For the vast majority of cleaners, garments with
any type of embellishment or trim presents a
challenge.
It doesn't seem to matter if it's beads, sequins or rhinestones;
plastic, vinyl or rubber; paint, glitter or silkscreen; appliques
or embroidery; suede, leather or fur; multi-media comprising
fabrics and skins; feathers; high-tech fabrics. Or a St. John Knit
blazer heavily embellished with pailettes and/or rhinestones. And
it's especially the case if they dry clean in
perchloroethylene, the solvent used by about 85% of all
dry cleaners.
Typically, these cleaners follow one of the following
routines:
- Most reject them out of hand, telling you that the garment is
not cleanable.
- A few "clean" them by reducing the time on the wash cycle of
their dry cleaning machine to a fraction of the required time and
then tell you that "they've been cleaned." When, in fact, they
haven't been properly cleaned.
- Many just spot clean them, spray them with a "freshening"
product (say hello to Fabreze), steam them and then tell you that
"they've been cleaned". When, in fact, they haven't been cleaned
at all.
- Some warn you of the "risks", make you sign a waiver of
liability and, when the garment is reduced to unwearable status,
wave the signed release like a flag blowing in the wind.
- Others, unwilling to expose their lack of skill and experience,
and knowing that they have a 50:50 chance of "getting it right", go
ahead and experiment on them any way.
So what can you do after your dry cleaner has
destroyed your leather- or suede-trimmed garment? After they tell
you that it's the "manufacturer's fault"? And after they tell you
that it doesn't matter what you think or say because you signed
that waiver of liability?
Well, you might consider challenging the cleaner in person or in
court. Alternatively, you can mitigate your frustration by sending
it to RAVE FabriCARE in Scottsdale, Arizona for restoration.
Consider this Rachel Roy brick red dress with leather trim
(pictured below), for example.
A new
client in California dropped off this dress with a
champagne spill down the front at a "very good cleaner". The
cleaner assured her that it would be "ok", but, just in case, asked
her to sign a full release of liability.
About two weeks later, she returned to the cleaner to pick up
the dress and was told that there was a "problem" and that the
"process didn't work out."
Specifically, the leather dye had bled profusely and, in the
process, had stained the lining in the bust area. Furthermore, the
texture of the leather had changed from supple to stiff.
After calling the store where she had purchased the dress, she
was referred to RAVE FabriCARE in Scottsdale, Arizona.
We then requested a digital photo from the manufacturer (so that
we could identify the original color of the leather) and transformed the garment from "destroyed" to
"like new".
Please note that the process of restoring this garment is much
more expensive than it would have been if the client had sent it to
RAVE FabriCARE in the first place.
The following before and after photos reflect that
transformation:
BEFORE
AFTER
How can I help you?