Dry clean or hand wash? (Picture of ''dress' - outfit - 170, repeated.)

 


A red satin effect skirt, brand label Platinum. The washing label says the fabric is polyester with an acetate lining. They recommend dry cleaning. 

Why do they recomment dry cleaning, especially if they say the garment could be hand washed at 30 degrees? Or cold water?

One reason is that the garment is lined and the lining fabric is different. When the garment has two fabrics they might shrink different amounts. The result is puckering along the seams, or hanging oddly, with folds, or lop-sided.

I have more than two reasons for not wanting to dry clean clohtes.

1 Dry cleaning is expensive.

2 I have to take time off from writing to deliver and collect my clothes.

3 I might forget, or lose the ticket.

4 The shop could lose my garment, spoil it, or go out of business.

5 Dry cleaning could shorten the life of the garment or change its colour.

If you cannot be bothered to take clothes to be dry cleaned, if you travel a lot, you could have your garment washed or dry cleaned in a hotel and have it returned the next day or even the same day. It arrives in pristine condition and neatly ironed or folded ready to re-pack.

If you are travelling to a conference the dry cleaning might be included in the allowance for expenses. If not, you might indulge yourself, on the grounds that your accommodation and food are paid for by somebody else, or offset against tax and you deserve a treat, or you owe it to the organizers and audience to look your best, well-groomed. (You might think similarly if you are travelling to a family or social event such as a wedding.) 

I am going to hand wash, very carefully. I shall postpone dry cleaning as long as I can. I shall also postpone washing. 

How can you postpone dry cleaning and washing? By minimising smells and stains.

1 To prevent the outside of the hem getting dirty:

a) Shorten the skirt so it does not drag on the ground.

b) Wear wedge shoes or high heels to lift the hem.

c) Hoist the skirt when mounting steps into a vehicle, climbing stairs, or walking over grass and mud. Keep your hands free by carrying a shoulder bag rather than a handbag, and having your umbrella on a strap.

2 To Keep The Garment Smelling Fresh

a) Keep the inside away from your skin by wearing an underskirt or full lenth slip.

b) Hang up by an open window or patio door, not against other garments, so it can blow in the breeze.

3 Check for stains every time you go to the toilet to wash your hands and clean your teeth after a meal.

 4 Wash your body frequently, every two hours. in a tropical country it may be quicker to take a shower often rather than washing bit by bit.


About the Author

Useful Websites

For a santa hat:

https://www.daisosingapore.com.sg/store_location/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daiso

About the Author

Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. She evaluates speeches, judges speech contests and runs language workshops.

Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts with your colleagues, friends and family.

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to repair a torn Mark & Spencer slip and make the hem wider, Post 294

Image
What is this? My repair.  I have a lovely shiny, smart black slip, from Marks & Spencers. It has a slit with pretty lace edging.  But it is slightly tight. It tore from the top of the slit, diagonally.  I looked for another slip. The ones I found onlin were twice the price and not in a satiny fabric. I wore it torn. I repaired it several times. It tore again.  I gave up. I wore it torn. Nobody sees. My husband saw. He complained. What could I do? It is useless to keep stitching it. It just tears again. I needed a new solution. I thought of adding a godet, a triangle of black fabric. I did not have anything to match. tht doesn't matter a godet is often a contrasting material. But that's when you have several godets and they look deliberate. I hunted in my sewing box. Boxes. All I had was teeny scraps of cloth in unsuitable fabrics. And ribbons. I thought about what I could do with the ribbons. They were not wide enough. But I could sew one each side of the slit. t...
Read more

Blue H & M Dress, dress of the day 393

Image
  Angela Lansbury wearing a blue background dress from H &M. Photo by Trevor Sharot. The Blue H & M Dress Blue background dress has a white pattern. Blues are hard to match. But I had a white blouse, so I wore this. On the internet and on Facebook you can see lots of videos of how to tie a scarf, but mine is simply hanging, which partly obscures the cleavage.  Cleavage cover I had a choice. To insert a dickey or false front, also called a removable or detachable collar. I have one or two which are plain white.  The alternative which saves hunting for a matching dickey without distracting collar colours and embrodiery, is simply to add a fastening. I decided that a snap or press stud fastener in small size is qhich to fasten and unlikely to pull apart (as opposed to hook and eye. I like velcro but it can scratch your skin, so the press stud was the right andwer. You have to get the two sides exactly measured up from the point of the V neck otherwide you end up with...
Read more

Period Pants from Marks & Spencer & More, post 345

Image
Period pants from Savida. Pants, UK. In the USA they would be called underpants. They come in two colours, black or dark blue with a mottled effect. They are triple layer. Could be useful for hiking and travelling. Or when you have a cough.  A pack of three full briefs for fifteen pounds. I then googled period pants and found lots of results.  Marks Marks & Spencer do a pack of three containing three different colours, black, white and pink, for sixteen pounds.  They also do different absorbencies. The options range though light, heavy, and extra heavy. And more styles, such as pantaloon style, like short tight shorts coming half way down your thighs. You can also buy leakproof swimwear with the brand name WUKA. Wikipedia has useful worldwide reviews of practices. Wiki picture. Useful search words (alphabetically):  A-D absorbent, absorbency adult diapers briefs,  cloth menstrual pads diapers E-K full briefs,  heavy absorbency,  heavy flow,  i...
Read more