Washable office wear

Clothes you don’t need to take to the dry cleaners

I am a big fan of a good trouser suit, which is very un-Australian of me (Sydney is more of a flowy dress kind of place). And, in particular, I like a good woollen suit. But I like it a lot less when I manage to get chocolate on the trousers (which happened to me in the office just this week) because a good woollen suit is nearly always dry-clean only.

Dry cleaning is not great for the environment, which makes me feel rightly guilty every time I do it (damn you, chocolate!). It is also expensive. Over the life of a $1,000 suit you will probably spend almost the same again on dry cleaning it (assuming you don’t grow out of it, which is obviously a completely unrealistic fantasy, but you might hand it down to the next generation if it’s a particularly good one).

Don’t even get me started on the number of dry-clean only shirts I’ve seen doing the rounds while writing WithPockets. Jackets don’t touch the skin – there’s a layer between you and the jacket (a shirt or a t-shirt or a top), meaning, if you don’t drop chocolate on them like me, they can go a while without a wash and a quick spritz with Febreze or vodka and no one will ever know (if you think for a second the person working in DJ’s department store didn’t do that with everything on the rack you’re dreaming…) . However, I wash shirts after every wear because I am a real-life girl who doesn’t smell of roses at the end of a 14-hour workday. That means I would need to dry clean that shirt after every time I wear it. That’s a hard no from me, budget-wise.

The easiest solution to dry-clean only tailoring is to go for a synthetic fabric suit. This used to be a by-word for ‘cheap and nasty’. However, these days with the invention of fabrics like ‘clever crepe’ you can get beautiful tailoring that you can put in the washing machine. I’m coming round to the idea, especially as this kind of fabric also packs really well for travelling.

Here are a few of my favourite stockists. Fair warning: machine-washable proper tailoring is something that is still surprisingly hard to get in Australia so you’ll need to get over the environmental impact of the air miles from the initial purchase – but I’m pretty sure that’s offset quickly by the lack of dry cleaning.

WithPockets x

Not ready for a paid subscription? You can always buy me a coffee…

THE AMERICANS

For some reason, machine washable suiting is far more popular in America than it is in most places. I was going to say something uncharitable about the quality of the fabrics but really I have no idea why this. Potentially it’s driven by the death of the corner store dry cleaners? (athough a lot of Walmarts have dry cleaning concessions so really who knows? If you do know, please do tell me…)

M.M. LaFleur

I’ve featured M.M. LaFleur on WithPockets in the past and I’m sorry but I’m not sorry. At least 50% of the professional clothes they sell are washable, including suits and tailoring. They do particularly lovely office dresses that, if you have hips, will really work for you. Look for their Origami Tech, Clever Crepe and Travel ranges.

Ann Taylor

Ann Taylor’s suits are a little on the conservative side but my God do they do a decent sale (which is on at the moment). Also, you can actually search specifically for machine wash only tailoring on their website. Thought went into this and I am very here for it.

Banana Republic

In general Banana Republic’s “workwear” options are far too laid back. I love the idea that we all get to wear double denim in the office but in reality, even now, if you don’t work in a creative industry or a startup that doesn’t fly. However, what they are good for is shirts of all kinds, but particularly silk shirts that are machine washable.

JAPANESE INVENTIVENESS

The last time I was in Tokyo three years ago I spent A LOT of time in department stores. This was partly driven by the fact that I had made the fatal error to be in Tokyo in July (when it is about 40C and 100% humidity and people wear neck fans) and partly because I wanted to get up close and personal with Issey Miyake. However, one of the key fashion takeaways I had was how many emerging brands sold themselves on being machine washable.

AOKI

One of my absolute favourites for this is AOKI, who also like pockets in women’s wear a lot. Can we just have a moment of joy for the description of this houndstooth blazer:

“Special piece created from design drawings to patterns under supervision of fashion designer Akiko Ogawa. Looks proper without spreading even when button is open.

- Deep pockets for smartphone

Depth that smartphone fits completely. Built-in mini pocket dedicated for small items such as lip and accessory.

- Machine washable and always clean

Beauty continues even if worn for a day with fabric excellent in wrinkle resistance.”

Frankly, this ticks all my boxes.

Uniqlo

Whisper it: Uniqlo shirts are surprisingly good. I have a black one with a mandarin collar that I bring travelling with me a lot because it never needs ironing. Let me repeat that it never needs ironing. I have no idea how they have achieved this mastery but I wash this shirt, dry it on a hangar and it looks fabulous with suit trousers or a skirt. I think it cost me less than $50. I notice their Uniqlo:C brand now have the stand collar shirts, which are a variation on the scarf collar and look excellent.

The other great thing about Uniqlo is that if you have young teenagers, which I do, the range of sizes they stock means they can also wear them. The downside of this, as I have discovered, is that they will look better in them than you do and, related, my merino wool sweaters have now been taken (I am clinging onto the shirt…)

BRITISH PRACTICALITY

There have been cheaper machine washable suits available in the UK for many years but you wouldn’t exactly call them ‘stylish’ or ‘executive’. This has changed for the better lately and this is driven by ecological as well as practical demand.

Marks and Spencer

I featured them in the last edition too, which I’ll be honest I really never saw myself doing. When I was growing up M&S was what your nan wore. However, lately they have really upped their game in the style stakes. Their M&S range seems to be almost entirely machine washable and wouldn’t look out of place in the board room. There has been a lot of chatter about their woven faux leather clothes, which apparently look identical to Balanciaga’s latest range but are about 100^th of the price. M&S is B-Corp certified.

Jigsaw

Gone are the days past when I once bought an empire-line dress from Jigsaw which made me look distinctly like Mr Collin’s wife from Pride and Prejudice and went straight to a charity shop. Jigsaw’s clothes are extremely good and I have several items in my wardrobe. Their clothes are not only eco-friendly and sustainable by design, they are also often machine washable. Look for the cupro and crepe lines in particular.

The Fold London

I would buy literally everything from The Fold if I had the money. Their Clever Crepe range is machine washable and fabulously structed. It’s not cheap but at the moment there’s 15% off (use code READY15). I’ll see you at the checkout.

How much time do you spend at the dry cleaners? Or are all of your clothes machine washable? Tell us…