Why Our Dresses and Blazers Are Machine Washable at Home
Dresses made from structured crepe with a little elastane hold their shape best, and every Luna dress can be machine washed on a gentle cycle and air dried. Our washable crepe and blend dresses run from $550 for the Black Feather Trim Dress, Dora to $695 for the Navy Illusion Sleeve Sheath Dress, Lucy.
Every piece is made in our Pozarevac atelier, US orders ship free in 2 to 5 days, and returns are accepted for 30 days with no questions asked.
Every Luna Fashion House dress is machine washable at home. The Olga wrap dress in navy goes in the machine on Sunday night and is back on the hanger by Monday morning. Use a gentle cycle, let it air dry, and steam it or iron it on low. Blazers, blouses, pants, skirts, and knits follow the same rule, and only the coats go to the dry cleaner.
If you have ever stood in a dry cleaner’s queue on a Saturday holding a blazer you needed on Thursday, you already know why this matters. This article puts numbers on it: what dry cleaning costs a working woman each year in dollars and hours, what the solvent in the bag does, and how to wash a tailored dress or blazer at home.
Shop the pieces in this story: Dresses, Blazers, Blouses, and Pants. Complete size runs are listed first.
What machine washable means at Luna
Machine washable work dresses are not a category we added because the phrase is searched. They are what the atelier has always made, because the woman we make them for does not have a spare afternoon.
The standard is simple and it applies to every non-coat piece. Gentle cycle. Air dry. Steam or a low iron. No dryer, no hot water, no dry cleaning bill. The Olga wrap dress in navy is the clearest example: a navy wrap dress with a notched collar, cap sleeves, a wide belt with a gold buckle, and a straight skirt that finishes at the knee. It is the dress you wear to present or to interview. It goes in the machine on Sunday night and is back on the hanger by Monday morning.
How much does dry cleaning cost per year for a working woman
Most women have never added it up, because the bills arrive one at a time and each looks small. Here is the arithmetic, using current US price bands. Treat it as a modeled estimate; your city will move the numbers.
| Garment | Typical price per clean | Cleans per month | Cost per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dress | $10 to $16 (about $13) | 4 | $624 |
| Blazer | $8 to $15 (about $11) | 2 | $264 |
| Blouse | $5 to $8 (about $6.50) | 4 | $312 |
| Trousers | $5 to $7 (about $6) | 4 | $288 |
| Total | 14 | About $1,488 |
The model assumes six dresses, three blazers, eight blouses, and six pairs of pants, each cleaned after three wears, worn four or five days a week, and leaves out coats. Then the time: two trips per load, each 20 to 30 minutes. At two runs a month that is roughly 12 hours a year standing in line for your own clothes.
A blazer is where the cost shows first, because a good one is worn more than anything else in the wardrobe. The Barbara tailored blazer in black has a notch lapel, four buttons, flap pockets picked out with a fine red line, and a waist that is shaped rather than boxed. Worn twice a week and cleaned the conventional way, it would cost more than $280 a year to keep. At home, it costs the price of a mesh bag.
Is dry cleaning bad for you? The perchloroethylene facts
The solvent most conventional US dry cleaners still use is perchloroethylene. The US Environmental Protection Agency classifies it as a likely human carcinogen. In December 2024 the agency finalized its risk management rule for the chemical, concluded that it presents an unreasonable risk to human health, and set workplace protection deadlines that run to 2027.
A University of Southern California study found that US adults with detectable perchloroethylene in their blood were about three times as likely to have significant liver fibrosis as those without it. The chemical does not stay in the shop: the EPA rule is tied to air emissions and groundwater, and studies have found higher kidney cancer and Parkinson’s risk among people living near perc-using cleaners.
That faint sharp smell on a freshly cleaned blouse, the one that gives some women a headache on the drive home, is the residue of the process. A blouse you wash in your own machine never carries it. The Emilia bow tie blouse in ivory, a sheer long-sleeved blouse with a soft pussy bow at the neck and buttoned cuffs, is exactly the piece a cleaner would tell you to send out. It goes in the mesh bag on gentle and hangs dry in an hour.
Control of the detergent, and fewer lost garments
When you wash at home you choose what touches the cloth: a mild liquid detergent, fragrance-free if your skin reacts, a small dose rather than a full cap. Nothing is decided by a stranger with a schedule to keep.
You also keep possession. Anyone who has used a cleaner long enough has a story: the shine mark on the seat, the cracked button, the pants that never came back. The recourse is a shrug and a voucher. A garment that never leaves your home cannot be lost, swapped, or pressed flat.
