Death to Polyester and Irons

Polyster is evil in hot weather. I stank to the high heavens yesterday because my shirt was 50% polyester (the weather is now in the mid-80s and fricking HOT and humid).

On the topic of clothes... the only 2 items of white clothing I have in my wardrobe were both ruined in the wash (not at the same time). Do not ask why or how. Washing clothes is like rocket science to me - please don't tell me to separate lights and darks, because those 2 shirts were the only light clothing I have. How can I wash 2 shirts alone in the washing machine??? One shirt is a mysterious shade of yellow, the other shirt is gray. I have no idea why. So I bought what I THINK is bleach last night (you should see the laundry aisle... that's another story) and set the items to soak overnight. No luck at all. Now the shirts have mysterious blue spots on them. Damn it. My favorite button-down, ruined.

The laundry aisle. Italians are FASTIDIOUS about their clothes. Not only fashion-wise, but how they take care of their clothes. For example. The laundry aisle. In the United States you can find detergent in powder or liquid form, in all sorts of scents, some with color fast stuff in it. You can also find bleach, fabric softener in both liquid and sheet form.

Allora... ("and now...")

In Italia, the laundry aisle is filled with detergent in powder or liquid form, categorized by WHICH KIND of clothing you are washing - blacks, colors, whites, grays, wools, synthetics, baby clothes. Then you also have detergent in either bar or liquid form specifically for washing by hand, some of them are also categorized by kind of clothing. Then you've got these mysterious powders and gels that seem to be for color fastness (similar to fabric softener??). If I thought the act of washing clothes was like rocket science before, now it's like the universe of Stephen Hawking - virtually impossible for a mere mortal (non-Italian) like me to understand.

Don't get me started on the topic of ironing. Driers are non-existent so every single item of fabric (not just clothing - towels, sheets, socks, underwear, etc) is ironed. *laughing maniacally* my worst nightmare. When I told Marta and Vale that I never iron my clothes, I was met with blank stares and "but your clothes look fine. HOW??" Since coming to Europe, I've replaced some things in my American wardrobe with European counterparts. It's not so easy anymore to get away with not ironing. There's no wrinkle-free fabric here like in the USA... I must get an iron. But I'm putting it off until September. You should see the irons for sale... they are these monstrous things that look like they were designed in the '50s and haven't changed since. Yes, the irons are big, heavy, and they are attached by hose to this big tank in which you fill with water for steaming the fabric. Wow, huh? I was looking at the travel irons. Probably the size of small American irons. :-P hmm. I want a good old-fashioned American drier. Problem solved. Of course the ozone probably gets bigger every time someone operates a drier, but hey, clothes don't have to be ironed (at least when dried Kate style).