Couture Cleaner Madame Paulette Is The Fashion Set's Best Kept Secret

Some say 'Seize the day!' - we say 'Seize your wardrobe!' 

Nothing is too precious to wear, especially when Madame Paulette can clean or restore pretty much anything! The world's finest Custom Couture Cleaner has been working fashion miracles for over half a century. Spill some wine on your favorite dress? Have way too much fun at your wedding? Drop a bit of grease on your new top? Accidentally rip the lace of a family heirloom? Whether you've a designer piece worth thousands, or a priceless sentimental item, there's really only one place to go.

Curious how best to maintain your special outfits at home, or which expensive designer brand is really worth the price tag? We caught up with the specialists behind the brilliant cleaning house, which was recently acquired by ByNext, to chat everything a luxury lover should know about keeping their closet in order!

What is the absolute worst kind of stain to work with?
The absolute worst stain to work with is Mildew. It is found on damp surfaces, paper, and fabrics. You can get rid of the fungi, however removing the stain completely becomes a little more difficult. The small black dots are very difficult to remove, so sending them to an expert cleaning specialist like Madame Paulette immediately after you see mildew is always best.

With Spring having finally arrived and recovery from Covid-19 near, it’s important to clean out those closets and freshen up your wardrobe.

What's the most common type of stain you see brought in?
The most common types of stains are food and oil-based stains; believe it or not stains from Salad Dressing are very common!

As restaurants are re-opening, and we'll get to dress up more often - we’re beginning to see more and more of the food stains.

Does white wine really get red wine out of clothing?
No, this is a fallacy. White wine DOES NOT remove red wine stains out of clothing. We’re not sure where this myth comes from, but we’ve definitely heard it a few times from our customers.

What's one thing everyone should be doing to take better care of their clothes?
Scheduling recurring appointments with Madame Paulette of course!

A key, yet overlooked tip is storing your items properly at home - proper hangers make such a difference when it comes to the longevity of your clothes.

Flimsier hangers can cause items to lose their shape and often damage the shoulders of garments.

Good quality hangers = good quality wardrobe!

What's the craziest story behind why someone's brought an item in?
We once had a bride during her wedding jump into a pool with her bridal gown and she brought it back to us for cleaning and restoration.

Must have been a great wedding!

How regularly should you have a special piece cleaned?
Depends on the fabric: All garments do not need cleaning immediately after being worn. 

For example: Furs should be cleaned and stored after every seasonal use.
Suits should not be dry cleaned after every use; you can clean them every 3 months, based on frequency of use.
Jeans or denim do not need to be cleaned after every use. We recommend after 3-5 uses.
Shirts/Blouse especially whites should be cleaned after every use, so they do not yellow.

Which designers do you tend to see most often?
We work with so many designer garments that trust us with their items.

Seasonality also plays a role in what we see most.

During the Fall and Winter months, we see a lot of Moncler or Canada Goose, Loro Piana, Brunello Cucinelli and Dior.

During the Spring and Summer months, we see a lot of Gucci, Off-White, Prada, Balenciaga, Fendi, Versace, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta Valentino, Burberry, Alexander McQueen, Loewe Balmain and Givenchy.

Through ByNext’s robust technology, Madame Paulette is now capturing brand Data at the item level, which in the long-term will be a great index to designers on what people are wearing most.

Throughout the history of Madame Paulette, who are some of the most exciting customers you've had?
We’ve had a former First Lady's wedding gown hours before walking down the aisle. We’ve also restored a vintage Louis XVI chair (crazy!).

Most recently we had Martha Stewart, and Alexander Wang at our boutique location.

We can go on and on, but we typically like to respect the privacy of our customers. However, you name them, there’s a good chance they’ve been here. That’s the trust level we’ve been able to build over the years.

Is there any specific brand whose pieces really can last forever?
One particular designer that we feel may last forever are the Burberry Trench rain jackets. We see them EVERY year.

How do you properly preserve a wedding dress?
All gowns should be properly cleaned prior to preservation. Properly cleaned means depending on the type of stains you have, gowns may either need to go through a thorough dry cleaning or wet cleaning process.

Not all cleanings remove stains, so focusing on pre-treating the stains is important, so they do not oxidize and become worse over time.

Once the cleaning is complete, we nicely package your bridal gown in acid free tissue paper and place it in a custom made acid free archival preservation chamber. There is a PH Balance inside, so the gown stays its same color.

What's the best way to keep clothing hanging in your closet?
The best way to keep your clothes in the closet is hanging them in a cloth garment bag. The garment bags help the garments breath. And as noted earlier, proper hangers are key!

Any at-home hacks any fashion lover should know for freshening up their pieces?
There are always at home hacks to keep your fashionable pieces refreshed. T-shirts for example can be cut and sewn into crop tops, denim jeans can be cut into shorts or skirts. 

Madame Paulette ByNext offers a closet concierge where we are able to come into your home and re-design your fashion closet!

[Photos courtesy Madame Paulette]