I love the Fall. It’s my favorite season. I love everything about it from retrieving my cozy, snuggly sweaters, scarves and hats from their attic storage to cooking stick-to-your-ribs cool weather dishes (or rather, buying them, since I don’t really cook) to the changing colors of the season. And, although this week it’s going to be 90 degrees where I live, Fall is in the air. I know because I’ve been seeing Back-to-School commercials on TV. If that’s not a sign that Fall is coming, I don’t know what is.
Several years ago, my darling husband bought me a pink, knit Chanel scarf that is embellished with crystal-beaded bows and scads of fringe that is meant to be worn on one shoulder. (He’s great – but I picked out the scarf. Got it at A Second Chance, an upscale consignment shop in New York City where I ran into Lori Goldstein, stylist nonpareil, who I had met while doing QVC’s Makeover Show several years ago. I asked her opinion on the scarf and she threw it around my neck, tszujjed it up a bit and pronounced it fabulous. It was mine! ) It’s my favorite Fall accessory, cozy, chic, warm, a little bit eccentric and a lot head-turning. I store it, in the summer months, in tissue paper in a bag in my attic with a chunk of cedar wood to keep any moths away. I haven’t worn it often, but when I do, it always garners comments, compliments and, maybe I’m reading into it, admiring looks. I think it’s an amazing accessory.
I recently had some work done on my roof and several days of banging finally sent me scurrying to retrieve my Chanel scarf. There it was, in the bag I’d stored it in. The tissue paper had dislodged and there was I-don’t-know-what-stuff-that-fell-from-the-attic-ceiling all over the tissue paper and exposed parts of my lovely Chanel. Thank goodness it wasn’t stained but it did have a more than slight undefinable odor and bits of dislodged attic attached to it. Damn!
It’s not that I don’t trust my dry cleaner. I do and he’s cleaned many fine pieces of clothing for me and my family. But we’re talking embellished Chanel here. I’ve had a couple of things come back from other dry cleaners with missing stones or buttons. I didn’t want to take the chance with my Chanel scarf so I carefully picked the pieces of attic debris out of the stitches and crystal and seed pearl bows. And then it dawned on me. I have Dryel! Dan Lawson, costume designer for The Good Wife uses Dryel to clean the high-end designs worn on the show. Why not give it a try on this delicate and very dear to me article of clothing? I can monitor the entire process and, if I see any signs of shrinkage or anything at all that I don’t like, I can pull my scarf out of the dryer. No harm, no foul, right?
Cut to the bottom line: Dryel did the trick! My beautiful, crystal-embellished Chanel scarf is as good as new and smells fresh and clean. I checked on it – and smelled it – every few minutes during the drying process and, when it smelled fresh after 10 minutes, I pulled it out of the dryer. It’s hand-knit so I “blocked” it a little bit but it regained its shape with no problem. Note: Dryel should not be used on silk, rayon, leather, velvet, suede or fur.
I’ve used Dryel on my sweaters, bedding, curtains and even on one of my husband’s suits that took a good dousing from an unexpected rain storm but I was wary to use it on my Chanel scarf. (Wary. That’s a severe understatement.) Silly me. It cared for my scarf gently and beautifully and I will use it to freshen up the rest of my winter wardrobe that hasn’t seen daylight since last May and that may also have been victims of the attic fallout.
One other thing, as much as I adore Chanel and several other high-end designers, I can’t easily afford them and so shop consignment. Sometimes the clothing may have a stale smell. In the future, I will trust Dryel to remove that.
Thanks, Dryel. I really can count on you.
Note: I’m a Dryel Blog Ambassador as you can see from the bright red emblem on the right side of this page. I’m damn proud to be one too. As such, I have received Dryel product and compensation from the company but this is no way affects my opinion about Dryel. Believe me, I wish I didn’t have to clean my Chanel scarf – ever. But that would just be squicky, wouldn’t it? So the takeaway here, at least for me, is that Dryel works on the world’s finest fabrics and leaves them clean and fresh with no harsh chemicals. It didn’t fade or shrink the scarf and the beautiful crystal and pearl bows remained perfect.
I love my Chanel scarf and can’t wait to wear it close to my face. And, I needn’t worry about it smelling funky from storage and attic fallout, thanks to Dryel.
Want to try Dryel yourself to keep your clothes clean and fresh and save you money on dry cleaning? Get it here:
You Might Also Like:
I’m in Vogue, the Magazine, That Is.
Sheena Sujan – Designer, Model and a Name to Know
Jumpstart Healthy Eating with Veestro
