Tips for Professional Garment Care

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So you outfit a client’s master bedroom closet with all of the latest amenities, add that extra flourish in architectural details and take stock of his/her wardrobe to include the right balance of shoe shelves and hanging space. But then your client asks you for a few tips on how to store garments properly. Perhaps you readily supply a list of suggestions. Or, perhaps you struggle to settle on an answer.

Either way, we asked the garment storage specialists at New York City-based Garde Robe to offer a few tips for storing garments, shoes and specialty items such as beaded blouses and fur. With an additional outlet in Tokyo, Japan and plans to expand into other key markets, Garde Robe provides professional storage services for its roster of clients who need extra closet space. Once a client calls, the company retrieves his/her belongings, has them professionally photographed and then creates a “cyber-closet” that the client can reference when preparing for a trip or an event. Garde Robe staff members personally deliver garments and accessories to the client’s doorstep or expertly pack a suitcase and ship it to the client’s destination.

But the company also stores the archives of fashion designers such as Oscar de la Renta. While Garde Robe’s vice-president, Doug Greenberg, maintains that one could earn a PhD in garment care, he suggested an abbreviated list of tips that custom storage professionals can share with their clients.

Proper Cleaning and Insects: Because many Garde Robe clients store their seasonal items at the company’s state-of-the-art storage loft, Greenberg says that the most important element of proper garment care is appropriate cleaning. Even if someone has only worn a dress suit once, the pieces must be dry-cleaned before storage. Otherwise, they risk an infestation of Clothes Moths, whose larvae feed on the bacteria that insidiously grows on garments that have not been cleaned. To help combat the potential problem, Greenberg advises clients to invest in lavender sachets or cedar blocks, especially for fine knits.

“Let’s say you have a cashmere sweater, and you’re going to put it away for the summer,” Greenberg says. “First things first, make sure it’s properly cleaned, fold it with acid-free tissue in the crease and then place a cedar block wrapped in the same acid-free tissue before you put it away in a breathable, canvas box.” Because cedar blocks and flower sachets have oils that can stain garments, Garde Robe staffers advise clients to wrap them in tissue paper before placing them in proximity to clothes.

They also recommend using acid-free tissue in the crease of folded garments, such as sweaters and cotton shirts because it prevents the fabric from breaking down ever time. “If knits aren’t folded with acid-free tissue, then it’s very much like bending a straw in half,” Greenberg maintains. “The fabric will eventually break over time.”

 

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