Dry clean or wash? Reading a care label properly
The small symbols inside a garment tell you how it can be cleaned. What each one means, and when we ignore the label with your permission.
After the wedding: cleaning and storing a lehenga
A heavy lehenga can last decades or be ruined in one monsoon. What to do in the week after the wedding, and how to store it.
Between November and February, our workshop receives about 40 lehengas a week, most of them a few days after a wedding. Many are worn once and kept for a daughter or a niece, so how they are cleaned and stored matters for years.
In the first two days, hang the lehenga, blouse and dupatta separately on padded hangers in a shaded, airy room. Let sweat and perfume dry out. Do not fold a damp lehenga, and do not leave it in the garment bag it came home in. Make a note of any stains while you remember what they were: mehendi, haldi, food, lipstick or wax from the diyas. Each needs a different treatment, and telling us saves guesswork.
Bring it to us within a week. Old stains set and are much harder to lift. We inspect every piece under light, note loose sequins, stones and threads on your receipt, clean it with a gentle solvent and roll press the zari by hand. A lehenga takes four to five days and costs from ₹900, depending on the weight and embroidery.
For storage, fold the skirt as few times as possible, with soft muslin between the layers so the embroidery does not rub. Wrap it in an old cotton saree or a muslin bag, never plastic. Keep it flat in a box or on a high shelf, not hanging, as the weight of the work pulls the fabric out of shape. Refold it along new lines every six months, and air it on a dry winter day.
