Fashion

[traveler]

Does it stretch or shrink in tops and coats? I've been told both.

[Nana5]

It depends on the quality. I have 100% cotton tops from Lands End and LL Bean that mostly retain their shape but even they tend to shrink if put in the dryer.

Cheap cotton tops sometimes get shorter in length and stretch out sideways. Not good.

[~Lucky Lu~]

I rarely have a problem with my 100% cotton knit tops stretching or shrinking out of shape, but I never put them in the dryer. My favorite is pima cotton, which I have found at llbean and Macy's, but I also like the LC line at JCP and Croft & Barrow from Kohl's.

[busygirl]

I have cotton items but do not dry them in the dryer for long. Maybe just to get a few of the wrinkles out and then I hang to dry. Better quality items hold up much better. I do have some cotton tops with a little spandex in them too and those hold up nicely.

I also have good luck with LC for JCP.

[Purple Heron]

On 2/21/2014 ~Lucky Lu~ said:

I rarely have a problem with my 100% cotton knit tops stretching or shrinking out of shape, but I never put them in the dryer. My favorite is pima cotton, which I have found at llbean and Macy's, but I also like the LC line at JCP and Croft & Barrow from Kohl's.

I've always suspected this, but now I'm convinced that not all Kohl's stores are equal. In my prior location, I loved Kohl's. At my current location, the Kohl's has what I call disposable clothing. And that includes the Croft & Barrow shirts. I wash everything on gentle, put it in the dryer for just a few minutes to eliminate the wrinkles, and hang to dry. When I take them out of the dryer, they're still wet. I've had to go up one size in the Croft & Barrow shirts because they always shrink, and after three washings, they're ready for the Goodwill pile. I only buy them because they're incredibly cheap.

I see the same thing with my local JCP. The place is a dump.

I live in an upscale bedroom community of a large city. North of my town is where the mall and JCP is, and that town has a large percentage of low income households. Ten miles to the west you'll find dirt roads with falling down mobile homes. I think that's the demographic these stores want to serve.

Most of the people in my community travel the 45 minutes to the upscale mall.

[kate2357]

On 2/22/2014 Purple Heron said:

On 2/21/2014 ~Lucky Lu~ said:

I rarely have a problem with my 100% cotton knit tops stretching or shrinking out of shape, but I never put them in the dryer. My favorite is pima cotton, which I have found at llbean and Macy's, but I also like the LC line at JCP and Croft & Barrow from Kohl's.

I've always suspected this, but now I'm convinced that not all Kohl's stores are equal. In my prior location, I loved Kohl's. At my current location, the Kohl's has what I call disposable clothing. And that includes the Croft & Barrow shirts. I wash everything on gentle, put it in the dryer for just a few minutes to eliminate the wrinkles, and hang to dry. When I take them out of the dryer, they're still wet. I've had to go up one size in the Croft & Barrow shirts because they always shrink, and after three washings, they're ready for the Goodwill pile. I only buy them because they're incredibly cheap.

I see the same thing with my local JCP. The place is a dump.

I live in an upscale bedroom community of a large city. North of my town is where the mall and JCP is, and that town has a large percentage of low income households. Ten miles to the west you'll find dirt roads with falling down mobile homes. I think that's the demographic these stores want to serve.

Most of the people in my community travel the 45 minutes to the upscale mall.

I don't know about Kohls..but I do know that Norstroms and Macy's both have different items at different stores to better suit the demographics of the shoppers. Used to drive me nuts that I would have to drive 60 miles away to shop at the 'good' Nordstroms or Macy's because the stores by me offered so little selection.

What I have not found is that specific items are different quality at different stores. For example, if I bought a Style & Co blouse in one Macy's location...it would be the same at a different Macy's store.

[insomniac]

I do what many posters have mentioned: put cotton tops in the dryer for a few minutes, then let them air dry. The tops last forever and retain their shape.