Until the 20th century, a groom would simply wear his “Sunday best” on his wedding day.  But since at Classic Cleaners (we’re members of the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists), we’re familiar with modern weddings, we know that today, the usual attire of choice for the groom is a tuxedo.

The story of the tuxedo is an interesting one, beginning when President Teddy Roosevelt was in the White House.  Just 40 miles northwest of New York City there was a very exclusive residential colony called Tuxedo Park.  The story goes that at the first annual high society Tuxedo Part Autumn Ball, the son of tobacco magnate Pierre Lourillard was the first to sport a “tail-less” black jacket.  Roosevelt liked the style, and a new trend was born.

Also called a dinner jacket, today’s tuxedo is traditionally black or dark blue, with satin or grosgrain facing on the lapels and on stripes going down the sides of the trousers.  The complete semiformal outfit includes the bowtie, shirt, cummerbund, and sometimes a vest.  For warmer climates (at Classic cleaners we often help couples prepare their wardrobes for travel to destination weddings) a white or ivory dinner jacket may be worn.

Like any man’s suit, a tuxedo can be acquired three ways:

• Bespoke:  Suit is custom-made from a pattern the tailor creates from your measurements.
• Made to measure: Suit is tailored from a pre-made pattern and modified to fit you.
• Ready-to-wear:  Bought from a store and then possibly altered.

Classic Cleaners typically “meets” the groom’s tuxedo either:

• before the wedding when we do alternations and/or prepare the suit for travel.
• after the wedding when we clean the tuxedo, mend it where needed, and prepare it for storage.

“Nothing commands attention like a man in a well-fitted suit,” according to B.A. T.  At Classic Cleaners we’d add, “That goes double if that well-fitted suit happens to be a tuxedo!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

 ”The race is not to the swift,” the Bible tells us.  But when it comes to dry cleaning in and around Indianapolis, the race may be to the fleet! That’s because, twice a week, our Classic Cleaners fleet of vans visits homes and offices all around the Indianapolis area to pick up and deliver items for our customers.

Classic Cleaners fleet

Our newly decorated vans, proudly displaying the Classic Cleaners motto “The Modern Craft of Clean”, travel from Fortville on the east, Pittsboro to the west, Cicero to the north, and 42nd Street in Indianapolis on the south.  It all adds up to thousands of locations, tens of thousands of garments, and twelve different routes.

How does the “fleetness” work?

• You sign up for the free home or office delivery service.
• You’re provided with large clothing bags.
• A Classic Cleaners driver visits twice a week to pick up and deliver. (There is absolutely no obligation to have anything to pick up every time.)
• If you’re not at home, your clothes can be left on special hanger hooks (which we provide to slip over the top of your door), with Fluff and Fold laundry left in recyclable boxes.  Or, you may choose to give the driver access to hang your clothes in a front closet, mud room, or garage.

Fast, convenient, efficient, and……clean!  As a Classic Cleaners customer, you’ll soon realize: The race may not be to the swift, but the real service IS to the fleet!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

With the month of February all but over, Classic Cleaners dry cleaning specialists are seeing the usual chocolate-y aftermath of Valentine’s Day.

“Chocolate has been around almost as long as man,” says one Facebook commentator, adding that, ever since Mayan times, the cocoa bean was considered to be an aphrodisiac, and that “It should be no surprise that chocolate has become – or rather remained – an edible symbol of love.”

And that’s not just in the U.S., our Classic Cleaners bloggers learned. In Japan, where Valentine’s Day was first introduced in 1936, Japanese chocolate companies make half their annual sales around the February holiday!

Not everyone views chocolate company Valentine’s Day profits in a positive light.  “They’ve got us exactly where they want us”, complains blogger Corine G. of helium.com.  “Vitamin D deficient, high on expectation but low on cash…already too fat to care yet early enough in the season to know we can start dieting later. All the chocolate industry has to do is package the cocktail of mood enhancers that is called chocolate …in a heart-shaped box.”

Whatever your particular take on the Valentine’s Day/chocolate connection, at Classic Cleaners we know it translates into chocolate stains on clothing and table linens. Howtogetridofstuff offers an important piece of advice:

“The first thing you should always do before trying to remove stains from an article of clothing is to ….make sure you’re not going to destroy it during your efforts. If it’s dry clean only or you’re not sure, you’re better off taking it to the dry cleaners – why take the risk?”

At Classic Cleaners, we agree. Our stain removal technicians are trained to analyze fabrics and fabric stains and select the most appropriate treatment. Meanwhile, remember never to rub a stain.  Instead, lay the stained area down on several layers of paper towels and blot the backside of the fabric with a heavy-duty liquid detergent.

Next, bring the garment to Classic Cleaners’ store – there’s one near you!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

“People calling themselves ‘ironists’ get a thrill from taking their ironing board, unplugged iron, and some of

Extreme Ironist

their wrinkly clothes to some extreme places and photograph themselves doing it. Such places include extreme altitude, underwater, hanging from cliffs, and on top of vehicles,” relates sportzfun.com.

Most of our customers would prefer to avoid ironing even in the safety of their own home, much less hanging from a cliff or perched atop a vehicle. They much prefer to leave the ironing to the expert “ironists” at Classic Cleaners!

And nowhere is the Classic Cleaners expertise in ironing more apparent – and more appreciated – than when it comes to men’s and women’s shirts. Truth be told, our “ironists” do have expert help from the latest technology, including our Unipress machine for shirts.

Typical “Pet Peeve C’s ” that simply don’t happen with Classic Cleaners-style shirt processing:

• Clamp marks on shirts (A Classic Cleaners-processed shirt can be worn tucked in – or out -  with confidence)
• Crinkled facing on collar (A Classic Cleaners-processed shirt can be worn open-necked with confidence)
• Cracked buttons  (Classic Cleaners replaces cracked buttons and repairs loose ones)

Sorry, we don’t iron underwater or in the alps, but we certainly do turn a proud face on men’s and women’s shirts at Classic Cleaners!

 by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team