Care
Made to be worn often, and washed less than you think.
Most of what shortens the life of a garment happens after you buy it — too much heat, too much detergent, too many cycles. Wool and the blends we build around it are unusually forgiving if you let them be. This is everything we know about keeping your Paire feeling like the day it arrived.
First principles
Wool cleans itself, mostly.
Merino fibre has a natural crimp and a waxy outer layer that resists odour and releases dirt rather than holding onto it. A wool sock or tee can be worn several times before it needs anything at all. Washing it after every wear isn't cleaner — it's just wear you've added for no reason.
Airing does most of the work.
Hang the piece somewhere with moving air overnight — a rail, a hook, the back of a chair, outside in the shade if you can. By morning it will have released the moisture and odour it picked up. This single habit will do more for the life of your knitwear than any detergent.
Heat is the thing to avoid.
Hot water and tumble dryers are what actually damage wool: heat and agitation together make the fibres lock and the garment shrink. Keep the water cool and let it dry in air and almost nothing else can go wrong.
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Turn it inside out.
Ten seconds that protects the face of the fabric from abrasion in the drum — and keeps colour looking newer for longer. Do this with socks especially.
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Wash cool, on wool or gentle.
Below 30 °C for everything, and never above 40 °C. Use the wool or delicates cycle so the drum turns slowly. Wash with like colours.
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Keep the soap mild.
A gentle liquid detergent, and less of it than the bottle suggests. Wool-specific detergents are ideal but not essential. Enzyme-heavy powders are the ones to avoid.
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Never bleach, never soften.
Both coat or strip the fibre, and both undo exactly what you paid for — the ability to move moisture and regulate temperature. Skip the fabric softener entirely.
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Dry flat, in the shade.
Reshape while damp and lay knitwear flat so it doesn't stretch under its own weight. Out of direct sun. No tumble dryer — and if you truly must, the lowest setting you have.
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Let a little pilling happen.
Small pills are normal in fine natural fibres, and they settle down after the first few wears. They're a sign of a soft, finely spun yarn rather than a fault. Lift them off with a comb or a fabric shaver — don't pull.
By material
The specifics, fabric by fabric.
The method above covers everything we make. Where a fabric asks for something different, it's here.
CoolBlend™ Socks
- Wash
- Machine, wool or gentle cycle. Cool to warm, never above 40 °C.
- Dry
- Air dry. Tumble on low only if you must.
- Note
- Light pilling is normal and settles with wear.
BreezeBlend™ Socks
- Wash
- Machine, wool or gentle cycle. Cool to warm, never above 40 °C.
- Dry
- Air dry. Tumble on low only if you must.
- Note
- Light pilling is normal and settles with wear.
NudeTech™ Underwear
- Wash
- Machine, gentle cycle, below 30 °C.
- Dry
- Air dry flat in the shade. No tumble drying.
- Iron
- Cool iron only.
Lipstick Underwear™
- Wash
- Machine, gentle cycle, below 30 °C.
- Dry
- Line or flat dry in the shade. No tumble drying.
- Note
- Quick-drying by design — most pairs are dry overnight.
BioFlex™
- Wash
- Machine below 30 °C, with like colours.
- Dry
- Air dry. Tumble on low only if you must.
- Iron
- No ironing, no dry cleaning.
SilKnit™
- Wash
- Machine, wool or gentle cycle, below 30 °C.
- Dry
- Flat in the shade. No tumble drying or dry cleaning.
- Iron
- Low heat, on the reverse.
CoolBlend™ Clothing
- Wash
- Machine, wool or gentle cycle, below 30 °C.
- Dry
- Flat in the shade. No tumble drying or dry cleaning.
- Iron
- Low heat, on the reverse.
BreezeBlend™ Clothing
- Wash
- Machine, wool or gentle cycle, below 30 °C.
- Dry
- Flat in the shade. No tumble drying or dry cleaning.
- Iron
- Low heat, on the reverse.
Foundation Thermal
- Wash
- Machine, cold, with like colours.
- Dry
- Air dry. Tumble on low only if you must.
- Iron
- Cool iron. No dry cleaning.
100% Merino Wool
- Wash
- Machine, wool or gentle cycle, below 30 °C.
- Dry
- Flat in the shade. No tumble drying or dry cleaning.
- Iron
- Warm iron.
On the label
What the symbols mean.
The six marks you'll find on a Paire care label, and what each one is asking of you.
If something goes wrong
We'd rather fix it than replace it.
Snagged a thread, lost a shape, or something didn't survive a wash it should have? Talk to us before you give up on it — most things are recoverable, and if it's a fault we'll make it right. Every Paire piece also comes with 100 days to decide it's for you.