With Classic Cleaners so involved in the care and preservation of bridal attire, it’s natural for us to hear all about different weddings – and about different wedding legends and superstitions!

Just the other day we were discussing with one of our recently married Eagle Creek dry cleaning clients one of the oldest superstitions surrounding weddings:

                    It’s considered bad luck for the bride to try on the entire wedding outfit – meaning the dress, shoes, veil, train, gloves, etc. – before the wedding itself.

How did the topic of wedding superstitions and folklore come up in that conversation? Well, with so many lakes and the reservoir, rainbows may often be seen in the Eagle Creek area. In fact, a very beautiful rainbow had appeared on the very day of this Classic Cleaners’ client’s wedding.  We discussed the fact that, in folklore, if a bride sees a frog, a dove, or a rainbow on her way to the ceremony, good luck will follow.

One tradition it seems everyone knows about is the “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue”., with the “old” and “new” representing the bride’s life pre-wedding and post-wedding, and the blue standing for the traditional color of wedding dresses before Queen Victoria changed the fashion to white.

From Eagle Creek to Noblesville, our customers seem to honor old traditions while creating some new ones of their own.  We so enjoy being part of marriage-in-the-making!  Before the big day, Classic Cleaners professionals perform alterations and prepare dresses for travel to destination wedding sites. Afterwards, our expert stain removal process and archival box storage come into play!

Whether or not we’ve seen that rainbow or dove, At Classic Cleaners we feel lucky to play a part in the wedding tradition!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

The slang expression “Don’t break your arm patting yourself on the back” refers to people who praise themselves too highly. Yet, according to many psychologists, it’s OK to pat yourself on the back when you’ve accomplished something special, pointing out that self-congratulation can be a healthy exercise in raising self esteem. 
 
With their new and improved website finally up and running, the professionals at Classic Cleaners have time to reflect on the results of the customer survey results from last fall, and on the wonderful boost to self- esteem that customer feedback provided.

(Dr. Michael R. Edelstein suggests self-esteem can be harmful when it causes people to have difficulty admitting their behavior is unhealthy or unwise.  Edelstein suggests that it would be healthier for us to evaluate our actions without drawing either positive or negative conclusions about ourselves.)

In the case of the Classic Cleaners survey, it was not intended for “arm-breaking” at all, but to accomplish three things:

1. Help Classic Cleaners owners know more about the demographics of its customer
   base – where they are located, what age groups they fall into, and how long they have      
   been customers.
2. Remind customers of the “Classic Rewards” program.
3. Find out what concerns customers might have with the appearance and cleanliness of the stores, the friendlessness and patience of the front desk representatives, and with the timeliness and quality of order completion.Three very important aspects of the Classic Cleaners business earned almost across-the-board rave reviews:

   1.  convenience

   2.  friendliness

   3.  quality

No surprise to Classic Cleaners – customers are looking for good value at the lowest possible cost.  In fact, price was the only “negative” recorded by any of the survey respondents! Classic Cleaners’ response: That’s exactly the reason we offer the Classic Rewards program and all the limited time offers – to help you save money while taking advantage of the extra quality Classic Cleaners provides.

At Classic Cleaners, WE”RE looking for value as well.  And what we value is – our customers!

 by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

Sometimes it seems Classic Cleaners specializes in stories.  With wedding gown cleaning and preservation a specialty of ours, we feel as if we’ve been part of the “wedding party” for many brides, both before and after their big event.

Quite often, as members of the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists, Classic Cleaners professionals have helped preserve bridal gowns for daughters and even granddaughters to wear.  Rarely, though, have we come across a story with as many chapters as the one about the dress owned by “Magee” (Margaret) Land.

Magee at Mardi Gras, 1977

Chapter I:

It all started in February, 1977 at the New Orleans Mardi Gras debutante ball, when The Dress was worn for the first time by Magee, then a college junior, as one of the princesses at the Ball.  Mardi Gras princesses, according to tradition, were escorted by masked gentlemen; Magee’s escort was her uncle.  Her date: Casey Land from Danville, Indiana.

Magee and Casey Land's wedding 1979

Chapter II:

Two years later, on January 6, 1979, The Dress made its second appearance.  Remade with an overlay by Juliette

Coutures of New Orleans, this time Magee wore it as her wedding gown, beautiful bride of Michael Casey Land.

Chapter III:

Fast forward to New Year’s eve, 2010. The Lands now have two beautiful daughters, Tara and Meagan, and son Hunter. Meagan is being married in The Dress, altered by

Joyce Hittesdorf of Something Wonderful and restored to pristine white by Leon Neal of Classic Cleaners.

Magee's daughter's wedding New Year's Eve 2010

Chapters IV, V, and ?:

Future plans for The Dress include daughter Tara and Hunter’s girlfriend Anna.  From there, who knows?

The ongoing story of The Dress has been made possible through MuseumCare™ preservation, the advanced process used by Classic Cleaners, and the only one endorsed by the Association of Bridal Consultants.

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

mold spores

“Mold thrives in places of high humidity and warmth,” explains Moldblogger.com. “This includes floors, walls, personal items, and yes – clothes.”

Some examples of what causes mold to form on clothes:

• Leaving soaking-wet garments in a plastic bag for days or even weeks
• Storing clothing in a basement with water leakage
• Allowing damp, soiled clothes to remain in a laundry hamper too long
• Leaving clothes or linens out on a screened porch during wet weather or in a baby stroller left outdoors or in a dark, damp place
• Failing to brush clothes that have been worn to clean out a crawl space
• Leaving a garment next to books, papers that are damp, or inside luggage that has become moldy

  The first thing to remember, warns Moldblogger, is timing.  “The faster you can find a mold-contaminated item, the better. Mold becomes increasingly hard to remove and to deal with as it grows and thrives.”

At Classic Cleaners, we agree.  Put mold-contaminated items in a separate bag from other garments and bring it to our technicians as soon as possible. Using bleach or even vinegar at home can in fact help treat mold, but often at the expense of ruining the color of the garment.

Classic Cleaners professionals, who have earned a reputation for expert stain removal, and who are often called on to treat water-damaged household items such a drapes and bed coverings after a house fire, find that odors from mold and mildew can prove exceeding challenging to remove.

Mold can be a formidable opponent, dangerous to health as well as to clothes. But when alert customers team up with the dry cleaning professionals at Classic Cleaners, the odds are in favor of the good guys!

 - by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team