“Sing me no song! Read me no rhyme! Don’t waste my time, Show me!” sings Eliza Doolittle in the musical My Fair Lady.

Recent Classic Cleaners blog posts have featured MuseumCare™, our wedding dress preservation system, guaranteed by all members of the worldwide Association of Wedding Gown Specialists.

Summerlot dress before restoring

While we love singing songs and reading rhymes, in today’s blog post we’re going to show

Summerlot dress after restoration

and tell you about the very special linen and lace wedding dress brought in to Classic Cleaners by customer Virginia Summerlot. Virginia’s daughter, a California resident, is getting married next year and plans to wear her mother’s 47-year old restored gown, matching gloves, train, and all. This promises to be a wedding story with not one, but two happy endings! (Who knows? With proper care and preservation, there might be more encore performances in store for this gorgeous garment!)

The special hand cleaning and preservation treatment system used on the Summerlot gown was showcased by Classic Cleaners at the

Classic Cleaners' Booth at the Scottish Rite Bridal Fair

bridal display at the Scottish Rite Cathedral on January 8th and 9th of this year. Our table features awards, photos, and the acid-free, archival quality wedding dress box we use for heirloom preservation.

Sing you no songs, you say?  Read you no rhymes?  Any time, we’ll show you!

By Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

20% off Alterations* January 23 – February 12

“People come in different sizes, and they change shape with age,” says Jolly Timberlake  in Uber Articles, stating the rather unpleasant obvious.

Timberlake adds an important and not-always-obvious note: “Alteration is the job of a specialist, as it requires refitting of a completed garment in a way that it doesn’t look or feel awkward.” “Our clothes are very important to us,” adds Satyan7 of hubpages.com. “We want them to fit properly.”

“You bet,” say the professionals at Classic Cleaners. “You’ve entrusted your clothes to us to keep them fresh, clean, and properly pressed – we want to be sure they fit well, too.” The most “fitting” time will be (drum roll)…the next two and half weeks with the Classic Cleaners’ limited time offer of 20% off alterations.

Coming up on nineteen years as Manager of Alterations, Ohi Suhre invites clients to take advantage of the complete Classic Cleaners **.  Most dry cleaners provide only limited services such as repairing tear, replacing buttons, fasteners, and zippers, or patching elbows.  At Classic Cleaners, Suhre explains, you can have garments let out, taken in, and re-tailored, including even pants, leather jackets, tuxedos, and heirloom clothing.

Psst…has your shape changed with age?  Don’t worry – we’ll never tell and no one will ever know after your expert clothing makeover by Classic Cleaners!

Classic Cleaners Alterations Manager Ohi Suhre

alterations services

* dry cleaning charges may apply
** for fittings, it is best to come to the Bash St. main store

By Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

The clue's in the care label of these designer jeans!

“Counterfeit designer goods are readily available these days,”

says Ebay.co.uk. Actually, the article goes on to say, 80% of all goods sold on Ebay are counterfeit!

Inspect the sewn-in labels, is Ebay.co.uk ‘s advice to consumers.  All designer labels sold in the UK and the USA have a certain range of RN numbers (Registered Identification Number Database) that can be traced back to the manufacturer. eHow.com advises buyers of Prada clothing to look for a red strip on the side seam of a shirt with the Prada name stamped into it.  “Prada” will start with the “P” at the bottom of the stripe, and the writing itself will be in red.

Examining care labels is one of the first steps Classic Cleaners professionals take in determining the best method for handling each garment.  The Federal Trade Commission says care labels must explain one safe cleaning method for that garment, plus list any warnings about whether any step of the dry cleaning process might harm any part of the garment.

Unfortunately, we’ve found, foreign manufacturers (and this is especially true of designer knockoffs) do not always follow care labeling rules. If there is any doubt about a garment’s being able to weather the regular dry cleaning process, Classic Cleaners will go so far as to hand clean that garment.

In buying clothing, “be familiar with where the apparel is made,” advises articlealley.com. “Forged articles are generally made in China, Indiana, Thailand, and other Asian countries.”

If you feel you’ve been misled, reviews.ebay.co.uk offers the USA contact line 1 800 report-a-fake.

Whether your garment is a true designer creation or an excellent fake, you can rely on the very real fact that the Classic Cleaners modern craft of clean will give all your clothes designer-level care!
by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

Ugg boots, originally from “down under” in Australia and New Zealand, have certainly become a fashion trend in the U.S., even winning a spot on the list of “Oprah’s Favorite Things”.

Made from tanned sheepskin with the fleece attached, Uggs have rubber soles.  Today’s Uggs come in a range of colors and heights, in both pull-on and lace-up styles. While dry cleaners don’t typically get involved with footwear, we wanted our Classic Cleaners customers to say “Aah…”, never “Ugh!” when it came to their boots as well as their clothes.

According to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, the boots originally became popular for competitive surfers, who used them to keep their feet warm after exiting the surf.  In fact, the fleece is designed to draw away moisture, “keeping the feet dry and at body temperature,” Wikipedia explains.

Still, there comes a point, even in the life of  Uggs, when boots cry out to be cleaned and freshened.

With the approval of UGG® Australia, Classic Cleaners now extends its “modern craft of clean” service to boot-freshening.  Now your Uggs need never look ugly. Your friends will never think, much less have the need to pronounce the syllable “Ugh!” when it comes to your stylish, beautiful boots!.
by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team