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How to Care for Luxury Items at Home
Do you care for luxury items? For most people, luxury items are considered personal treasures. Aside from their high price tags, they are also considered status symbols, thanks to the flashy brands that are attached to them. Some consider them as investments and can fetch a higher resale price tag as compared to a bag, jewelry, shoes, clothes, or consumer goods that come from usual brands. For the serious collectors, having the latest luxury item, especially if it is limited edition or born out of a designer collaboration, speaks to the sensibilities of their financial capacity.
Your bags, jewelry, clothes, and other luxury items will need great care, especially if you have been staying at home in these extraordinary times.
As luxury items oftentimes equate to high quality, most owners will take extreme care to ensure that these items last longer than it is advertised, or long enough that they can bestow it as heirlooms to their children, and sometimes, their grandchildren.
Regardless, luxury items will remain luxurious if they are also maintained very well. Unlike common items, some luxury items are susceptible to ever-changing weather, humidity, and even accumulating dust and dust particles. Some are even exposed to harsh elements when used, so they tend to get scratches, stains, and other imperfections that could diminish the overall quality and look of the luxury item. Even if you spend more time at home nowadays, there is no better time to learn about learning to care for luxury items, be it whatever you are collecting.
Whether you use them daily or for special and the rarest of occasions, it is important that you know how to care for luxury items to make your investments last. And if you happen to own luxury items handed over by your parents or grandparents, knowing how to maintain them will also help you preserve the beauty in every detail and the stories that come along with it.
Ways to care for your luxury items at home
Be Mindful When Cleaning Luxury Clothes
Caring for luxury clothes can be really tricky. The trick is knowing how to wash, dry, clean, and store them.
Most people head to a specialty laundry or cleaning service that understands how to care for luxury clothes due for laundry. If you avail of the services of these establishments, you already know that they are not the typical load, wash, and press facility. They employ special techniques to clean and press your luxury clothes while keeping the quality of the luxury clothes. Some establishments go the extra mile of removing accidental stains to improving the color and overall look of luxury clothes.
However, you can easily take care of your luxury clothes at home by minding what you use to wash them and how to dry them. Water at room temperature to cold water is best to reduce the chances of shrinkage. Most luxury clothes react to strong detergents and fabric conditioners, so use mild laundry soap. Luxury clothes that are made of delicate materials should be washed by hand. Avoid scrunching them or folding them, especially with structural clothes, as these might deform. Moreover, avoid mixing them with other items that could bleed color.
If you are unsure about what to do, your luxury clothes, like any other, come with a label that clearly details all washing and caring related instructions. Read and understand them before attempting to clean them yourself. If you are still unsure about luxury clothes in delicate material, like silk or leather, you can always send your clothes for dry cleaning when necessary.
Keep Your Jewelry Polished Clean, Glittery, and in Tip-Top Shape
Clean, polished, and glittery jewelry will make you appreciate their beauty in every detail.
Having your jewelry cleaned at the jeweler’s can rack up a pretty expensive bill. You can actually do the cleaning at home with items you already have lying around extra. For example, you can use plain (not colored or flavored) toothpaste that contains baking soda to clean your baubles. Make sure also that the toothpaste is not gel-based, as it will leave a sticky coat. If you do not have one, you can make a baking soda paste with equal parts water. Use an extra clean toothbrush and brush your jewelry with a little toothpaste. Do not forget the little corners. Leave them for about an hour, and then rub them with a soft cloth. This concoction is also great with diamonds and diamond jewelry without tarnishing it.
Organization is also key in keeping your jewelry in tip-top shape. Keep them in velvet or soft-padded jewelry boxes and holders. Necklaces should be hung or kept in flat individual boxes to avoid getting the chains tangled. If you do have gold chains tangled, you can separate them by placing them on a plastic sheet and pouring a little baby oil, then use two sewing needles to untie them.
Keep Your Shoes Clean, Sanitized, and In Good Shape
Shoes are the most battered of all luxury items, but there are ways to wear them and clean them to a near quality and shape worthy of a store display.
Sometimes, luxury shoes, just like any other pair, are made for walking, even if you are working from home. No matter how many times you use it, the key is to clean and polish them after every use. Use a good shoe cleaner that not only disinfects but also is sensitive to use with a soft cloth or brush. If you need to clean your white shoes, a nail polisher is quite effective in removing stains, even the bottom part of your sneakers.
If you just bought a new pair, consider getting it resolved to protect the original soles intact as much as possible. Resoling is a cost-effective way to prolong the life of your luxury shoes.
When storing them, get a good pair of shoe inserts to keep their shape. Put them in a shoe bag or shoe box. If you intend to display them in a closet, arrange your shoes neatly and avoid overcrowding them.
