Lady in Red: the clothes issue

First off, allow me to apologize for the large space in between posts. Life sometimes gets in the way and I haven't been posting as often as I would like to.

So. Today I wanna talk clothes.
You may want to be dressed in red or whatever color you choose, but without actually being the Lady in red - literally. (Or gentleman in red.)
This may sound silly to some of you and completely obvious to others, but here goes.

My biggest piece of advice about clothes is:

WEAR 100% COTTON.

I mean it. Seriously. When things start going haywire, do NOT wear synthetic fabrics. Polyester, Lycra, Rayon and the sort are totally out of the question. Fleece? Nuh-uh. That's just a fancy name for polyester, which is actually plastic. Wool? Don't even think about it. Personally, I wouldn't go with linen either.
Cotton simply lets your skin breathe. Other fabrics might feel nicer at first, but put them on a vulnerable skin area and you've just created a potential flare-up.

Now, you don't have to take my word on this one, but I know what works for me. I recommend you try for yourself and see if it doesn't make a difference. I'm not saying wearing cotton will solve your problems; I'm just saying that NOT wearing cotton will make them worse.

Potential pitfalls:

• No label on the clothes. You're looking through old articles of clothing and you've cut the labels off. Or else, you're in a store or flea-market with no labels.
• "But this one is 30/50/80/92% cotton". Well, OK, this is a very personal thing. Maybe a certain percentage works for you and that is fine. What I've personally found is that 8% Lycra can turn a totally breathing shirt into a stretchy one. Sketchy, I say. The very reason designers use 8% Lycra in shirts (to make them look and feel like they're not cotton) is the same reason you don't want them.
• The label says one thing but your skin says another. I know it sounds far-fetched, but I've found certain labels that simply lie outright about the content of their items. Also, some clothing items have insides and outside that are different, etc.
  

The solution? Learn the feel of a cotton shirt. Try your hand at touch tests and test yourself in stores that do have labels. By now I can usually recognize what's cotton and what's not just by touching it. Stick to the 100%, unless your skin signals otherwise. Once you gain confidence in your ability to sense cotton, use the touch-test to guide you. Is this or that fabric kind to your itchy skin? If it is, by all means go for it. Just make sure you follow up on your decision later to see if the skin is suffering from it.

And this goes for everything you are wearing.
Pants? Definitely. Jeans may be mostly cotton but might still itch because of the texture. Other pants might be better, or worse, depending on the material. Go with a combination of labels and intuition, then pay attention to signals from your skin.
Sweaters? Oh yeah. Nowadays it's totally possible to find 100% cotton sweaters. If you wear shirts under the sweaters, you may feel comfortable wearing other material on top. Just make sure the areas that contact the sweater (hands, neck) aren't suffering because of it.
Underwear? Socks? You betcha. Of course, this depends on where your itchiness and rashes are focused. You may not need to worry about these articles. Again, listen to the signals you're getting from your skin and pay attention to what it's telling you.
Winter wear, e.g. scarves, mittens, hats...? Umm. These are harder to find in cotton, and as above, you might not need them to be cotton. If you're really far gone, and itching everywhere, make an effort to find these at least in partial cotton (anything above 50% is better than nothing).
Summer wear, e.g. tank tops and shorts, bathing suits? Go with the exposure level that works for you, but try to stick to cotton in the summer especially: you're skin will need to breathe. As for bathing suits, obviously those don't come in cotton. There's a limit to how much you can do, I guess.
At work? On a date? Why not? There are plenty of cool, savvy and even formal clothes nowadays that are cotton. You just have to keep your eyes peeled for them.
Sportswear? For sure. You want to be super-comfy, not super-itchy, for your workout, right?
Housewear? Yes, yes, yes. If your work (or your fashion sense) demands you wear things that simply cannot be replaced with cotton, at the very least do yourself a favor and change into sweatpants and sweatshirts when you come home.

Now, ladies, the next one is truly for you. (Guys, you can skip ahead...)
Bras, my dears, a very problematic article of clothing. You will rarely find a really 100% cotton bra. You've gotta go with your instincts here, too, because the labels will often lie. A label may say 100% cotton when actually the shell is cotton but the interior is totally synthetic. The straps can be another problem if they're synthetic, as can the connector between the two cups.
My take on this? Play around with 80% cotton (or more) sports bras. Focus on the feeling of the interior. Hanes has some pretty good stuff that's mostly cotton. So do Victoria's Secret, and their padded kind is actually better than any other bra I own. (I stock up every time I'm in the states). One last trick: Wear your bra inside out. Yep, girls, I mean it. Most bras (except the sports bras) feel gentler on the outside than the inside.

A final word to the wise.
Depending on how good or bad your atopic situation is, you may want to forgo non-cotton cloths entirely. I say, refresh your wardrobe with some cotton clothes and see how it works for you. If cotton fulfills your day-to-day needs, great. If not, try to combine as many cotton articles as you can as often a possible (e.g. a cotton shirt underneath more formal wear, or cotton tights underneath a pair of jeans). You may end up looking a bit bulky, but if it helps your skin, that
may be a small price to pay.
The best advice I can give here (apart from "wear 100% cotton", heh) is to say once again: go with your instincts and you skin's signals to figure out what works for you. Good luck!