Stripes, Silk, and Tough Stains

stripes-and-silk-1It’s funny to think once upon a time, I was unsure about this skirt, and even contemplated returning it. Now it’s one of the items I crave wearing when the weather warms up. Everything about it, from the olive green hue, to the heavy drapey silk, and of course the pockets (!) make me so thankful I didn’t return this skirt when I had the chance.

It confirms a tactic I’ve been employing lately with my purchases. Rash decisions to keep or return are more likely to result in disappointment. Instead, I’ve been sitting on items for a little while to give myself time to think. I find that either an item will grow on me, or my obsession with it will wear off, which has been helping me be choosy when it comes to my purchases. Through this method, I decided everything from this haul is going back…after having them sit around for a little while, I’ve decided I’m no longer excited by any of it.

stripes-and-silk-3This skirt is also on it’s second life, as a stubborn stain threatened to ruin it forever if not for the amazing work of a local dry cleaner.

I’m not the most graceful person, and while I love snatching tasty h’orderves off those fancy platters at parties, I’m notorious for dropping them all over the place. Smooshed crab all over the highly polished deck of a fancy boat? Yup, done that. Knocked a greasy olive down the front of my shirt and down my silk skirt? Done that too..at this party, actually.

After the dry cleaner I went to couldn’t get the stain out after two tries, my heart sank. I thought my clumsiness had ruined this skirt forever. As a last resort, I took it to a high end couture dry cleaner that I knew would be expensive, but I thought might be able to figure something out. When they got the stain out after one try, I’m now forever convinced of the powers of fancy dry cleaners.

A high end dry cleaner in Los Angeles was able to get oxidation stains out of my white blazer (that another dry cleaner told me was impossible), clean a stain out of an embellished silk skirt (that other dry cleaners refused to even touch), and now this dry cleaner in San Diego was able to remove a stubborn stain from a beloved silk skirt (that another dry cleaner failed to do after two attempts). If your regular dry cleaner can’t or won’t clean something for you, I’d highly suggest you consider taking it to a “couture” cleaner as a last resort. They haven’t failed me yet.

stripes-and-silk-2And now, this skirt lives on to have food dropped on it another day…

Outfit details – H&M top :: Ever skirt :: Ann Taylor belt :: Chanel handbag :: Jimmy Choo shoes :: Kate Spade watch (customized) :: Pearl bracelets :: Stella & Dot necklace (c/0) :: Loud Love Jewelry ring (c/0)

Have you ever used a couture dry cleaner?

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21 Comments

  1. says: Ana

    I agree about the “fancy” cleaners.  We have a “bargain” dry cleaner where we take our work clothes to on a regular basis.  And we have a “fancy” dry cleaner where we take our evening wear and anything with a difficult construction issues.  They are phenomenal with “ring around the collar” of my hubby’s tux shirts and wine stains on cream dresses.

    I’m glad your skirt was fixed and happy that it lives to die another day. :)

  2. says: witheachpassingday

    There is hope after all. I have cream coat that has stubborn stains that can’t be removed so far.  I’m glad that skirt live for another day. It’s looks great on you.

  3. says: Palindrome388

    I’ve read your blog for a while now, but this is my first comment (yay me!).

    I’ve found that items I was on the fence about buying end up being the most used in my cloest, and items that I was really excited to buy are not used as often.  Kinda interesting how that works…

    1. So nice to hear from you! And I completely know what you mean! I’ve had a few things now that I was kinda “meh” about, and now I wear them all the time. I also find that some of the items I really loved right away, I enjoy looking at more than wearing…like I’m afraid to ruin or wear them out. Weird, huh?

  4. says: Lisa Ng

    I’m falling more in love with dresses in warm weather too! Great idea to really “think about” items before purchasing/keeping. I actually don’t use dry cleaners that often. But glad to hear that even after 2 failed attempts, a 3rd dry cleaner was able to do the job. Lucky the 1st two didn’t ruin the skirt!

    1.  Thank you! I was really worried the skirt would come back with a big fat hole in it, but couture dry cleaners seem to really know what they’re doing. It’s good to know they’re around if you ever find yourself in need of one. =)

  5. says: Katherine Wu

    Do you find high end dry cleaners by looking for the ones with “couture” in the name? Or is there another trick? I had no idea that not all dry cleaners were created equal, nor that it was worth it try more than once to get a stain out!

    1.  Hi Katherine! They usually say “couture” somewhere either in the name, slogan, or description. Try searching for “couture dry cleaner” in Yelp or Google in your city and see what comes up.

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