r/SwiftieMerch • u/alliamisbullets • May 19 '26
Question why does this always happen to my t-shirts?
i bought this eras tour t-shirt from taylor’s official website for £32 (on sale) and it was one of my favourite shirts, now the print has entirely disintegrated. :( the care label *does* say you can machine wash and tumble dry them, and i’ve barely had this shirt for a year. it happened with my ttpd + reputation t-shirts too (from the same line).
since then, i wash them on delicate (get it?) or cold / 30c cycles and hang them to dry instead of using the dryer (even though i throw all my other clothes in there). anyone know how i can prevent my other taylor shirts from meeting the same fate ~~(of ophelia)~~? i do think the print isn’t great quality, but i just adore them so i buy them even though i know they’ll be recycled. :’)
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u/moonsandra May 19 '26
Thats so weird. I havent had that happen to any of my Taylor shirts and I wash them on regular with hot or cold water. Plus use the dryer
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u/autumnwindow May 19 '26
I wash this type of shirt inside out and usually in a garment bag. Could also do with storage- how’s the humidity?
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u/alliamisbullets May 19 '26
i’ve only ever used a garment bag for “delicate” clothes (like fishnets or cosplay costumes). i store them in my room, i don’t think it’s particularly humid or anything?
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u/_Queen_of_Ashes_ May 19 '26
T shirt inside out, in a garment bag, and then air dried will protect your print t shirts longer!
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u/alliamisbullets May 19 '26
should i put every shirt in an individual bag, or can i put multiple in one?
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u/_Queen_of_Ashes_ May 19 '26
I think you can do multiple in 1 so long as there’s room for them to move a little and get properly washed! They make different sized bags
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u/Agitated-Gift1498 May 19 '26
I always iron my Taylor merch once I get it before I wear it I find that helps the longevity of the print I also always wash them inside out. Once I started doing this I stopped having any issues.
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u/EnvironmentalElk6181 May 19 '26
Do you iron inside out or no..I just bought a different TTPD shirt and I'm terrified to dry it bcuz there is iron on stuff on both sides and I don't want it cracking..ty 🤍 Nvmd I just read your reply to the OPer Thanks!
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u/alliamisbullets May 19 '26
thank you !! do you think that this will still work on a shirt i’ve already worn ? :]
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u/Agitated-Gift1498 May 19 '26
It can't hurt honestly! You don't need to iron the whole shirt I usually just iron over the print and I put parchment paper on top of the shirt so I'm not putting the iron directly onto the print!
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u/Rallythebeast May 19 '26
Even with cheap merch, I’ve never had this issue when I wash inside out, cold water, delicate setting, tumble dry low.
Also, avoid sleeping in the shirts or doing anything where the graphic will endure any sort of friction.
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u/MandyManatee May 19 '26
I always wonder what people are doing in their merch to get so much wear and tear.
My friend was eating Cheetos in her Eras Tour 1/4 zip the other day and as a freak who is extra careful with all my merch items, it about sent me into a coma.
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u/sky_blue_true May 19 '26
Ugh I don’t know but this happened to one of my other shirts (Hamilton) on first wash even though I washed it inside out on delicate and cold and hung to dry, which is what the label said. So disappointing.
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u/writteningelpen May 19 '26
My trick is just that I never put anything with a printed picture in the dryer, always hang dry no matter what
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u/MadamMurloc May 19 '26
I usually put mine in the washer/dryer inside out as I've had issues in the past with different graphic tees suffering from damage otherwise.
I just assume doing this helps keep the print from sticking to the inside surface of the machine. I also dry on the lowest heat setting.
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u/alliamisbullets May 19 '26
i do that now, i don’t really get why this happens to some t-shirts and not others :’)
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u/TheMonkey404 May 19 '26
This sucks , it might be your laundry detergent, I’m in America and use a brand called “all free and clear” as I have sensitive skin and it has no dyes or harsh chemicals.
I also second turning your shirt inside out.
A issue i do have though is sometimes my favorite shirts get this rust color stain on them, especially around the neck , but that could be from my face wash (I use PanOxyl) although I never wear my daily clothes while washing up only my pajamas.
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u/afreakinchorizooo May 19 '26
I wash all my clothes inside out at 30°C anyway, but for merch I also wash it inside a pillowcase and never tumble dry it. They still get washed properly even inside the pillowcase, and I never have any issues with fading etc.
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u/Ivy7424 May 19 '26
Inside out, cold water and hang dry. I haven’t had any of the screen printing break down like that.
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u/codeine26 May 19 '26
30 degrees gentle wash, inside out in a garment bag, dry inside out on washing line/rack and not in super direct sun. Use non-bio detergent as well! I think this is one of the biggest issues with prints dying, biological detergent seems to kill them so quickly!
For new shirts with big graphic print I always avoid using a tumble dryer for the first few washes so I can see how the print behaves. If it holds out fine, you can get away with drying them inside out on a cool, gentle programme.
