<p>I have left a note on the door when we won’t be home, asking deliveries to be left with our neighbor & giving their address. Literally, they’re home 97% of the time & have always accepted all our deliveries. It sure makes life easier on us than having to coordinate multiple re-deliveries. The delivery people also sometimes live it somewhere in our carport with a note on our door. So far, we’ve never had trouble retrieving deliveries.</p>
<p>To the OP, can’t your D do this or is no one reliably home when she’s not around? Hope the suit fits, is lovely, and that she gets whichever suit she needs in time!</p>
<p>S only has one suit as well, plus a navy blazer & grey slacks they wore for graduation. He never mentioned any issues about dry cleaning, but not sure he wore any outfit for 3 interviews in a very short window. He hasn’t made much of an effort to purchase any more suits, but maybe he’s waiting to see how folks dress at his new workplace.</p>
<p>Anyone know how electrical engineers working for the fed govt in DC dress? We figure most of the time, a long sleeved shirt & decent chinos should work. That’s what he wore most of the time while interning at NASA the other summer.</p>
<p>HiMom- For some reason her UPS driver is adverse to leaving the package with anyone. The complex has an office but it is closed by the time the UPS driver comes. D said the driver is on the cranky side.At her old apartment the driver never had a problem just leaving the package on the porch. On the other hand her USPS carrier is very nice. I am hoping she has some more interviews coming up so she gets the chance to wear the new suit since she won’t have it in time for the Monday interview. Her department career center seems to bring in quite a number of companies for interviews. I think this is a busy time with many interviewing for permanent positions and summer internships. </p>
<p>My dear sweet S is another story. He is graduating in May. He has not visited his career center nor has he expressed any interest in getting an interview wardrobe. He has black dress pants and a button down shirt worn with a pair of suede vans. He seems to feel this is enough.</p>
<p>This is kind of weird, but to freshen up sweaters - mostly cashmere, I put them in the dryer with a dryer sheet and one of those antistatic dusting cloths, such as a Swiffer cloth, that I’ve wetted and wrung out. I put the heat on low and let it roll around for about 15 minutes. The antistatic cloth picks up any stray hairs and lint, and the water releases the fragrance in the dryer sheet. It works pretty well. Dry cleaning seems to ruin sweaters and I hate to wash them unless they are actually spotted.</p>
<p>I may try that, gourmetmom. I did take another beery cardigan of his to the dry cleaners. This was an alpaca knit from Brooks Bros, originally about $400, which we got for about $90. (Despite hanging about in frat basements, S has become a bit of a clothes horse in his own way, and he has a thing for cardigans! ) When I took it out of the dry cleaner’s bag in DC, I discovered that they had pulled a thread out of the back at least 5 inches. I was furious. I’ll never patronize that place again. I’ve had a sweater of my own destroyed by the dry cleaners…I’'m not a big fan.</p>
<p>I am also going to try Gourmetmom’s idea. I dry cleaners are expensive and they don’t always do a great job.
Consolation- let us know what you end up doing with the sweater with the leather patches and how it turns out. My younger D wears riding breaches with leather patches and they never feel the same once they come back from the dry cleaners. The leather is crunchy.</p>
<p>Consolation, did you ever confront the dry cleaner and ask them what they intended to do with the damage they inflicted on the sweater? Did they just deny it? I’m curious. I had some pricey wool slacks that were burned by the dry cleaners–never said or did anything about it but never returned there either. (The slacks got too small for me post-baby anyway. :()</p>
<p>We try to buy only washable things these days as dry cleaning does make hubby’s chest tight. I did buy some slacks from Ann Taylor that said dry clean only. The salesclerk confided that she regularly launders those same slacks, so with some trepidation, I did as well. They wash perfectly and continue to be my favorite slacks. To date, I have never dry cleaned them!</p>
<p>Leather, linings, wool and silk are tougher calls and I try to not get them soiled so I don’t have to dry clean or launder them. I have heard of & bought a few pieces of washable silk & wool.</p>
<p>Update- she missed the UPS driver again tonight. She is planning on making a point to stay home tomorrow night just so she can get the package. This reminds me why I hate to send her anything that is delivered via UPS. She picked up the dry cleaned suit today and wore it this afternoon to another interview. She said they did a good job but the pants were a bit overcreased.</p>
<p>HImom, I didn’t discover the damage done by the cleaner here in Maine until I unpacked the sweater at his apt in Washington DC. So I haven’t done anything about it. He said he would see if someone could fix it, and I just left it there. I probably should have brought it back and confronted them, but I didn’t. </p>
<p>mom60, next time consider sending the item via USPS Priority Mail. They deliver anywhere in the 48 states in 3 days or less–considerably faster than UPS!–and usually for FAR less money. The only thing you need to be wary of with them is package dimension. If the package is larger than a cubic foot, the cost bumps up to UPS levels.</p>
<p>I LOVE USPS priority mail–it’s amazing what you can ship in those medium sized flat rate boxes. I got an entire men’s suit, with shirt, tie & socks into one & it came out unwrinkled when S opened the box & was duly amazed. The price is quite reasonable and they will leave it in the mail room or wherever most USPS stuff is delivered. It’s one of the best deals around!</p>
<p>I love Priority mail. That is how I ship to her. When I placed the order with Ann Taylor it actually said it was going USPS which made me happy. The next day when the tracking info became available it said it had been shipped UPS.
She got the suit last night at 7:30. Jacket fits but the pants are a bit big. She is deciding if she wants to order the smaller size.</p>
) When I took it out of the dry cleaner’s bag in DC, I discovered that they had pulled a thread out of the back at least 5 inches. I was furious. I’ll never patronize that place again. I’ve had a sweater of my own destroyed by the dry cleaners…I’'m not a big fan.</p>