Care of your Franky & Cate Silk scarf

• Never use an automatic washing machine
• Never use an automatic clothes dryer
• Don’t expose silk to direct sunlight as it will fade 
• Don’t attempt to clean a spot on silk with water 
• Don’t soak silk in water
• Don’t spay perfume directly onto the silk

Like our cashmere scarves, drycleaning is the best method of cleaning your delicate silk scarf however, if you wish to wash it at home, following the directions below for optimal results;

Fill a sink or bucket with cold water and two capfuls of high quality shampoo or high quality wash for use on silk garments (please note, this is not a wool wash but a silk wash).

Briskly run your hand through the water to evenly dissolve the shampoo and add your scarf. It is very important not to wring the garment at any stage. Do not leave your silk scarf to soak.

Rinse the scarf under cold water. You may add a teaspoon of white vinegar to the cold water rinse to remove all traces of the shampoo.

Lay the scarf lengthways on a clean, dry towel (fold the scarf if necessary). Roll up the towel with the scarf on the inside and press with your palms to remove the excess water in the scarf.

Take the towel dried scarf and lay flat on a second clean, dry towel. Dry in the shade away from direct sunlight. When drying, ensure that the long tassles or the eyelash tassles (depending on the scarf purchased) are brushed gently flat with your fingers.

Wait until your scarf is completely dry and iron if required using the silk setting on your iron. To avoid burn marks or heat related damage to your scarf, use a pressing cloth or a fine teatowel or handkerchief between the iron and your scarf.

Your scarf will be completely revived!

Note: These are general care guidelines for silk. Please refer to specific care instructions on each label. Products damaged by incorrect care can not be returned. 

Care of your Franky & Cate Cotton or Viscose Scarf

• Always handwash where possible
• Never use an automatic clothes dryer

Cotton or Viscose Scarves can be washed in regular washing liquid but are always best handwashed as automatic washing machines can be very harsh on delicate fabrics and can stretch or distort your scarf.

Fill your sink with luke-warm water and half a regular capful of washing liquid. Briskly run your hand through the water to evenly dissolve the washing liquid and add your scarf. For stains, gently massage the fibres without rubbing. Pre-wash stain removers can also be applied immediately before adding the scarf to the basin. (Please note: do not let the stain remover set on your scarf as it could leave a dark shadow on the fabric).

Rinse the scarf under lukewarm water until the water runs clear.

Lay the scarf lengthways on a clean, dry towel (fold the scarf if necessary). Roll up the towel with the scarf on the inside and press with your palms to remove the excess water in the scarf.

Take the towel dried scarf and lay flat on a second clean, dry towel. Dry in the shade away from direct sunlight. When drying, ensure that the long tassles or the eyelash tassles (depending on the scarf purchased) are brushed gently flat with your fingers.

Wait until your scarf is completely dry and iron using the correct iron setting. To avoid burn marks or heat related damage to your scarf, use a pressing cloth or a fine teatowel or handkerchief between the iron and your scarf.

Enjoy your beautifully clean scarf!

Care of your Silver Jewellery

• Don’t spray perfume on the silver jewellery
• Don’t wear silver jewellery directly on skin recently sprayed with perfume
• Remove jewellery articles before showering, swimming or immersing in water

Silver and silver alloys are relatively soft metals and therefore need to be treated more carefully than other hardy metals such as 24K Gold.

It is best to store your silver items separately in individual bags such as organza, cotton or linen so that there is less chance for the pieces to scratch or dent.

Silver is a metal that will tarnish no matter the climate in which you live. The very best care for silver alloys is a silver cleaning cloth to remove tarnish, brighten the silver and remove very small scratches in the metal.

Only use silver polishes made specifically for jewellery – don’t use household or generic silver cleaners for your jewellery.

Soft Silver jewellery cleaning cloths can be purchased at most major supermarkets. We suggest keeping your silver jewellery cleaning cloth inside your jewellery box so that it is handy whenever you wish to wear your jewellery.

Care of your Pearl Jewellery

• Don’t spray perfume on the pearl jewellery
• Don’t wear pearl jewellery directly on skin recently sprayed with perfume
• Remove jewellery articles before showering, swimming or immersing in water

All pearls sold at Franky & Cate are genuine Freshwater Pearls, South Sea Freshwater Pearls or Japanese Mabe Pearl. Please note, these care instructions do not translate to shell pearls, faux pearls, glass pearls or plastic costume pearls.

Pearls are a naturally occurring organism and must therefore by treated with great care.

It is always best to store your pearls in a soft bag such as silk or cotton.

The very best cleaning product is a soft dry non-chemical cloth gently rubbed over the pearls. We suggest keeping your soft pearl cleaning cloth inside your jewellery box so that it is handy whenever you wish to wear your jewellery.

Care of your Franky & Cate Leather Handbag or Clutch

All leather used in Franky & Cate handbags and clutches is top grade Australian leather and will wear and soften with age and time.

Leather bags can scruff and mark just as your favourite leather shoes or boots and care should be taken to keep bags away from gritty surfaces (such as the on the ground beside your foot at your local cafe..). Although rain and water can be easily brushed off your leather, it is best not to submit your leather handbags to heavy downpours or puddles!!

You can always take your leather bags to a shoemaker or cobbler who will apply restorative polish and have your bags looking brand new in no time but if you don’t have the time (or the cashola) to do so, you can apply your own remedy at home.

Lay some newspaper down to avoid marking your carpet or kitchen tiles. Lightly brush the matching colour shoe polish over the leather and leave to rest for about 5 minutes. Take a clean, dry cloth and using long brushing strokes, wipe away all of the residual shoe polish and buff the leather at the same time.

Make sure ALL residual polish is removed from your handbag before it’s next use to avoid staining your clothes. 

For all of our gorgeous leather handbags with Kimono Silk accents, it is super super important not to mark the delicate Kimono fabric with the shoe polish. Use extreme care with these bags and ONLY apply the polish to very small patches at a time.

To store your favourite leather bag when not in use, use a handbag bag, a linen or a muslin bag. Alternatively, an old pillow slip is perfect for storage of larger handbags.

Note: These are general care guidelines for leather. Please refer to specific care instructions on each label. Products damaged by incorrect care can not be returned. 

Care of your Franky & Cate Kimono Fabric piece

• Do not dry clean as the chemicals can destroy the metallic paints and sometimes the delicate embroidery
• Do not handwash
• Do not machine wash
• Do not use water on the fabric

Kimono and Vintage Obi Fabrics are often antique or very old and are extremely delicate.

In fact, historically, Kimonos were taken apart, individual sections carefully laundered and then the whole ensemble was sewn back together.

To avoid a huge amount of tiresome sewing (Goodness, who has the time?!), it is our suggestion to simply live with the light spots and stains and if noticed simply state “oh, I know, isn’t that stain incredible? Probably left by a Japanese dignitary in the late 1800’s!”.

This sounds silly but is actually very accurate – the fabrics are all vintage and have been worn and used as part of traditional Japanese dress. This is a large part of their “one of a kind” appeal. Why not make you tinsy winsy stain a part of the history of the garment!

If you must clean your vintage kimono fabric, we suggest taking your garment or bag to a specialised cleaner who can assure you that no chemicals or methods used will in any way damage your garment or bag.

Kimono fabrics are best stored wrapped in non-dyed tissue paper.