Swimwear care: Interview by Vogue Scandinavia

We were beyond honoured to have been interviewed by Vogue Scandinavia on how to best take care of swimwear items to make them last for seasons to come. This article inspired us to refresh our care guide for the season and gather together our best tips on how to keep your favourite set just as gorgeous as you bought it.

You can read the beautifully written article by Josefin Forsberg here on Vogue Scandinavia.

Lilja the Label swimwear care guide

We want to keep our care guide fairly simply but effective, and therefore it’s practical to divide our instructions into three categories – while wearing the swimsuit, after-care and washing and drying.

1) What to take into account when wearing your swimsuit?

Generally while wearing your swimsuit, you want to feel carefree! Therefore we’d say that you can enjoy your day in the sun if you remember to correctly care for your swimwear after wearing it. However it’s worth noticing that rough surfaces, such as rocks and piers, may cause pulling of the fabric and leave marks on the delicate fabric. We recommend wearing a towel underneath if you are sunbathing on uneven surfaces. Other thing that should be noticed is that sun products, such as suncreams and tanning oils, may cause stains especially on lighter coloured fabrics. It’s recommended to wait until your suncream is fully dry before putting on your swimsuit to make sure you won’t end up with yellowish stains. We recommend skipping tanning oils completely – it’s better for your skin as well to just stick with a healthy sunscreen that doesn’t burn your skin.

2) What to do after having worn your swimsuit?

This is the most vital part! Always remember to rinse your swimsuit with fresh water after wearing it. The salt in the sea water and the chemicals in pool water may weaken the fabric if left for a longer period. It’s natural rolling your swimsuit inside your towel or placing it in a separate bag, but it’s also essential unpacking this wet bundle as you get home so that you won’t end up with a damp smell or even mould on your favourite swimsuit. While swimwear is made to be worn in the sun, we recommend avoiding drying your suit in direct sunlight. The harsh sun can weaken the colours of any items, not just swimwear. Whenever possible, dry all your swimwear in shade.

3) How to wash and dry?

If your swimsuit doesn’t get visible stains, it’s often enough to rinse it with fresh water after each use. If you don’t get visible stains on your swimsuit, rinsing is often enough. However if you end up with a stain and need to wash your swimsuit, we recommend hand washing in lukewarm or cold water with mild and natural detergent (check out our Bondi Wash campaign!). In general we recommend avoiding machine washing, but when done correctly, the swimwear can handle it. So if you have a real SOS situation, try a gentle cold wash program with no other items to avoid tangling and damaging the swimwear. Always absolutely no tumble drying or ironing, though! We recommend always drying your swimsuit in the shade to avoid fading of colours. We also always recommend to avoid hanging your swimsuit from the straps as they are the thinnest part of the suit and may stretch when holding the entire weight of the wet swimsuit. You can dry your swimsuit hanging from the widest part to make sure this doesn’t happen.