Your complete guide to 100% mulberry silk shirt care — how to wash mulberry silk shirts by hand, dry, iron and store them so they keep their signature lustre, colour and drape for years.

There is little in a wardrobe more quietly luxurious than a mulberry silk shirt. Cool against the skin in summer, gently warming in winter, and possessed of that singular liquid lustre no other fibre can imitate — it deserves to be treated as the heirloom it is.

Mulberry silk, woven from the cocoons of Bombyx mori silkworms fed exclusively on mulberry leaves, is the longest, finest and most uniform of all silk fibres. Cared for properly, your silk shirt will reward you with years of elegant wear. Cared for poorly, even the most beautifully cut piece will dull, pill or pull.

Consider this your guide to keeping every shirt as exquisite as the day it arrived.

Please always refer to the care label sewn inside your garment — it has been chosen specifically for the weight and finish of your shirt.

WASH LESS, AIR MORE

The first and most important rule of silk care is this: you almost certainly do not need to wash your shirt as often as you think.

Mulberry silk is naturally moisture-wicking, breathable and quietly antimicrobial. It does not hold on to odour the way cotton or synthetics do. Between wears, hang your shirt somewhere airy — a quiet corner of the bedroom, a steam-filled bathroom after a shower — and let the fibres rest and refresh themselves.

Spot clean small marks as soon as they appear with a damp white cloth and a drop of silk-friendly detergent. Blot gently; never rub. The less your shirt sees water, the longer its colour and hand will last.

This is kinder to the silk and kinder to the planet.

HAND WASHING

When a proper wash is needed, hand washing is always the most considered choice.

Fill a clean basin with cool water — no warmer than 30°C. Anything hotter risks dulling the silk's natural sheen and shrinking the fibres. Add a small amount of specialist silk detergent or a pH-neutral, enzyme-free wash. Avoid biological detergents, bleach and anything containing brighteners; these will strip the silk of its protein fibres over time.

Submerge your shirt and move it gently through the water. Do not twist, wring or scrub. Five minutes is ample. Drain the basin and rinse twice in fresh cool water until the water runs clear.

Do not soak your shirt. Prolonged immersion can weaken the fibres and cause dye to migrate.

A NOTE ON THE MACHINE

If your shirt's care label permits machine washing, place it inside a fine mesh laundry bag and choose your machine's most delicate cold cycle — ideally with a spin no higher than 400 rpm. Wash separately from heavier fabrics and zips. We still recommend hand washing wherever you can; a machine is a compromise, not an equal.

DRYING

Never tumble dry mulberry silk. The combination of heat and friction will damage the fibres, dull the surface and very likely shrink your shirt.

Instead, lay the shirt flat on a clean white towel and roll the towel gently to absorb excess moisture. Then hang it on a padded or wooden hanger, away from direct sunlight and radiators, until completely dry. Direct sun will fade dyes; direct heat will stiffen the silk and rob it of its drape.

If your shirt has a deep colour, dry it inside out.

IRONING & STEAMING

A freshly washed silk shirt will almost always need a little attention before it is ready to wear again — and this is where its lustre is restored.

Steaming is the gentlest option. A handheld garment steamer, held a few inches from the fabric, will release creases without ever touching the silk. This is our preferred method.

If you choose to iron, do so while the shirt is still slightly damp. Set your iron to its lowest heat — the "silk" setting if available — and turn the shirt inside out. Iron on the reverse side, moving the iron smoothly without pressing or holding it in place. If you must iron the right side, lay a clean cotton pressing cloth between the iron and the silk to protect it.

Never spritz water directly onto silk while ironing. Droplets can leave watermarks that are difficult to remove.

STORING

How you store your silk shirt matters almost as much as how you wash it.

Hang your shirts on padded, wooden or velvet-covered hangers — never wire. Wire hangers will distort the shoulders and may leave creases at the seams. Give each shirt a little breathing room in the wardrobe; silk does not like to be crushed.

For long-term storage, fold your shirt loosely with acid-free tissue paper between the folds to prevent permanent crease lines, and place it in a breathable cotton garment bag. Avoid plastic, which traps moisture and can yellow the silk.

To deter moths — yes, they enjoy silk almost as much as cashmere — tuck cedar blocks or sachets of lavender into the wardrobe. Refresh them every few months. Always store your shirts clean; moths are drawn to traces of skin, perfume and food, not the fibre itself.

STAINS, PERFUME & THE OCCASIONAL MISHAP

A few small kindnesses will extend your shirt's life considerably.

Apply perfume, deodorant, body lotion and hairspray before dressing, and allow them to dry fully on the skin. Alcohol and oils are silk's quiet enemies — they can leave permanent marks and discolouration around the collar and underarms.

For fresh stains, blot immediately with a clean white cloth and cool water. Do not rub. For oil-based marks, sprinkle a little talc or cornflour on the area, leave for an hour to absorb, then brush away gently before washing. For anything stubborn — wine, ink, makeup — resist the urge to home-treat. Take the shirt to a specialist dry cleaner experienced with silk as soon as you can.

DRY CLEANING

Embellished, embroidered or heavily structured silk shirts are best entrusted to a dry cleaner. Choose one who specifies experience with silk and, ideally, uses environmentally friendly solvents. Point out any stains and their likely origin when you drop the shirt off; the more your cleaner knows, the better the result.

A good silk shirt should not need dry cleaning often — once or twice a season at most.

THE ETHOS

Caring for mulberry silk is, in the end, an exercise in slowness. A few extra minutes at the basin, a careful hand at the hanger, a moment with the steamer before dressing. In return, you receive a garment that ages beautifully, holds its colour, and feels — every time you put it on — like something genuinely worth owning.

Treat your silk well, and it will dress you well for years.