Watch Out For Leather, Fur, And Metals
Luxury items made of leather, fur, and metals need extra care to keep their shine and sheen.
Depending on where it is placed, the state of the leather, fur, and metals affects the overall quality of the luxury item. Sometimes, it is unavoidable as they are used in areas where you naturally use them — bag handles and straps, the sandal straps, boot buckles, and more.
A rule of thumb is to buy luxury items in dark colors, as they are the easiest to maintain. Keep your luxury items from lotions, perfumes, and even pens, as spillage might leave stains. If you are fond of lotions and perfumes, wait at least 20-30 minutes before using the luxury item to avoid transfer and damage. After cleaning, put your luxury items in its dedicated dustbag and store them immediately. Also use stuffing, a shaper, or an insert to keep your luxury items in great shape. Keep your luxury items from direct or high heat. For tougher stains, it’s best to send your luxury items to a cleaning specialist.
Treat Your Luxury Watches As Gadgets
Luxury watches are first, and foremost, mechanical devices. It is important that you treat them as such.
Luxury watches are mostly mechanical little machines containing hundreds of minuscule components, with each component operating at extremely fine tolerances to ensure that time is delivered despite being subjected to movement, shock, heat, and moisture. Moreover, luxury watches are designed with high-quality materials that exude bespoke craftsmanship worthy to be experienced by the next generation, and the next.
As such, you need to wind your luxury watches regularly at least once a month, especially if you have not been wearing them for a while. Luxury watches with self-winding mechanisms needed to be winded at least 30 turns. For manual-winding luxury watches, turn the crown until it resists to keep it lubricated.
Keep the crown, or the little knob on the side of the watch, protected, even after use. Before winding or adjusting your watch, take it off your wrist first to avoid putting lateral stress on the crown. Carefully wind the crown with care and avoid exerting too much pressure.
When not in use, make sure to clean every surface of the watch with a soft, damp cloth. You can use a toothpick with a moistened tip to clean the tighter gaps. Store your luxury watches in a watch organizer. Never crowd them or place them together with magnets.
Keep the Moisture and Humidity Out
Centralized air conditioning and silica gel bags are great to keep the moisture and humidity away from your precious luxury items.
Moisture and humidity not only damage even the most well-designed luxury homes but also everything in it, including your luxury items. High and low humidity creates excess moisture and condensation that potentially leads to mold or rot, and you wouldn’t like that on your most prized possessions. Make sure that your storage solutions are not exposed to direct sunlight. As we live in a tropical country, an air conditioner or a humidifier can get the air conditions right.
Moreover, do not throw away the silica gel bags, or the square-shaped things with little balls in them. They are placed there by your favorite designers or brands for a reason: Silica gel helps to absorb moisture and keeps whatever around it dry. Luxury items, especially those made of leather, tend to peel off, crack, or diminish in quality if stored in damp places. Make sure also that your luxury item storage containers or boxes do not invite moisture as well.
Use Them.
Sometimes, the best way to care for them is to appreciate them for what they are.
Even if you consider owning luxury items just to adore them, the best way to care for luxury items is to wear them. Sure, you may not have the reasons these days to wear them, but dressing up with your branded favorites can give you so many benefits, including a sense of normalcy and structure you have longed for pre-pandemic. Moreover, isn’t it great that you get to wear them at home, where there’s less risk of exposing your prized possessions to elements and situations that are not in your control?
Wearing your luxury items at home also gives you the opportunity to rotate your items, even the exotic ones you bought on a whim.
Let Your Luxury Items Breathe and Shine
It’s quite a shame to just keep them in boxes. Showcase them for what they’re worth.
As we spend more and more time at home, sometimes adding beauty in details can help transform your living space. Why not surround yourself with luxury pieces that you really love and cherish? Display a selection of luxury items in your home as part of the interior decor. For example, how about busting out that beautiful designer ball gown from your closet and hanging it beside or alongside a huge mirror? Or store your choice trinkets in a beautiful tray and display them together with your other trinkets on the coffee table or side table in the living room? Display your favorite Birkin or Neverful beside your coffee books on the bookshelf? Whatever you decide to do, there are no rules in complementing your living space when it comes to your personal treasures.
Expensive baubles on a unique tray are great eye candy.
Final Words
Whatever the reasons are for buying the latest bag, shoes, jewelry, or luxury item, nearly all of these reasons are related to the strong emotions that we have and attach to anything we buy with a huge price tag. Whether or not you are in a financial position that allows them to be able to buy bespoke, expensive items, you bought it for a sense of accomplishment, acceptance, or recognition. As such, it is important that you put in the work of maintaining the brilliance and quality of your luxury items.
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