Early Fall, 1963: I had found a place where designers sold the clothing after it was "shown", and Pierre Cardin's models fit me perfectly. I took a second full-time job just to save the money for 2 suits in silk shangtun. Short, straight, above-the-knee skirt with a split hem in back, fitted vest with fabric-covered buttons, and boxy jacket, each lined in silk sateen. Worn with hose (held up with those d*m garters) and matching shoes in suede, 3" heels. A small handbag with a shoulder strap (I think shoulderbags were a newish style at that time). This was basic office attire, also with the requisite hat - remember Jackie's pillbox hats?- and gloves. Arriving at the office without hat and gloves was considered 'inappropriately attired' and you were warned once and fired the second time. And, thinking of inappropriate attire, I can remember being lectured on those grounds [about July 1954], by a neighbor for wearing pedalpushers and a sleeveless blouse while delivering newspapers. During the preceding winter and spring, I had been wearing my older bro's jeans, jacket, and ballcap while biking the 5-mile route. I think the neighbor was horrified to discover his paperboy was a girl. He never tipped, either.

For a long time with my old TL (that's supposed to be so inferior to European-style FL), I get excellent results with all my laundry and stain removal by soaking in oxygen bleach (OxiClean). This required active participation: I would start the hot water flow into the machine, add the oxi, add detergent (enzyme-based Kirkland Free & Clear), switch to warm if required to be easier on fabrics (stayed with hot for whites). Then I'd let the clothes soak for at least 60 minutes, sometimes several hours or overnight. This soak eliminated most stains without pretreating. One important exception is oily/greasy stains. Oxi doesn't do well with those. Straight detergent on the stain, Shout Advanced, or citrus degreaser pretreatment is needed for oily stains. I learned about the soak technique from Cook's Illustrated when they did their test of stain removers. Any organic, plant-based color stain, I think of oxi soak to remove it. Over the years, though, my favorite white towels and tank tops harbor faint stain residues that accumulate till the items don't look good. Inspired by the book "Home Comforts" by Cheryl Mendelson, I soaked my beloved Champion tanks in Clorox, at the correct dilution, then hung them in the sun. They looked like new. Lesson learned: there is nothing like true bleach. A few days ago, I bought a FL and tried the "Sanitize" cycle on stained white towels and T-shirts, and after nearly 3 hours was highly disappointed that many stains remained. So I still think soaking in oxi is more effective than a long, hot wash cycle in FL. A long warm oxi soak is also gentler on the spandex fabric than either super-high temperature or chlorine bleach. So my overall strategy is to oxi soak every wash in warm/hot water, chlorine bleach soak occasionally as needed. My detergent contains no optical brighteners, but those certainly make a huge difference in making whites look white. I read where people talk about how they're not "really" white because it's just an "illusion." This is nonsense. The only thing that MATTERS is how the color LOOKS to your eye/brain perceptual system. Garments that have lots of optical brighteners look great. Old garments whose optical brighteners have deteriorated look lousy, no matter how clean they are. I can see the amount of optical brighteners using a UV light. So to the OP's problem, removing stains without pretreating, soaking in oxygen bleach is the best solution I know, but if the stain has an oily component, you must either pretreat with enzyme/surfactant or use a very strong detergent. If skin can't tolerate those cleaners, I can't see any way to have stain-free clothes, because I have tried tons of different things. I would therefore recommend diet/supplements to improve skin's barrier function. I have friends with reactive skin like this, that improved greatly with more protein and EFAs (fish oil) in their diets, plus B vitamins and chelated minerals. A formula of chelated magnesium, zinc, selenium, chronium, and vanadium, makes a HUGE difference in skin and nail health. I have seen it personally in many different people. And 3-5 grams of fish oil daily is a must for healthy skin.

sshrivastava, Agreed! On the topic of fading clothes. I made a big boo boo! Used some Ariel Bajaespuma powder mixed with pure oxy clean (my purchase from the Chemistry Store) on my sons work clothes. Blacks and red t-shirts. Results were not noticeable to the black items except for minimal white shadows, I believe from the optical brighteners. The red t-shirts well.... major white shadowing on large areas! I will rewash in the Tide Total Care to see if it helps fix my mess! I should have known!! Why, oh, why don't I stick to what works! It's like trying out a new science experiment?! Temptation is so evil! Do not attempt this at home folks.... you WILL be sorry!

I really really really wanted Charlie's Soap to work for me, but I too found fading. I have used Cheer (I don't know how bad it is, everyone seems to use Tide here) for years and have never had a problem with fading. I am on a well, so we don't get the normal fading that happens over the years like people on city water. They have chlorine added in, which works like a bleach. I love the way clothes smelled and felt using the Charlies, but I have shirts that are 5 years old, washed every few weeks, that still look new. Does anyone have any suggestions as to stopping the fading? It works great on my whites, makes them just beautiful. I may order some more for just them, but I hate having one more thing to clutter my tiny laundry room. Does anyone know why Charlies would fade and Cheer wouldn't? What would be in Charlies that would fade, but not in Cheer? S