Best dry cleaner in Bay Area for a white satin designer suit?

November 13, 2013 8:49 PM

I need to clean an expensive white Oscar de la Renta skirt suit that's lined in taffeta/tulle; it has some faint smudging here and there on the thick reverse silk-satin fabric. I wouldn't trust a normal dry cleaner with this, and don't know where else to go. Alex's seems exorbitant and gets awful reviews; Peninou seems doubtful as well; and I read somewhere about Crystal in San Mateo but don't have much to go on. Does anyone know a cleaner (preferably in San Francisco, but I can drive elsewhere if necessary) who works with designer items, maybe wedding gowns, who would know how to work with tricky white silk fabric? Many thanks!
posted by roxie110 to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (5 answers total)

I have never actually used them myself, but my mom always brought her fancy stuff to Peninou. I think they are the gold standard in SF.
posted by radioamy at 9:31 PM on November 13, 2013

Remember that awful yelp reviews are not worth much. If there's a fancy dry cleaner in your city, that's probably the place to go. (Sorry for the lack of a more specific answer, but I know that a lot of "gold standard" places get trashed on yelp because people are idiots).
posted by ablazingsaddle at 11:31 PM on November 13, 2013

Call the de la Renta boutique (or other high end store that carries his work) and ask for recommendations.
posted by cestmoi15 at 5:42 AM on November 14, 2013

I'd call Britex and ask them. If anyone knows, they will.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:22 AM on November 14, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks for the suggestions! I contacted Saks Fifth Avenue and they recommended Buchanan Cleaners. I'm going to bring the suit over and see what they say. They appear to be wedding gown experts, so that's very encouraging.

Britex was a great idea but they had a list of tailors, no cleaners. That did give me the idea to ask my tailor, who recommended Peninou, but with reservations.
posted by roxie110 at 1:24 PM on November 14, 2013