WIW and a jeans question (ETA results!) - YouLookFab Forum

Category

What I Wore

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

WIW and a jeans question (ETA results!)

Like the Season

These jeans are the priciest pair I've ever purchased. They're also the first that specifically say to "line dry." I know a lot of you hang dry all your jeans, but I've never done that, and frankly would rather not start. I'm OK if my jeans don't last forever -- I'm used to getting a couple of years of heavy use out of them -- but I don't want to ruin them immediately. Will I destroy these if I dry them on low? (They're 98% cotton, 2% Elastane.)

Thanks for your wisdom.

-----

UPDATE: Wow, thanks for your thoughts/advice, everyone! Just tallied the votes and found that Team Line Dry narrowly edged out Team Dryer. I was surprised at how many of you line dry everything!

I ended up putting my jeans in the dryer until they were barely damp, then air dried. They snugged up nicely but didn't seem to shrink much and the spandex threads remained intact.

This post has 2 photos. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.

30 replies

Latest reply was from Mainelady

Toban

Veteran

I line dry 95% of my wardrobe, including all jeans. The stretch in the jeans don't respond well to heat and can shrink the item, even at low. However, when I was losing weight, I purposefully tumbled dried jeans with stretch. I found that they tended to shrink half a size in the dryer and thus be wearable longer.

Short answer -- expect potential shrinkage, even at low heats. That may or may not be acceptable to you.

JAileen

Veteran

I always hang dry jeans. I’ve experienced what Toban wrote: shrinking jeans in the dryer. I did it on purpose, too. It depends if you want that or not. Also, the dryer can wreck the spandex.

Katerina

Veteran

I hang dry or flat dry all my clothes, never use the dryer, so I can’t tell...

Great outfit and fun earrings! The jeans are super.

Diana

Veteran

I put my (mostly premium) jeans in the dryer. Most of them are 98/2 or 99/1 cotton/spandex, so not very stretchy, and the dryer doesn't seem to do much damage to them. The exception is two pairs of leggings, which are some weird mixed fabric content with more stretch.

In any case, almost all of my jeans die in a particular way, by wearing out at the inner thigh or occasionally in the seat (hazards of being pear shaped), which has nothing to do with the dryer.

Style Fan

Veteran

I hang dry all my clothes. I don't put much in the dryer.

lisaflex

Veteran

i hang dry and then fluff when barely damp.....or dry clean.....

binkle

Veteran

I usually line or rack dry after the first few washes, then I figure any shrinkage has hopefully happened, and then into the dryer (gently) they go. I always turn them inside out befor washing/drying, seems to help retain the color

Anonymous

I hang almost all my clothes, especially jeans. The one pair that accidently were dryer dried, eventually sprouted bits of elastic thread sticking out all over. These were not more than 2% spandex. The crazy threads made them unwearable after only a couple of wears.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I hang dry almost all my clothes and they last a lot better that way. In summers I have a humid climate, too, so this can take a bit of time, but it's worth it. The only jeans I put in the dryer are those that I use for chores etc. The only other clothes I put in the dryer are socks, underpants (which I probably shouldn't do), workout gear.

Like the Season

Interesting. Thanks, everyone.

I guess it must depend on the brand of jeans. I think I may try a short dryer time and see what happens. They could shrink a wee bit without much problem, but I wouldn't want the spandex sproinging out all over the place.

DonnaF

Veteran

I dry most things in my dryer on low/delicate but only until they are damp dry. Never a problem. I soaked my badly stained white jeans in Oxiclean in hot water which seems to have stretched them out. I like the dryer to eliminate the bad wrinkles and will even saturate an item fresh out of the washer to help it along.

I also wonder if perhaps my 30+ year old gas dryer runs cooler than other folks’ dryers.

Like the Season

Thanks, DonnaF. Good question about your dryer. The extra low setting on mine seems to put out a surprising amount of heat.

