🧵what the fabric tag % actually tells you

reading tags at the thrift rack in 5 seconds instead of 5 minutes. this is not scientific, it's just what's held up for me

100% cotton

shrinks the most on the first hot wash (3-5%, sometimes more if it's unwashed vintage). barely pills on its own though

100% polyester

won't shrink, will pill eventually bc the fibers hold onto the fuzz. check if it's already pilling in store, it won't get better

cotton/poly blend (60/40 or 50/50)

the worst pilling combo honestly. poly holds the pills that the softer cotton sheds

100% viscose / rayon

drapey and soft but weak wet - can shrink up to 25% if you machine wash+dry it hot. hand wash or it's basically single use

viscose/poly blend

linen

wrinkles are the point, don't fight it. shrinks a bit first wash then mostly stable after

wool (not superwash)

felts if it gets agitated hot. hand wash cold, lay flat. this is the one where dry clean only is not a scam

cotton + elastane/spandex (a few %)

the stretch fades before the fabric actually wears out, that's usually why jeans start sagging

acrylic

pills fast and pills forever, but it's the one that survives a washing machine abuse. know what you're buying

nylon

strong, dries fast, doesn't breathe. good sign on windbreakers, bad sign on a shirt

silk

sweat stains basically never come out. skip anything with visible underarm yellowing no matter how pretty

modal

softer cousin of viscose, holds up to washing better than regular viscose does

tencel / lyocell

same fiber family as viscose but made differently, actually pretty shrink-stable. one of the few blends i trust

cashmere blend (check the %)

under 30% cashmere is basically wearing the marketing. still nice, just price it in your head like the acrylic it mostly is

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