Jeffery Diduch, bespoke tailor, is author of the
blog, Made By Hand -- The Great Sartorial Debate, which can be
found at tuttofattoamano (tutto fatto a mano is Italian
for handcrafted entirely by hand).
The blog is a literal encyclopedia of information on the
construction and deconstruction of bespoke garments (mostly men's
suits, sport coats, coats and trousers) and is a must read for any
bespoke afficionado interested in the ins and outs of their
tailored garments.
On Friday, Jeffery posted a comment about garment maintenance,
dry cleaners, and RAVE FabriCARE.
Here's the entire post ...
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2010
Garment maintenance
"Most tailors have a tenuous relationship, at best, with dry
cleaners, because of the things many do, in the name of expediency.
I won't get into the details because my blood pressure is plenty
high these days, but I want to share what was, until now, a hidden
treasure trove of information about garment maintenance. Hidden to
me, anyway.
I had heard of Rave FabriCare and about some of the
extraordinary lengths to which they go to care for garments, both
cleaning and pressing, but a recent exchange on StyleForum brought
their blog, True Quality Cleaning, to my attention, something which
I had never seen before, probably because it's not all that easy to
find on their website (are you reading this, Stu?)
I have never used them, but reading through the site, they say
all the right things to lead me to believe that they really are the
best place to consign one's clothing. I'm not talking about your
3-for-1 specials, but if you have been investing in quality
clothing, it's worth investing in its maintenance. I'm frequently
amazed at the number of people who will spend ages bulling their
shoes to a perfect shine but who don't want to spend a few extra
minutes on clothing maintenance, or a few extra dollars on proper
cleaning and pressing. Sure, a hand-held steamer may appear to get
the wrinkles out, much the same way a good coating of shellac will
give your shoes a quick and easy shine. You don't varnish your
shoes, do you? So why not care for your clothing properly? For
those who are wondering about maintaining garments at home, between
wearing and cleaning, all I can do is say that no tailor that I
know of owns a steamer- we use an iron to PRESS out the
wrinkles.
They do mail delivery cleaning for all over the US, Canada and
Mexico, so if I weren't moving I would give them a try right away.
Once I get settled I will send a suit in (incognito, of course) and
report on how it comes back to me.
Anyway, anyone interested in clothing maintenance should have a
browse through their blog- it's wonderful to find someone who seems
to care as much about maintaining clothing as I care about making
it."
How can I help you?