The pieces
Fabrics and care
What our tweed, faux leather, gold-tone hardware and glass pearls actually are, and how to keep them looking right.
The tweed
Our tweed is a woven blend of polyester and acrylic. Some of the heavier cloths carry wool as well, usually between 4% and 12%, and one carries a little cotton or viscose. The exact content is printed on every product page and matches the label sewn into the garment.
It is a woven cloth with no stretch. That is what gives a cropped jacket its square shoulder and a mini skirt its flat front, and it is also why you should take the larger size if you fall between two.
We do not use any protected fabric name for our cloth. It is a blended tweed-weave cloth, described as exactly that.
Boucle
Boucle is the same family of blend with a looped surface instead of a flat weave. It is softer and lighter than our standard tweed, and the loops will occasionally pull. Ease a pulled loop back into the cloth with a needle rather than cutting it.
Linings and trims
Jackets and skirts are lined in 100% polyester. Braided trims are the same blend as the cloth they edge. Frayed hems are finished deliberately and are meant to shed a few threads in the first weeks; they stop.
Faux leather
Our bags are made from polyurethane on a textile backing, with a polyester lining. It is a leather-look synthetic, not leather, and we call it faux leather everywhere on this site.
Keep it out of direct sun and away from heat, which makes the surface stiff. Wipe with a barely damp cloth and let it dry away from a radiator.
Gold-tone hardware
Chains, clasps, buttons, pins and settings are plated alloy with a gold-tone finish. They are not gold and we do not describe them as gold anywhere.
Plating wears with use, particularly where a chain rubs against a coat. Keep hardware away from water, perfume and hand cream, wipe it dry after wearing, and store it so it is not knocking against other pieces.
Glass pearls
Every pearl on this site is a glass bead with a pearl-look coating. None of them is a natural, cultured or freshwater pearl, and none of them is described as one.
The coating is the part that wears. Put jewellery on last, after perfume and hairspray, and take it off before you wash or swim.
A note on metal content. We buy costume jewellery and hardware without independent test reports, so we make no claim at all about what the alloy contains. If you know you react to a particular metal, treat everything here as costume jewellery and take advice before wearing it against the skin.
Washing and pressing
| Piece | Care |
|---|---|
| Tweed jackets, skirts and sets | Dry clean only. Do not wash, do not tumble dry, do not bleach. Press on a low heat with a cloth between the iron and the cloth. |
| Boucle | Dry clean only. Do not pull loose loops; ease them back with a needle. |
| Bags | Wipe with a barely damp cloth. Do not immerse, do not machine wash. |
| Jewellery and brooches | Dry soft cloth only. No water, no jewellery dip, no ultrasonic cleaner. |
Storage
Hang jackets on a wide hanger so the shoulder keeps its shape, and hang skirts by their waistband loops rather than folding them across the front. Keep bags stuffed lightly with tissue so the sides do not collapse, and store jewellery flat and separate.