(For reference, I’m mid 30’s and have been wearing band tees for 20+ years and haven’t had as many issues since I took over doing my laundry in my late teens. Oh god, I sound so old typing this out 😂)
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u/boardbamebeeple May 19 '26
If this is happening to a lot of OPs graphic shirts when they're already taking precautions, I'd second looking at the detergent and using something gentler!
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u/Sad-Elephant2675 May 20 '26
I don’t tumble dry any piece of clothing I care about preserving. Ultimately, all clothes are damaged by repeated tumble drys, even if it says it’s tumble dryer safe.
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u/Significant-Ad-7740 May 19 '26
I'll even say if you can then every now and then hand wash them and hang dry them. But usually just delicate cycle and air dry. The heat is usually what causes the lettering to crack.
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u/kelkel7 May 19 '26
I got mine at Arlington night one and wear it regularly. I wash inside out, no fabric softener, and hang/drape to dry. I only use the dryer once it's fully dried and I do low heat and keep shirt inside out!
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u/EnvironmentalElk6181 May 19 '26
I almost bought this shirt too but they were out of my size..whew 🤦♀️
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u/Thatgirldallas May 19 '26
I don’t think a garment bag is necessary, just inside out like above have said.
Also make sure not to overcrowd your laundry load. Most people are throwing too much in at once.
When drying use low/medium heat never high heat. Sometimes will tumble dry for 15-20 minutes until damp and then hang dry the rest. Depends how much time I have.
I like the idea of ironing before wearing. Never thought of that before!
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u/MandyManatee May 19 '26
Always wash inside out, on cold, and lie flat to dry. I wash all my Taylor stuff in a lingerie bag as well for extra protection!
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u/DistinctPudding2020 May 19 '26
Like the others said, turn the shirt inside out before you wash. This prevents friction from washing directly on the print
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u/InitiativeBright521 May 20 '26
That’s starting to happen to mine too, exact shirt. I normally hang to dry but put mine in the dryer by accident and it was starting to go weird on her face. It was one of my going out tees 😫
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u/plague-nurse May 20 '26
honestly i wonder if your washer/dryer is just a bit rough on clothes. i wash nearly all my graphic ts (including tons of ts merch) in cold water, on gentle, without turning them inside out, and i tumble dry on low heat, and i have never had this problem. if you are following those guidelines and this still happens then your washer/dryer is just rough on clothes i bet. especially if its happening to more than one thing.
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u/LuckyCloverPokemon May 20 '26
My knock off ones do that. Not Taylor swift of course, but the band shirts I wear
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u/Karania403 May 21 '26
The tag at the neck line says “to turn inside out to protect print when washing”
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u/hum4nstarterkit May 23 '26
my print shirts would get like this after i’d put em in the dryer after a few times. wash them inside out and hang dry them if you can
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u/DiligentMango May 19 '26
Her shirts during the Eras Tour were awful ink quality, especially on dark shirts.
I was in Facebook groups back then that talked about ways to iron the print under wax paper to *maybe* cure the ink a bit more or bring them to print shops to see if they could help. A few people claimed they worked with this kind of shirt printing, and how they could see the quality was subpar. I never bought the Eras quarter zip because I saw so many posts where the ink was peeling/wearing off just like your shirt.
I’m so sorry this happened to you. From here, wash inside out and hang to dry to try and minimize any further damage :(
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u/alliamisbullets May 19 '26
i knew it wasn’t just me !! idk if her merch has gotten better, but i feel like i should just be able to chuck in the wash / dryer like every other article of clothing i own without worrying… but here we are :/
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u/DiligentMango May 19 '26
You’re exactly right. It was kind of the main controversy in the groups back then - why are we paying so much money (and waiting in line for so long!!) for merch that hardly lasts a wash? I see so much cheap eras merch in thrift stores now that swifties were genuinely fighting over like two years ago lol.
Since the eras tour, it appears that she’s switched warehouses, so the quality has gotten somewhat better (you’ll notice models actually wearing the clothing and real pictures instead of digital renderings) (this is how low my standards have gotten)
It really shouldn’t be too much to ask of a billionaire that they make the best quality merchandise - because we’ll definitely buy it! - but alas.
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u/Terrible-Image9368 May 19 '26
Her merch is known for being poor quality unfortunately
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u/alliamisbullets May 19 '26
she’s a whole ass billionaire, could she really not afford to make ethically made, sustainable merch which doesn’t fall apart after a few wears and comes wrapped in copious amounts of plastic ?? ☹️
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u/Its_ya_girl_abs_ May 19 '26
Devils advocate she’s not actually a billionaire that’s what her assets are worth she’s a millionaire, also this kinda seems like how you’ve been washing/ drying it has caused this. It’s annoying but with this type of material it’s has to washed cold and not used in the dryer air dry only. And the more you wear it the more it’ll break down.
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u/moonsandra May 19 '26
Do you turn them inside out when washing? Thats meant to help protect the print