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Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them

swinburne.edu.au

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Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them

#221

Post by nwallin »

irishcoffee wrote: post #208
helterskelter wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$.02: - American Giant is pretty good for their pullover hoodies. They'll wear out at the cuffs first, but I've kept a single hoody in use for like five years with some repair stitching. - Standard Issue makes good waffle knit shirts. They'll last a few years depending on how often you wash them. - Duluth Trading makes some good cotton shirts and boxers. Quality has declined slightly, but they're the best plain cotto…

> Carhartt makes some okay dressy dungarees. Their work pants are worthless these days though (in my experience). They've been pivoting to lifestyle for a few years now. Carhartt are the most durable clothes I own. Whatever Levi’s did, their jeans went from lasting years to literal months before they would rip. Had the same 3 pairs of Carhartt work pants for half a decade with no end in sight. Maybe something changed…

> Maybe something changed between 2020 and 2025, shrug

It's my understanding that this is the case. I could be wrong; I hope to be.

Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them

#222

Post by vaindil »

FuriouslyAdrift wrote: post #119
kevinmchugh wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Higher rise pants help. I have a long torso and started buying higher rise pants for the aesthetic difference, but they also make me less concerned about a t shirt becoming a belly shirt

Or get shirts made for people with longer torsos... YMMV https://www.landsend.com/shop/mens-tall-t-shirts-tops-tees/S...

I'm 6'9" / 206cm, and I've struggled my whole life to find clothing that fits, since I'm slim. If we're sharing links, the two I've been buying from lately are https://tallslimtees.com and https://www.2tall.com. The latter has a large selection of knitwear, which I've never found anywhere else, it's been a game changer. (Most tall sizes are both bigger and taller, so they don't fit correctly. These sites sell taller clothing that'sonly taller.)

Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them

#223

Post by jerlam »

irishcoffee wrote: post #208
helterskelter wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$.02: - American Giant is pretty good for their pullover hoodies. They'll wear out at the cuffs first, but I've kept a single hoody in use for like five years with some repair stitching. - Standard Issue makes good waffle knit shirts. They'll last a few years depending on how often you wash them. - Duluth Trading makes some good cotton shirts and boxers. Quality has declined slightly, but they're the best plain cotto…

> Carhartt makes some okay dressy dungarees. Their work pants are worthless these days though (in my experience). They've been pivoting to lifestyle for a few years now. Carhartt are the most durable clothes I own. Whatever Levi’s did, their jeans went from lasting years to literal months before they would rip. Had the same 3 pairs of Carhartt work pants for half a decade with no end in sight. Maybe something changed…

The Levis's brand doesn't mean much anymore. They sell the same style (model number) of jeans at completely different price points for different stores at varying levels of quality.

You can buy Levi's at $30 at Walmart, $40 at Costco, $80 at a Levi's store, or $100 at Nordstrom.

How Levi's Sells the Same Jeans at Different Prices | Levi's 505 Teardown | Industry Secrets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPdGhZHT7JU

Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them

#224

Post by kazinator »

IAmBroom wrote: post #216
kazinator wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My following comment is not about clothes, but not long ago I washed some curtains that were hanging in a window for some fifteen years. The amount of lint that came out in the dryer was incredible. I'm talking inch-thick wad on the filter screen, growing another inch with continued drying, after being removed. It was probably due to years of UV breakdown of the fibers from daylight.

Or accumulation of (invisible) hair and clothing fibers by the coarse curtain fabric over the years.

The lint had a very homogeneous consistency: it was almost snow white with few inclusions deviating from that, almost resembling polyester pillow stuffing in some regards, except for having a different structure (much shorter fiber strands, probably).

Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them

#225

Post by crazygringo »

prmph wrote: post #190
crazygringo wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't even make sense. Banana Republic cotton is fine. I have a bunch of their shirts and machine wash cold and hang-dry and zero shrinkage. Did you put it in the dryer afterwards or something? Like I know that sounds dumb but I'm struggling to imagine what could have possibly caused what you describe. There's zero "enshittification" of the cotton at a brand like Banana Republic.

What I'm relating is 100% the truth, and I did not machine dry them after washing. I could not even believe my eyes when it happened, because I've been a customer of their dress shirts since like a decade ago and always relied on them for a precise fit. I bought two of them, the ones that shrunk. They are labeled as wrinkle-resistant slim shirts, 98% cotton and 2% spandex. Don't be mistaken, the quality of their appa…

That's truly bizarre. I genuinely can't imagine what could have physically caused that. Like, if that happened to me I'd have to assume a family member had warm-washed and machine-dried the shirt without telling me.

You can have your own opinions on quality -- if there's anything I know, people have been complaining about the decline of quality of major brands every year for as long as I've been alive. Yet somehow clothes still seem fine. But that's actually irrelevant.