Katerina, thank you. I love these earrings.

delurked

Veteran

Interesting responses. I also hang dry almost all of my clothing and only use the dryer for items I would want to shrink or don’t care too much about. Occasionally I will throw something in to de wrinkle and then hang. I thought I was the outlier in hanging vs drying. Luckily my climate has things dry very quickly.

Anonymous

I like your style!
Oh I would definitely put these in the dryer.

Cee

Veteran

You look fabulously FAB, LTS

As for me, I never bought jeans that couldn't withstand Armageddon or a 5 year old's birthday party !

krishnidoux

Veteran

Super cute jeans! And these are my favorite shoes of yours with them too.
I hang dry my jeans after washing them with cold water. I would never dream of drying them completely in the dryer. Sometimes, I run them on low for about 5 minutes, just to get the wrinkles out.
I'm like Suz, Joy and the others on this.

Like the Season

Thanks for your thoughts, Delurked.

Thanks, Smittie.

Cee, how sweet you are. And funny!

Krishnidoux, thank you! You know I love my MJ's.

RobinF

Veteran

Gosh, I am an outlier here! I dry almost everything. I don't have the patience to hang everything and them wait for it to dry. On the other hand, I don't buy very expensive clothes so that makes a difference. Most of my jeans have spandex and they do tighten up a little bit when I dry them but relax after wearing for a while. They don't seem to get too tight to wear so I am OK with it.

Anonymous

Team hang dry. Anything with elastic, spandex, stretch of any kind will break down faster if placed in drier.

Sara L.

Veteran

Fun earrings! I dry pretty much everything in the dryer. The only things I don't dry are bras and swimsuits. I haven't noticed any problems with jeans other than my black jeans fading faster than I'd like. I don't have the time or patience to hang my clothes. I have 3 kids and do at least 7-8 loads of laundry on a typical weekend (not including towels and sheets).

Beth

I'm surprised so many line dry everything! I don't have the patience. The only things that don't go in the dryer are bras and some sweaters. I also find that many clothes are less soft if they don't go through the dryer.

No, my clothes don't last forever. But I'm also not buying high-end items that I expect to last forever, either. Comfort and ease are my top wardrobe priorities, so into the dryer they go.

cindysmith

Veteran

I line dry everything because shrinkage is just that big of a problem for me. I need long sleeves to be LONG, and a longer inseam is a must in pants. The elastic breaks down in the heat from the dryer and all that lint in the trap is my clothes slowly eroding away. For some of my clothes, I just hang them on a plastic hanger from an unused cabinet knob because the clothesline is a pain in the butt and requires I go outside in the heat. Matter of fact, I'm sitting here interacting on this forum while a load of my darks languishes in the washer. Because hot.

Thistle

Veteran

I wear my jeans several times before washing. When I do wash them, I almost always dry them in the dryer.

Maybe it reduces their life, but I find my jeans stretch out when I wear them, so the dryer helps put them back to their original size.

Jjsloane

Veteran

My rule is if they stretch I will dry them (on low) to retain their fit. If they don't (usually my 98/2 or 99/1) I hang to dry and then soften in the dryer once almost dry for 15 minutes. I find the ones with higher cotton content can be worn more before washing.

Aquamarine

Veteran

I hang up most things to dry, except underwear and bum-around-the-house stuff. I’m especially picky with denim...at least the premium denim. They do not go anywhere near a dryer,

Greyscale

Veteran

Honestly I also line dry almost everything but I'm sure they'll be fine in the dryer. My 'play clothes' jeans go in the dryer to no ill effect except that I think the black fades faster. Yes, some things might shrink, but not much if you do it on low.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

KILLER

Your best outfit on the forum so far.

Carla

Veteran

I put all my jeans in the dryer, and they are 98/2 or 99/1 cotton to synthetic.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

I usually dry most things on delicate low heat for about 12-15 mins. then take them out and line dry.

p.s. - I *always* set a timer for this.

12