Prom Dress Cleaning & Tailoring Tips

The Perfect Night:  The biggest mistake you can make with prom is spending too much money on your dress and not having any money left over to enjoy the night. Keep in mind that you will probably only wear your dress once and the night will go by fast. Don’t disappoint yourself by spending all of your funds on an expensive dress. You will want to have money to make the entire night special. Here are just a few fun things you can do if you save on your dress: rent a limo, eat out at a nice restaurant, purchase new shoes, accessorize, and get your hair & make up professionally done. If you want to save money on your dress there are many options now for finding a dress second hand. You can look online for dresses on sites like: Craigslist, eBay, Prom Again, Poshmark, & Tradesy to name a few. You can also check local thrift stores such as: Goodwill, Salvation Army, Unique Thrift Store, Savers, Arc Value Village, Buffalo Exchange, & Plato’s Closet. Once you find the perfect dress for a steal, you can bring it in to one of our 25 convenient twin cities Pilgrim Cleaners locations to be dry cleaned. Dry cleaning your dress will make sure it looks and smells like new and no one will even know it’s the dresses second debut!

The Perfect Fit:  Whether you find your dress at a thrift store, in stores, or buy it online; the dress you find may not fit you perfectly. If you find a dress that is almost perfect, but needs a few adjustments we can help! It is important for a dress to fit well for you to look your best. Pilgrim Cleaners has select locations with Professional Tailors that can hem a dress that is too long, take in a waist or bust, or adjust the length of your straps. Our tailors have fast turnaround, but be sure to allow at least a week for dress fitting and alterations.

Keep It Clean:   After your prom is over, it is important to dry clean your dress before you put it into storage. Dancing the night away can leave your dress less than pristine. Body odor, sweat, deodorant, and make up stains can ruin a dress if left untreated. Our cleaning tips can offer more insight. Even if you can’t see the stain, it is better to get it cleaned after you wear your dress than to allow the dress to be put away soiled. Not all stains are visible and if you put away your dress soiled it could ruin it. The sooner you bring your dress into the cleaners, the longer the life of the dress will be. Making sure you take care of your dress means that your dress can be preserved for your next special occasion such as a wedding, or formal event.

Prom Suits:  A good options for guys to save money on a tux rental is to borrow a suit from a friend or family member. Sometimes dad may need to dig his old duds out of the attic, so make sure to bring the suit in for a dry cleaning before the big night so you aren’t smelling less than desirable. If you need to make a few adjustments to the fit, you can bring it in to our stores for tailoring & alteration.

Beautifully Borrowed: Many girls attend prom multiple years of high school and sometimes even go to prom at multiple schools. Check with a friend to see if she has a dress from a past prom that might fit you. It is an inexpensive option to buy a new dress one year and trade your dress with a friend the next year. Make sure you bring your dress in to Pilgrim Cleaners before you wear it for a fresh smell and to get out the wrinkles. You will also want to make sure that you get the dress cleaned again before returning it, as a thank you to your friend for letting you swap!

Preserving Prom:  Now that prom is over and you have brought your suit and dress to Pilgrim Cleaners to be cleaned, be sure to remove the plastic bag from your garment before you put it into storage. If you store your dress or suit in the plastic bag it will trap the moisture, which is not good for the material. You should also store your dress or suit in a cool and dry area. You should avoid storing your garments in any direct sunlight, which may cause discoloration. Make sure that you hang your garment with enough space underneath so it doesn’t hit the ground. You also want to use the hanging straps sometimes sewn into the garment to take stress off the straps and shoulders. For a perfect preservation of your prom dress you can bring it into a Pilgrim location for our professional preservation box service.

Beading & Sequins:  If you purchase a dress with beading or sequins it will need special care.  Pilgrim Cleaners is your expert in all care labels and can evaluate the best method for cleaning your special garment. We have an option to spot clean your dress, which is done by hand. We can also wet clean the dress, which is a gentle process used to remove excess stains and soil. You can rest assured that we will keep your garment safe & beautifully cleaned.

Prom For A Purpose:  Not only is Pilgrim Cleaners your best place to go for all of your prom cleaning & alteration needs, but we are also known in the local Minnesota community for giving back to those in need this prom season! This year Pilgrim Cleaners is sponsoring a local Minnesota event called “A Night To Remember Prom,” which honors students with special needs ages 15-24 years old. The event is Sunday, May 1 ^st and Pilgrim Cleaners is dry cleaning all of the donated dresses! As your expert in all prom related items, we are providing our services for a cause! Find out more about the event at: http://www.anighttorememberprom.org/