Caring for Cashmere: How a Sweater Lasts Twenty Years

A well-made cashmere sweater does not fail from age; it fails from a handful of avoidable habits — hot water, wire hangers, plastic storage bags, and no rest between wears. Handled correctly, the same garment can remain in regular rotation for two decades or more. None of the steps below require special products, only a change in a few small routines.

Wash less, and wash cold

Cashmere does not need washing after every wear; airing a garment on a hanger overnight is usually sufficient between wears unless it has been worn against bare skin for an extended period or visibly soiled. When it does need washing, hand-washing in cold water with a small amount of pH-neutral, non-enzymatic detergent is gentler than dry cleaning, which relies on solvents that can strip the fibre's natural lanolin residue over repeated cycles and leave it drier and more prone to breakage over years. Submerge the garment, press water through it gently without wringing or twisting, rinse in similarly cool water, and press out excess moisture between two clean towels. Cashmere fibre is weakest when wet, so any pulling or wringing at this stage does more damage than an entire season of normal wear.

Dry flat, always

Never hang a wet cashmere garment; the combined weight of absorbed water will stretch the shoulders and body out of shape, sometimes permanently. Instead, reshape the damp garment to its original dimensions on a flat towel, away from direct sun or a heat source, and leave it to dry fully, which typically takes 24 to 48 hours depending on humidity. This single habit is the most common point of failure we hear about from customers who feel a sweater has lost its shape.

Store it folded, protected, and clean

Cashmere should be stored folded, never on a hanger, since even light fabric will slowly stretch under its own weight at the shoulder points over months of storage. Store pieces in a breathable cotton or linen bag rather than plastic, which traps moisture and can encourage mildew. Moths are not actually attracted to clean wool fibre itself; they are attracted to the food residue, skin oils, and perspiration salts left on worn, unwashed garments, which is why a cashmere sweater should always be clean before it goes into off-season storage. Cedar blocks or lavender sachets, refreshed every few months, are a reasonable deterrent, though a genuinely clean, well-sealed storage bag does most of the actual protective work.

Rest, rotate, and repair small damage early

Cashmere fibre has a degree of natural elasticity and benefits from at least a day of rest between wears to recover its shape fully; wearing the same piece two days running, repeatedly, tends to accelerate stretching at stress points like elbows and cuffs. A small hole or a loosening seam, dealt with promptly by a competent tailor through reweaving or hand-stitching, rarely spreads. Left alone through a full season of wear, the same small flaw can widen into something that is no longer economical to repair.

Dulmaa, a reweaving specialist who has worked from a small shop in Ulaanbaatar for over twenty years, keeps a drawer of client garments waiting for repair, some of which she recognises on sight, having mended them two or three times already across a decade. She estimates that a well-made cashmere piece, cared for properly and repaired when needed, can realistically outlast the person who first bought it — passed on, as several of her clients' pieces have been, to a daughter or a niece who wears it without ever knowing its full repair history.

A care card with specific washing instructions ships with every OYU piece →

See also A Piece Meant to Outlast You: Why Cashmere Gets Passed Down and The Natural Palette: Why We Never Dye Our Cashmere.