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Cleaning a vintage Crombie overcoat?

H

Hatter106

New in Town
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2
Hello all,

A recent thrift shop find: a Crombie-branded wool overcoat, calf-length, possibly from the 1980s, in fairly good condition.

Since it's a thrift find, I'd like to get it cleaned. Is it safe to get such a coat dry-cleaned? If there's any loose stitching on the lining, should it be tightened up before cleaning? Any way to clean it at home if there's no reputable dry-cleaners in my town?

Thank you!

Pics: https://imgur.com/a/0tgY5
 
Doctor Damage

Doctor Damage

I'll Lock Up
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Ontario
Dry cleaning.

Wool coats can be cleaned at home if you're careful. I have a friend who has an expensive camel hair overcoat and he washes it himself every few years. I can't find his email about it, but I think he did it by sloshing it around in the bathtub with cold water and a bit of Johnson's baby soap, then laid it out flat to dry. I don't think he hung it up to dry because that would have stretched it. High quality garments can actually take a lot more hard treatment than we realize.

But, if you paid only a small amount for this crombie coat, then just get it dry cleaned. I'm sure it's a nice coat but probably not special enough to warrant special treatment. And if the dry cleaners mess it up, then you're not out much money, right?
 
Benproof

Benproof

A-List Customer
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350
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England
Crombie...one of my favourite overcoats!

They are great coats ...literally which is why they are called greatcoats.

If you handwash it in soap, you will not remove any potential moth eggs in the way drycleaning will zap all the dormant bugs and moth offspring.
You can handwash it in cold water - and it will most certainly shrink and may risk becoming one of those awful modern contemporary millenials 'frock coat'.

If there are no dry cleaners, roll it up and seal in a plastic bag until you get to travel and find one. Last thing you want to discover, is that there are hidden moth larvae waiting for warmth or spring to hatch and then contaminate every other garment you have. This is one reason why drycleaning is essential. I just wouldn't risk it with vintage garments: it might be cheap, but don't forget to care for your other garments by protecting them from the potential trojan horse garment :)
 
GHT

GHT

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Benproof said:
Crombie...one of my favourite overcoats!

They are great coats ...literally which is why they are called greatcoats.

If you handwash it in soap, you will not remove any potential moth eggs in the way drycleaning will zap all the dormant bugs and moth offspring.
You can handwash it in cold water - and it will most certainly shrink and may risk becoming one of those awful modern contemporary millenials 'frock coat'.

If there are no dry cleaners, roll it up and seal in a plastic bag until you get to travel and find one. Last thing you want to discover, is that there are hidden moth larvae waiting for warmth or spring to hatch and then contaminate every other garment you have. This is one reason why drycleaning is essential. I just wouldn't risk it with vintage garments: it might be cheap, but don't forget to care for your other garments by protecting them from the potential trojan horse garment :)
Click to expand...
This is the very reason that I rarely buy anything, second hand. For what it's worth, I bought a cashmere, crombie overcoat in 1977, it's never been cleaned, just gently brushed and placed inside a dustproof cover and zippered up. Over the years it has shrunk a size, couldn't possibly me that's piled a few pounds on. How I love that coat, haven't the heart to sell it, nowadays I still wear it, but without a jacket underneath.
 
Benproof

Benproof

A-List Customer
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350
Location
England
I feel the same way about my Crombie blazers! Some of them I suspect I bought because I like the little rectangular Crombie logo and can't for the life of me figure out what I saw in the ghastly checked patterns :)

Maybe wool will return to its original size if it is hung vertically to stretch out again. I was in the Crombie shop (London) recently and noticed that a lot of their colours are very different from how they were even 10 years ago. Maybe that is a wool sourcing or dyeing shift, as cadmium and other metals get banned from EU directives on which dyes can and can't be used. I do like Melon wool - it's fabulous and keeps you warm and dry when it's pounding rain.

Buying secondhand is always a bit of a gamble and wishful thinking. What I've noticed with new 'old stock' is that the vintage sizes seem to fit me better than modern sizes. Maybe doughnuts weren't invented in the 1950s :)
 
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