My daughter has a Pikeur Tail Coat with leather lined tails. It isn’t very old, but the leather is starting to look rumpled. Our dry cleaner guy says he won’t touch it unless we agree that he’s not responsible if the leather flakes or whatever. We live in a small town, so I am wondering if we’d be better off going to a larger town and talking with several places.
In the meantime, I freshened it up a a little. I have a friend whose daughter does dance, with ornate and expensive costumes. She suggested using cheap vodka or a mixture of water and wintergreen scented rubbing alcohol. I went that route, and used a sprayer to very lightly mist the inside of the coat. Woolite makes one of those kits where you can use your dryer to dry clean, only it says not to use on leather. They did have some spot remover packets, sort of like baby wipes. I used a soft brush on the dust and surface dirt, then a lint roller. I blotted with cool water on the horse slobber stains, with a cloth underneath the stain. Then I pressed the wrinkles in the sleeves at the elbow.
I know this isn’t a substitute for dry cleaning. I assume we will eventually find someone who will clean it. But until we do, does anyone have any more suggestions on how to freshen up a coat between trips to the cleaners?
