goth Soup is just a black dye bath in the same bucket that I use for The Soup, but using a different designated stick to stir so that the dye doesn't end up contaminating my next Soup.
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