If I didn't have a back-up dress for the wedding, I would not risk washing it and have it dry cleaned.

No, it has been worn and now needs cleaned. The question is how.

Oh, cute dress by the way. Do they still make Dryel (do it yourself dry cleaning for your dryer)? Maybe try that? Good luck.

I machine wash everything. Use a very short cycle and very delicately. Dry in dryer on air only to get rid of wrinkles, then hang to dry or, if heavy, lay flat.

I live in a small town/rural area. Our dry cleaner closed shop about 4 years ago. Closest one is now 60 miles. I wash everything. If it doesn't make it through washing, out it goes. So take a chance, but just in case, be ready to discard.

I wash DCO things all the time. Like mary_lu says, mentally prepare yourself that it might get ruined. I think I have only ruined one thing, a really cheap shirt from Forever 21.

The last time I had anything dry cleaned was a wool coat about 5 years ago. I tend to not buy things that specify dry clean only, but if I do, I wash gently and hang to dry. So far, so good.

if I want to wear that dress again, I would take it to very good dry cleaners. They are not all good. I have one near where I live that is expensive. I give them all the things I really like and want to keep looking really nice.

Then, when my DH goes down to Queens, we use a much cheaper dry cleaners. But, they have "ruined" a few things so I only send sturdy items and things that I don't care about.

You have to be very careful with black.

I'd hand wash it (especially since it's yours and not mine!). A long dress could possibly get deformed in a washer with an agitator. If it was something I absolutely needed to survive, I might not risk it. The short dress might have been mislabeled online.

Satin can be weird with water. Is there a spot on the collar that isn't seen where you could dab it on and see?

Some things don't feel clean to me from just drycl. I used to hate the smell, but you can find cleaners that use "green methods" (sometimes water!).

My MO is as follows --- anything really expensive that says DCO, I DC. Ditto coats, suits, velvet, things with beading or sequins or fur etc.

If it just says "DC" and not "DCO", it's a good bet you can wash it safely. Either hand wash or wash on a very delicate setting. Mild soap and cold water, no dryer.

I have used Dryel in a pinch and was impressed.

PS cute dress; those necklines are very flattering usually. Where did you get it?

My dress was long and navy but I hear you on the black. The dress was a little over $100 on sale so that is part of it as well. I may never wear the dress again (sadly we don't live the life where clothes like that are in my closet) and for the dry cleaning to be roughly 1/5 of the cost irks me.

I sew and know that these fabric are washable. I feel that manufacturers put the dry clean only tag in items to CYA. That is somewhat shown by the same dress having two conflicting washing instructions.

ETA more info.

Ralph Lauren from Macy's. My DR looked like a dress shop for a while, I ordered several dresses to try on and this was the keeper. I was lucky enough to have another close contender but this one was my favorite and the price was right!

I don't think Dryel would work. It was a lovely day but there was definitely some stress sweat going on IYKWIM!

Yes the dress was very flattering on with the portrait collar. I like to think of myself as a classic dresser and I felt like this fit me well. The temp was in the low 70's with low humidity and at times I was hot and very glad I din't choose some of the other dresses!

For $20, I would have it dry cleaned. It may be a wrinkled mess if you wash it at home, or shrink.

It will almost always turn out better if dry cleaned vs. home washed. For a special occasion dress, I'd make the splurge. Plus, they'll press it.

Sometimes I handwash something and then take it for "press only". It's almost the same price, but it feels cleaner to me.

When I'm undecided about dry clean vs wash, I just ask myself how I would feel if washing ruined the item. That said, I do have a very good dry cleaner and he does wash some things. I would personally dry clean. Even if it washed o.k., I wonder if you would ever get that collar looking the same again.

I washed my daughters' wedding gowns last summer and this summer. I washed both in the machine on gentle, let them soak for a few hours, Spun them on gentle, air dried several minutes, hung them till dry. They are both perfect! Both are typical gowns, lace, trains, embroidery, sequins, layers of fabric. The hem and train of one gown was very filthy so i sprayed it with Shout and then soaked it in Oxiclean. Sheer perfection!

I also sew and know that silks can be washed too, so decided to risk it. One gown was layers of silk, the other I have no idea about, but I'd guess polyester.

I have definitely machine washed items that say to dry clean. However, I would also be somewhat concerned about the satiny part. I typically put the dry clean item in a lingerie bag and do a gentle cycle. I hear you on the sweat and that dry clean doesnt really feel as clean. I do use the dry clean though sometimes more for the pressing...... I don;t think I have ruined anything in the wash BUT I am pretty picky and careful about which items that are DCO I do wash. I usually do not put any of these in the dryer but if I do , it's for no more than like 3 minutes to get the bulk moisture out. Good luck......

