Silk and delicate fabrics
Silk, cashmere, chiffon, lace, and beading — the pieces where the wrong process is not recoverable.
Silk is where cleaners are separated from each other. It waterspots, it loses its hand if it is over-processed, its dyes bleed, and the damage is not something you fix afterward. Delicate work has been our specialty since we opened, and it is the reason a lot of our customers found us in the first place.
Fabrics we handle
Silk in all its weights — charmeuse, crepe de chine, chiffon, dupioni, and habotai — along with cashmere, fine merino, angora, lace, velvet, satin, tulle, and anything beaded, sequined, or embroidered.
Vintage pieces too. Older garments have weakened fibers, unstable dyes, and construction that no longer exists, and they need to be assessed individually rather than run through a standard cycle.
Why the process differs
Delicate garments are cleaned with less agitation, lower heat, and shorter cycles, and are often bagged or handled separately within the machine. Some pieces are treated entirely by hand.
Pressing is the other half of it. Silk scorches and shines under a hot iron, velvet crushes, and beading melts. Finishing is done with steam and shaped by hand, on the reverse where the fabric requires it, and beaded pieces are pressed around the beading rather than over it.
What to tell us
If a garment has already been spot-cleaned at home, say so — we need to know what chemistry is already in the fabric. If a dye has run before, or the piece is older than you are, or it was made by hand, tell us that too. The more we know at the counter, the fewer decisions we have to guess at.
Common questions
Can silk be dry cleaned safely?
Yes, and for most silk it is the safest option. The risk is not the process, it is the process applied without adjusting for the fabric.
There is a waterspot on my silk blouse. Can you fix it?
Usually. Waterspotting on silk is a ring of displaced sizing rather than a stain, and it generally responds to proper cleaning. Do not try to rub it out at home.
Do you clean beaded and sequined evening wear?
Yes. Beading is checked and secured first, and the garment is finished by hand around the embellishment.
Will you handle a vintage or inherited piece?
Yes, with a conversation first. We will tell you honestly if we think a garment is too fragile to clean rather than take the risk with something irreplaceable.
Often asked for together
Wedding gowns
Cleaning and preservation for the one garment you cannot replace, handled by hand and never rushed.
Dry cleaning
Everything is cleaned in our own NYS DEC-approved machine at 1287 Madison Ave. Nothing is shipped out.
Tailoring & alterations
A tailor works on the premises, so fittings, adjustments, and repairs happen here rather than in a queue somewhere else.
Bring it in, or let us come to you.
Free pickup and delivery across Carnegie Hill and the Upper East Side. Call and we will set up a time that repeats — or just walk in.