Christian Dior pieces cleaned and hand-finished by Alex's Dry Cleaning Valet.
Heritage & Expertise
Christian Dior, Cared For by Alex's Team
Founded by Christian Dior in Paris in 1947, the house redefined modern elegance overnight with its debut collection — the "New Look," with its nipped waist, soft rounded shoulders, and lavishly full skirt anchored by the sculpted Bar jacket. To this day Dior is celebrated for true haute couture: corseted internal construction, intricate hand-embroidery and beadwork from the petites mains of its ateliers, and luxurious silk faille, duchesse satin, and yards of fine tulle.
That same craftsmanship is unforgiving of careless cleaning. A boned, interlined Dior bodice can lose its sculptural shape under the wrong press; hand-applied sequins, glass beads, and embroidered tulle can melt, snag, or shed in an aggressive machine or solvent. Alex's specializes in exactly this kind of garment — couture pieces where the construction and embellishment are irreplaceable.
Specialist Care
How Alex's Cares for Christian Dior
Every Christian Dior piece is inspected individually, cleaned with a method matched to its exact fabric and embellishment, and hand-finished to preserve the structure and drape the atelier built in.
The Bar jacket & New Look structure
Dior's signature shape comes from corsetry, boning, and interlining sewn inside the garment. We hand-finish rather than crush these pieces flat, so the cinched waist and soft, rounded shoulder line return exactly as the atelier shaped them.
Hand-embroidery & beadwork
The petites mains apply sequins, glass beads, and embroidery by hand. We clean embellished Dior gowns by methods chosen to protect each element — no aggressive agitation that would snag threads, shed beads, or melt sequins.
Silk faille & duchesse satin
Dior's lustrous silks are damaged by water itself, not just stains — a single droplet can leave a permanent ring. We use solvent-appropriate, fabric-specific cleaning to keep faille and duchesse satin smooth and luminous.
Fine tulle & full skirts
Layered tulle and the voluminous New Look skirt require careful handling and hand-pressing to keep their body without crushing or flattening. We finish each layer so the skirt falls the way Dior intended.
Couture finishing & detailing
Hand-rolled hems, covered buttons, and concealed closures are inspected and protected throughout. Each Dior piece is pressed and finished by hand, never run through a one-size production line.
Pickup & Delivery
Door-to-Door Across the Bay Area
The same white-glove standard travels everywhere we serve. Pickup from your front door, doorman, or garage — returned cleaned, pressed, and ready to wear.
San Francisco
Monday – Saturday
Next-business-day return; Saturday pickups return Tuesday morning.
Peninsula & South Bay
Monday · Wednesday · Friday
Returned on the next scheduled service day.
Marin County
Every Day
Same-day return is the standard — morning pickups come back the same afternoon.
East Bay
Thursday & Saturday
Returned on the next service day.
Wine Country
Monday & Thursday
Sonoma & the Napa Valley — $300 service minimum, or a $75 delivery charge each way.
$75 minimum per pickup with free pickup and delivery across San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin, and the East Bay. Wine Country (Napa, Sonoma & St. Helena): $300 service minimum, or a $75 delivery charge each way. Same-day service available in most areas for an additional fee.
Common Questions
Christian Dior Garment Care FAQ
How should a Christian Dior gown with beading or embroidery be cleaned?
A beaded or embroidered Dior gown should never go through standard machine dry cleaning — aggressive agitation and the wrong solvent can shed glass beads, snag embroidery threads, or melt sequins. Alex's inspects each embellished piece individually and cleans it by a method matched to both the base fabric (often silk faille, duchesse satin, or tulle) and the hand-applied decoration, then finishes it by hand. We have specialized in couture garments like this since 1984.
Do you offer pickup and delivery for Christian Dior pieces in San Francisco?
Yes. Alex's is a door-to-door valet — we collect your Christian Dior dresses, gowns, and evening wear from your front door, doorman, or estate manager anywhere in San Francisco and across the Bay Area, and return them cleaned, hand-finished, and ready to wear. Simply text 415-338-9318 to schedule a pickup.
Will dry cleaning ruin the structured shape of my Dior Bar jacket or New Look dress?
Not with the right specialist. Dior's silhouette is built from internal corsetry, boning, and interlining, and a careless press can permanently collapse that sculptural shape. Alex's hand-finishes structured Dior tailoring and dresses so the cinched waist, soft shoulder, and full skirt are preserved exactly as the atelier constructed them. For pricing on couture pieces, see alexdryclean.net/pricing.