JEEVES Newsletter July 2026

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Dear Jeeves Clients,

Happy July! It’s wet and humid here in Hong Kong, I hope you’re staying dry and comfortable.

Thank you, as always, for trusting Jeeves with your treasured garments.

This month I wanted to talk about care labels. I’ve made a short video to help you decode them easily for any washing you do at home or when you send garments to us for professional cleaning.

Are care labels always accurate?

From experience, they’re about 80–90% correct. A small percentage of designers don’t do proper testing or don’t prioritise maintenance, cleanability, or the longevity of their high-end pieces.

This is especially true for garments with mixed materials, such as leather patches. Some care labels instruct that the item can be professionally wet cleaned or dry cleaned, but in reality these can have bleeding issues. In many cases the whole garment needs to be cleaned by hand (not immersed in a machine), or the patch must be removed, the garment cleaned, and then the patch reapplied. This makes cleaning more challenging and often requires extra time and care to avoid damage.

Here’s the video I made on decoding care labels: Watch the video on Instagram

What if a care label says “Do Not Clean”?

This usually means the item needs careful hand-spotting using professional equipment to avoid shrinkage, colour bleeding, or other damage. Designers and manufacturers sometimes use this wording to limit liability, or they recommend dry cleaning for delicate items without full testing.

I’ve seen items with glues and adhesives (for example on down jackets) that carry this label. The dry-cleaning solvent can break down the glue and damage the garment. Without experience and an understanding of fabric chemistry and construction, you can’t always fully rely on the care label.

Why do manufacturers label this way?

It’s often because they haven’t done full testing, combined with the knowledge that professional dry cleaning is generally the gentlest method for most fabrics. Laundry tends to shrink, fade, cause colour loss, and wear fabrics out faster than dry cleaning. So they default to “dry clean only” or “do not clean”, assuming it’s the safer option.

Key takeaway

Care labels are a helpful reference point, but not always 100% accurate, especially on complex or high-end pieces. When cleaning at home, always check the label and clean accordingly (hand wash, cold cycle, etc.). For anything valuable or uncertain, bring it to us so our experienced team can assess it properly.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out, I’d love to chat. You can email us at jeeves@jeeves.com.hk

Warm regards,

Ryan Merszei
Owner and Director
Jeeves of Belgravia Hong Kong

尊貴的Jeeves客戶：

七月快樂！香港現時天氣潮濕多雨，希望大家的家居保持乾爽舒適。

一直以來感謝各位信任Jeeves，把珍愛的衣物給我們處理。

本月我想跟大家談談衣物護理標籤。我製作了一段短片，方便大家無論是在家清洗或送來專業清洗，都能輕鬆解讀這些標籤。

衣物護理標籤是否永遠準確？

根據經驗，準確度大約為八至九成。有小部份設計師未有進行充分測試，或未有考慮高端衣物的保養、清潔難度及耐用程度。

特別是混合物料的衣物，例如有皮革補片的款式。有些護理標籤指示可進行專業濕洗或乾洗，但實際上可能會出現滲色問題。在很多情況下，整件衣物需要以人手清洗（不可機洗），或需先拆除補片、清洗衣物後再重新縫上補片。使得清洗過程更具挑戰性，通常需要花耗更多時間及精力處理，以免損壞衣物。

以下是我製作的解讀護理標籤短片：觀看Instagram短片

如果護理標籤寫上「不可清洗」怎麼辦？

這通常表示該衣物需要以專業設備小心進行局部手洗，以免縮水、滲色或其他損壞。設計師及製造商有時會用這種措辭來減低責任，或者在沒有進行全面測試的情況下建議為精緻衣物乾洗。

我曾見過一些附著膠水及黏合劑的衣物（例如羽絨外套）貼著這標籤，但乾洗溶劑可能會破壞膠水，從而損壞衣物。若缺乏經驗，也不了解布料的化學成分和結構，就不能完全依賴護理標籤。

為甚麼製造商會這樣標示？

這往往是因為他們沒有進行全面測試，加上知道專業乾洗對大部分布料而言通常是最溫和的清潔方法。相比之下，水洗比較容易令布料縮水、褪色、掉色，及加速損耗。因此他們預設「只可乾洗」或「不可清潔」，認為這是較安全的選擇。

重點提示

護理標籤是有用的參考，但並非百分百準確，尤其對複雜或高端服裝而言。在家清洗時，務必查看標籤並按照指示進行（手洗、冷水機洗等）。如有貴重或不確定洗滌方式的衣物，歡迎帶到我們店內，讓經驗豐富的團隊為您評估處理。
如有任何問題，歡迎隨時聯絡 — 我很樂意與大家交流，請電郵至jeeves@jeeves.com.hk

謹啟，

Ryan Merszei
董事及總經理
Jeeves of Belgravia Hong Kong