”If I have no heirlooms, what should I pass down?” is the question addressed by Emilie Sennebogan on tlc.howstuffworks.com. Sennebogan assures her readers that when it comes to leaving things to your descendants, “sometimes emotional value far outweighs any financial worth“.

Classic Cleaners’ customer Ladonna Hanson knows all about emotional value. Thrilled by the idea that her granddaughter might be able to wear the precious baby dresses which the new mom had herself worn as an infant, Ladonna brought several 24-year old baby outfits out of the closet.  Dismayed at the yellowing she found on the fabric, Mrs. Hanson asked for help.

Passing down treasured clothing items and household goods is a very old tradition. In fact, the significance of the “heirloom chest” goes back to the ancient Egyptians. And, while the  “trousseau’ or “hope chest” has gone out of fashion, as Erik Shimek explains in his ezine.com article Storing Heirlooms Inside of a Cedar Chest,  “it can be a joy to assemble a ‘memory box’ for young boys and girls to remember their childhood.” From baby clothes and dolls to baseball gloves, the treasures in the box help recipients relive special moments.

Seeing the beautifully restored baby clothes brought smiles and tears to the faces of Grandma and daughter, plus effusive thanks from Ladonna Hanson to the professionals at Classic Cleaners.

Alas, (at least for now) the little princess remains oblivious to how impressive a fashion statement she’s making, dressed in her sparking-clean, heirloom baby wardrobe!

 by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

Forty years is a long time by any measure, and time and disuse had certainly taken their toll on the  two quilts pulled from one Classic Cleaners customer’s cedar closet.

The quilts had been made more than four decades ago for the childhood bedroom she shared with her sister.  Classic Cleaners took on the formidable challenge of restoring the quilts, one at a time, to their former glory.

Stained and discolored quilt before restoration by Classic Cleaners

Quilts played an important part in not only our customer’s past, but in our collective American past.  (With Classic Cleaners partner Steve Arnold so involved in Civil War re-enactment, it was interesting to learn that both Union and Confederate women rallied to the war effort, raising money by making Beautiful Gunboat Quilts.  Many of these, according to http://www.womenfolk.com/, had medallion-style floral arrangements that were cut out and appliquéd to solid fabric.  “This method is called broderie perse and requires many fine sewing skills.” Only a very few of the original quilts survived the Civil War, as Womenfolk.com points out, because many soldiers were buried in their quilts.

In fact, the two quilts Classic Cleaners restored resemble that Gunboat style, with colored floral appliqués

Quilt fully restored by Classic Cleaners after 40 years

With the original white color restored and the stains totally removed from each quilt, our Classic Cleaners customer feels as if two pieces of her past have come back to life!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

History’s a favorite school subject at Classic Cleaners. Not only are Classic Cleaners owners proud of their own twenty-five year history serving customers in Central Indiana, they love studying the history of dry cleaning around the world.  Today our history trip takes us to the island country of Haiti.

Back in 1946, Jimmy Plinton, former flight trainer for the famous Tuskagee Airmen (the all-black U.S. Army AirCorps’ 99th Pursuit Squadron), was visiting Haiti.  Trying to have a pair of pants cleaned, Plinton learned Haiti had no dry cleaning plant, and he proceeded to establish Haiti’s very first dry cleaners in Port-au-Prince.

It’s fascinating to realize how much of an effect the dry cleaning business can have on the general economy in an area. Without a dry cleaning business, Haiti’s seamstresses and tailors could use their skills on only linen and cotton, and ready-to-wear shops were almost non-existent. Even diplomats had trouble caring for their uniforms and medal ribbons!  By getting dry cleaning started in Haiti, Jimmy Plinton gave the country’s entire economy a big boost! Haberdasheries, women’s ready-to-wear shops, tailers, fabric-makers, and other dry cleaners soon sprang up in and around Port-au-Prince. In fact, when World War II was over, Jimmy Plinton was invited by the Haitian president to develop the Haitian International Airlines. Haiti awarded Plinton its highest honor, the National Order of Honor and Merit.

Like “Jeemie” Plinton in Haiti, Classic Cleaners stays involved with the local community, doing its part to contribute to the growth of its neighbors’ businesses from Broad Ripple to Cicero, from McCordsville to Zionsville and everywhere in between. Proud member of the Chambers of Commerce of Fishers, Carmel, and Greater Indianapolis, Classic Cleaners continues top serve as a link in the chain of dry cleaning history!

Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

“Shorts are a garment worn by both men and women over their pelvic area, covering the upper part of the legs,” begins a Wikipedia write-up. “They are called ‘shorts‘ because they are a shortened version of trousers, which cover the entire leg.”

Yes, we know. 

the long and the short of - shorts!

IN FACT, THE JUNE MONTHLY SPECIAL AT CLASSIC CLEANERS
IS $3.00 OFF EACH PAIR OF SHORTS!

Shorts styles have changed over the many years our Classic Cleaners technicians have been taking care of clients’ clothes.  Whatever type of shorts you can name – you can bet we’ve cleaned or laundered shorts just like those. (At Classic Cleaners, we check the care label instructions on each garment to see if your shorts belong with your fluff-and-fold laundry order or should be dry cleaned.)
 
Cargo shorts? You bet our professional dry cleaners in Broad Ripple have handled those!.  (Cargo shorts have numerous pockets – don’t forget to search the pockets before turning them over to be dry cleaned or professionally laundered and pressed.)

Bike shorts? Check.  (Originally worn by cyclists to reduce thigh chafing, bike shorts have been adopted as street wear for women under tops or under skirts, our dry cleaners in Carmel. see quite a number of these.)

Jeans shorts? Of course.  (Made out of denim,  jeans shorts may also be called “jorts”. Jeans shorts are popular with both men and women, our Indianapolis dry cleaning technicians report.)

Board shorts? Even those.  (Board shorts were originally designed for surf boarders, but men often wear this easy-going combination of shorts and a bathing suit. Our Classic Cleaners pickup route in Cicero often brings in board shorts.)

Zip-offs? Yes.  (Zip-off shorts are long pants that zip off at the knee, so the wearer can go from pants to shorts and back as the weather changes.)

Flood pants? My, yes.  (These go down as far as the calf, so they’re sometimes called “shants”.)
 
Skorts? Rarely, but yes. (These shorts have a piece of fabric in front that makes them look like a skirt.  The style shows up at our Carmel dry cleaners location every so often.).  

From creased khaki shorts to plaid golf shorts and everything in between, the long and the short of it is this:

When it comes to shorts, at Classic Cleaners, we’ve seen ‘em all!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team