I have a number of black pants that are marked as wash gentle or dry clean. I used to just wash them but they looked terrible after a few months. I recently bought a second pair and another in a different style/brand that I have been dry cleaning. They look SO much better from the dry cleaner. The black stays black and the fabric has more body. Sure, dry cleaning costs more but the pants (both over $200) cost enough that I am willing to pay the bill every two weeks in order to keep them nice... and black. Nothing bothers me more than a washed out black professional pant.

Do you have a hand held steamer? If so, I would probably risk a hand wash and use the steamer to get any wrinkles out. Lightly iron the satin if needed on the wrong side, but you know that.

That said, I am with with Funky regarding over-washing nicer black pants. I have dry cleaned most of mine and they still look new, but I did start washing a few pair on occasion and they are fine. My real hesitation with washing is mostly shrinkage, because I can’t afford ANY in the length.

Polyester doesn't shrink in water but heat will melt it. Poly is very washable in cool water. No steam! No high heat.

Manufacturers say dry clean as a safety for them.

Manufacturers say dry clean as a safety for them.

And unless the rules have changed recently, they are required to include a cleaning method on the tag, not the best cleaning method for the garment. So the dry cleaning industry pays them to put that on the tag, or at least they used to.

As a musician back in the days when that meant having lots of formal attire (ah for the good old days) I knew many woman who washed all their dry-clean-only clothes.

However, having said that, I'm not really sure I'd do that particular dress, since it looks like the collar might be a bear to try to press.

Sheesh, I am so glad you talked about washing the wedding dresses. That is on our agenda too.

It's somewhat of a college tradition to go to the infamous college bar after your wedding. They were one of 3 newlywed couples there that night, but boy, did it to a number on the bottom of her gown.

I was ready to take it to get cleaned and hermetically sealed when I read the care tag and it said do not dry clean or machine wash. Say What?! I am guessing it was because of the sequins and beading. Were your sequins hand sewn or glued on? We plan on just trying to separate layers and dip the bottom in the laundry sink to soak and clean them.

RN, the sequins and beads were sewn on to lace. They lost none of their luster in the wash. I was afraid if i soaked just the bottoms of the gowns the soaked fabrics would behave differently from the unsoaked fabrics and trims, so I pushed the entire gown into the machine for the soak and wash. Every bit of the black dirt on the hems and trains is gone. One girl was married in a garden so you can imagine what that was like, the other was married in a children's museum and the wine drips on the front are absolutely gone!

I only air dried the gowns in the dryer for several minutes to get the layers fluffed, then hung them on doors to dry. That took days! I fluffed and readjusted repeatedly, but in the end both gowns are perfect and we saved hundreds of dollars.

Re The cleaning and preserving: My own gown was preserved in 1968. When we opened it before my eldest dtrs wedding in 1996, all the silver baguettes my mother had sewn on my lace had turned black, and the little seed pearls had lost their luster. It was awful, completely studded with black spots, so useless for any purpose at all. For some reason, I saved it anyway! We

Good luck with the project!

Do you have a front loader or a standard machine? The only difference between a dry cleaner and washing at home is that dry cleaning uses a solvent rather than a detergent. The process is very similar to washing on a gentle cycle in a front loader machine. An agitator is not used, probably due to things like beading or very delicate fabrics.

I bet if you washed on a gentle cycle with Woolite or some other very gentle soap and tumble briefly in a low dryer then immediately hang you could have good luck. If you needed it pressed afterward, you can always take it to a dry cleaner for a pressing.

I recently tossed a poly blend blouse in the washer-it has a little beading-it's very boho and it went thru a quick dry cycle (I half dry my poly blends then hang them for the remainder) and it wasn't until I was hanging it that I noticed the dry clean tag.

No missing beads, no shrinkage, no problems. I think with the price point of the dress, the make up of the materials and the mixed message on cleaning, you'd be safe with at home washing. Especially since this isn't going to be a dress you wear frequently.

Fwiw, i have an 18 yo large capacity top loader with an agitator. It has a hand wash cycle, which is what i used on the gowns.

I thought I had Dryel, but they are actually sheets from Woolite. HAd to use them the other day and thought of y'all and this thread. They work great in a dryer on medium heat. No wrinkles either, idkw.