6 min read
Turning a collar to check the label
Where to look, what a woven label tells you and the two things I check next.
Browse by topic
Latest letters
A letter every Tuesday about buying secondhand, reading labels and mending what I own.
7 min read
A label guide with fabric swatches
The printed guide I carry on a tablet, with a scrap of each fabric next to its label.
6 min read
A wool coat on the rail: label, zip, lining
What I check on a charity-shop coat before I take it to the till.
5 min read
Pressing a vintage blouse with no care label
Steam, a cloth and a low heat, and how I test a corner first.
8 min read
Darning a wool jumper on an egg
A hole at the elbow, a darning egg and one evening of slow stitches.
5 min read
Sizes: why an old 12 is not today's 12
Measuring a jacket flat on the table instead of trusting the number sewn in.
7 min read
A small wardrobe, sorted by colour
What stays, what goes to the swap and how I keep it to one rail.
6 min read
The flea market in the square, early and late
When I go, what I carry and how I tell a bargain from a pile of polyester.
The Label Letter
A letter every Tuesday about buying secondhand, reading labels and mending what I own.