Question about Prada shirt care (dry clean? hand wash? pressing?) - Page 2

I have a rowenta steamer, but it sucks compared to my rowents steam iron for wrinkles. It's ok for freshening I guess.

How come I have a prada shirt that says dry clean only? It's only cotton so I don't get it! Also, I find prada shirts to fit very well, but the quality is not as good as others.

Can I really handwash cashmere sweaters even if they say dry clean only? All my sweaters say that.

THANKS!

At least European washing machines have a hand wash cycle. No spin at the end. Very little agitation. Fairly gentle. Having seen some people over the years hand wash the machine is likely gentler.

My washing machine has a "wool" program, 30°C, very gentle. It's oscillating every 5 minutes or so. I use it for cashmere and wool sweaters. I then lay them flat on a towell to let them dry.
Then I use a cold iron when dry.

!luc

One of my cotton shirts says "no wash in water." Does that mean I really can't even hand wash the shirt and my only option is dry clean?

Throw it in the washing machine, cold water, gentle cycle.

Never get your Prada shirt laundered and machine pressed. Dry cleaning by someone who does great work will be your best bet because of the manner in which the shirts will be steam pressed.

The level of steam that a dry cleaner produces cannot be done at home. A professional dry cleaner can offer you a "soft" press that it hard to duplicate at home.

Prada shirts usually have a spandex content that makes ironing difficult with home equipment.

A dry cleaner who will mimic hand washing and steaming is your best bet. At my shops we dry clean most shirts first to remove oil and grease stains, and then give them a gentle cold water wash to remove food based stains and body odor.

Shirts are then hand steamed and hand pressed (with a hand iron) to finish. No starch is used only a light spray of sizing to give a crisp look.

Be careful most staff at dry cleaners see men's shirts and will wash and machine press them. The teen behind the counter doesn't know Prada from Old Navy and your shirt will suffer.

Best,
Jerry Pozniak
www.DryCleaningTips.com

I've worn a lot of nice shirts too, but my Prada shirts are in a class of their own. I'm hooked. It's the stretch fabric. I like stretch fabrics, but none of the other brands I've bought are even close. I can tell the difference right away when I put it on. Best shirt I've ever worn. As you say, the fit is impeccable (6'3", 200). They feel great.

I'm not a rich guy, but I love nice stuff. I spent 20 years in menswear, including one of the finest men's wear stores in North America.

For those that think they are "overpriced crap", I'd suggest sticking to the Gap, or something. They work fine too. I thought Prada shirts were overpriced, until I bought one, Then I bought another one, and another one. Now they are all I'm going to buy. I am going to look for the semi-annual sales, though, but I try to stay current if I can.