I love natural fabrics and happily take special care of wool, silk, leather and other natural fibers or delicate clothes. But I’ve been surprised to see more and more clothes, including synthetics, say “dry-clean only.” It seems as if the clothing business is in cahoots with the dry cleaners. What is going on? — Jessica, Milwaukee
In truth, I think the ubiquity of the dry-cleaning label is less about a conspiracy between fashion and launderers and more about fashion companies watching their backs. How to wash clothes, especially special clothes, is one of those skills that became … well, unfashionable back in the middle of the last century, when home ec classes went the way of the dodo.
Given that many consumers are no longer schooled in the art of hand washing silk versus cashmere versus wool, or may simply feel it is not worth their time, it is likely that companies have decided it is wiser and simpler to advise dry cleaning rather than to include complicated care instructions that may not be followed. If that happens, dissatisfied customers may blame them when garments have shrunk, become discolored or been otherwise wrecked when they were placed in the washing machine by mistake.
It’s possible there are other reasons for the tags. Alexander Fury, the fashion features director of AnOther magazine, told me that he had spent time working for a young British designer before going into publishing and that the company always added “dry-clean-only” tags to garments because they were the only tags the brand had. “I think it was a cost-saving decision,” he said.
That said, it is true that we generally over-clean our clothes and over-dry clean them. Since dry cleaning is done with chemicals, that is not good for the environment or, if you do it too often, the clothes.
It is common wisdom, for example, that jeans rarely need to be washed. Chip Bergh, the former chief executive of Levi Strauss, once told me he never washed his denim, and Daniel Roseberry, the designer of Schiaparelli, told me he almost never washed his suits.
Mr. Roseberry, who worked at Thom Browne for 10 years before joining Schiap, said, “They told you never to dry clean your suits.”
“It shortens the life span of your clothes dramatically,” he said. “I know most people wear designer clothes and dry clean them after every use, but it’s crazy.”
Instead, he advised simply spot cleaning a stain (the American Cleaning Institute has good suggestions for how) and then hanging the suit up and brushing it down as needed to remove dust and lint.
I decided to poll some other fashion folks to find out how they thought about dry cleaning. There are no hard and fast rules, but many of them, like Nikki Ogunnaike, the editor of Marie Claire, said their approach to each garment depended on their own comfort level with washing.
“Cashmere, generally, I don’t think needs to be dry cleaned,” Ms. Ogunnaike said, adding that she usually hand-washed her sweaters or used the lowest machine cycle. “It really just depends on how sad I’d be if I got it wrong,” she said.
Penny Martin, the editor of The Gentlewoman, went further. She never dry cleans anything, she said — “even the fanciest things, with paillettes” — because she lives in the countryside and cleaners are an hour’s drive away. She simply hand-washes garments in cold water (she uses Soak laundry soap) and then blocks everything carefully to dry.
She also swears by the book “Garment Goddess” by Laura de Barra for advice on how to clean all kinds of clothes. And she always looks pristine.
For more advice, our sister publication Wirecutter has published a useful guide entitled “All the things you don’t need to dry clean even if the label says you do,” which pretty much sums up the situation, and is a great starting point for making an educated decision about your own wardrobe.
Though, speaking of education, I think every high school should reintroduce home ec (and shop for that matter). After all, given the investment cost of clothes, laundry isn’t really a chore — it’s a science.
Your Style Questions, Answered
Every week on Open Thread, Vanessa will answer a reader’s fashion-related question, which you can send to her anytime via email or Twitter. Questions are edited and condensed.
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