Because the point is, there aren't really any conceivable fabric quality issues that should cause a cotton-spandex shirt to shrink with a cold wash and hang dry. It doesn't matter the brand or quality, that's just not how cotton or spandex work. And even if you do accidentally wash warm once or dry, the denser weave that a dress shirt has will always shrink less than something like a looser Oxford or a t-shirt jersey material. So even just one warm wash on a dress shirt shouldn't have a huge effect.

So truly that's just bizarre. I have no explanation.

Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them

#226

Post by ohyoutravel »

vyaa wrote: post #96
jazzyjackson wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's still good fabrics out there you just have to pay for them. I've mostly replaced my wardrobe now with natural undyed cottons and wools from the likes of "unbleached apparel" and "industry of all nations". There is cotton grown in new mexico, socks spun in north carolina. "Filson" makes a few things in Seattle. Don't skip the stuff made in Peru or India neither.

Do you have any brand recommendations?

A shop like http://blueowl.us (slightly more focused on jeans) or https://witheredfig.com both will give you lots of ideas of great brands. They’re both basically anti fast fashion. Recommend order from them directly, but worst case give some ideas. I invested in high quality tee shirts and pants and have been wearing them for almost a decade.

Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them

#227

Post by helterskelter »

irishcoffee wrote: post #208
helterskelter wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$.02: - American Giant is pretty good for their pullover hoodies. They'll wear out at the cuffs first, but I've kept a single hoody in use for like five years with some repair stitching. - Standard Issue makes good waffle knit shirts. They'll last a few years depending on how often you wash them. - Duluth Trading makes some good cotton shirts and boxers. Quality has declined slightly, but they're the best plain cotto…

> Carhartt makes some okay dressy dungarees. Their work pants are worthless these days though (in my experience). They've been pivoting to lifestyle for a few years now. Carhartt are the most durable clothes I own. Whatever Levi’s did, their jeans went from lasting years to literal months before they would rip. Had the same 3 pairs of Carhartt work pants for half a decade with no end in sight. Maybe something changed…

I used to swear by them but I ordered like half a dozen pairs of their standard double fronted work dungs and they fell apart in the washer after 2-3 cycles. This was 2022-2023. It was weird, seams weren't stitched properly, the fabric was lighter, etc. I saw comments on their site which shared my experience.

I think this around the time they shifted production outside the USA (memory is hazy). If you see a "helmets to hardhats" decal on the inside of your pants on the pocket lining, they're US production.

I've switched to Bailey's "Wild Ass" brand of denim work pants for my physical laboring needs, but you have to wear them with logging suspenders.

Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them

#228

Post by boc »

Loughla wrote: post #117
helterskelter wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$.02: - American Giant is pretty good for their pullover hoodies. They'll wear out at the cuffs first, but I've kept a single hoody in use for like five years with some repair stitching. - Standard Issue makes good waffle knit shirts. They'll last a few years depending on how often you wash them. - Duluth Trading makes some good cotton shirts and boxers. Quality has declined slightly, but they're the best plain cotto…

Darn tough for socks and Brunt for hoodies, I would add to this list. I'm hard on clothes and they survive me.

Farm 2 Feet is my favorite for socks!

Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them

#229

Post by Gigachad »

Centigonal wrote: post #194
oslem wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

H&M is awful, but Uniqlo has some great products that will last. I’m a big fan of a few of their t-shirts, especially the heavy cotton tees. You really gotta get your hands on each product to know what’s worth the money though.

Uniqlo does still have some gems, but it's been rapidly enshittifying. My uniqlo clothes from 2019 are incomparable to what they have today. Some of their stuff is still good, but it's a game of roulette every time, because they'll replace products with very similarly branded new versions that suck.

At least in Australia I haven't had an issue with anything from Uniqlo. Their shirts have lasted longer than almost all the other stores I've bought from.

They do have some polyester crap, but they are better than most at having 100% cotton options.

Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them

#230

Post by Gigachad »

rico_rodriguez wrote: post #187
stuxnet79 wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rather than focus on brand, I'd recommend developing a better eye and learning how to identify durable, high quality fabrics. While looking at the brand might be a good heuristic to rely on in the short term, the temptation is too high for vendors to take advantage of their brand power to offload cheaper fabrics for higher margins, I'm looking at you H&M and UNIQLO ...

I went through an Uniqlo last month and was very disappointed at how just about every sort of basic article of clothing I was looking for was at least 30% polyester. Polyester has its place, the fact its not breathable and cheap does make it genuinely useful in moderation to help warm certain articles, but I don't want it in every single basic t shirt and pair of pants. You can still get high quality or at the very l…

Cotton _is_ more expensive than polyester, just as a raw material. That's pretty much the whole reason they put it in clothes. So the fact that 100% cotton is more expensive than a cotton poly blend is not surprising or unreasonable.
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