The Teodora travel pants in black are a good test of the argument: a slim, straight pant with a flat waistband, side pockets, and an ankle-length hem, the pair you pack for a three-day trip and wear on the plane home. Washed on gentle and hung overnight, they are ready to pack again.
Ready the same evening
A gentle cycle runs 30 to 45 minutes. A dress on a hanger in a room with a little air is dry in two to four hours. A steam pass takes five minutes. Wear it in the morning, wash it when you get home, and it is back in the wardrobe before bed.
It changes how you buy. When a piece can be worn Monday and again Thursday without a trip in between, you need fewer pieces, and the ones you own get worn. The Lucy jacquard midi dress in midnight blue is built for that rotation: a fitted bodice with a seamed waist, sheer three-quarter sleeves, and a flared skirt with a sheer band above the hem, finishing at mid-calf. It carries a rehearsal dinner and a board offsite in the same week.
How to wash a tailored dress or blazer at home, step by step
This is the method our atelier uses on its own samples.
- Empty, close, and turn inside out. Check the pockets, close the zip or buttons, and turn the piece inside out to protect the face of the cloth.
- Use a mesh bag. One tailored piece per large bag, or two light ones, so sleeves and belts cannot twist around the drum.
- Gentle cycle, cold water, mild detergent. Lowest spin. A small dose of liquid detergent, no softener, no bleach.
- Take it out immediately. Creases set when wet cloth sits in the drum.
- Shake once and hang to air dry. A dress by its shoulders, a blazer on a shaped hanger with the shoulders seated, both away from radiators and sun.
- Steam or iron on low. A hand steamer does the whole job; if you iron, use a press cloth over lapels and seams.
The piece women are most nervous about is the blazer, so let us say it plainly: the Alexa tailored blazer in red, with its peak lapel, four fabric-covered buttons at the waist, and a fitted line through the body, comes out of a cold gentle cycle with the shoulder exactly where it was. Water does not damage tailoring; heat and agitation do, and the method above removes both.
Why coats are the exception
A Luna coat is a different construction. The cloth is heavier wool, the body is fully lined, and there is shaping inside the shoulder and lapel that water would relax. So a coat such as the Nicole wool wrap coat in black, a double-breasted wrap with a wide collar, a self-belt with a buckle, patch pockets, and a midi skirt that flares from the waist, goes to a good cleaner once a season at most. We explain the cloth weights in our guide to wool winter coats by temperature. One coat a year at the cleaner is a manageable bill. A whole wardrobe there is not, which is why everything under the coat is made to stay home.
The objections, answered plainly
Will it shrink? Not on a cold gentle cycle with air drying. Shrinkage comes from hot water and tumble heat.
Will the shape go? The shape of a Luna blazer lives in the pattern and the seams, not in a pressing that washes out. Hang it damp and it returns to its line.
Will it lose its finish? What dulls a surface is a hot iron placed directly on it; the press at a cleaner is hotter than anything in your home.
Is it better value than fast fashion that is also washable? The difference is what survives the 20th wash: a shaped waist, a flat lapel, an unrippled hem. Our guide to reading a fabric label explains what to look for on any garment, and our care guide for technical satin covers the fabrics that look most delicate and are not.
What if it does not fit? Every Luna piece ships from California with 30-day returns, no questions asked.
Frequently asked questions
Are Luna work dresses really machine washable?
Yes. Every Luna dress, blazer, blouse, pant, skirt, and knit is washed at home on a gentle cycle, air dried, and steamed or ironed on low, including tailored pieces such as the Olga wrap dress in navy and the Barbara tailored blazer in black. The only exception is coats, which are dry clean only.
How do I wash a tailored blazer without ruining the shape?
Close the buttons, turn it inside out, and put it in a mesh bag. Gentle cycle, cold water, mild detergent. Take it out as soon as the cycle ends, shake it once, and hang it on a shaped hanger with the shoulders seated. Air dry, then steam or press on low. The shoulder and lapel come back on their own.
Can I put a Luna dress or blazer in the dryer?
No. Heat is what shortens the life of tailored cloth, not water. Air dry every piece: dresses on a hanger, blazers on a shaped hanger, blouses and pants flat or hung. Most pieces are dry within a few hours and ready for a steam pass the same evening.
How much does dry cleaning cost per year for a working woman?
Using current US price bands, a dress runs about $13 a visit, a blazer about $11, a blouse about $6.50, and pants about $6. A woman who wears tailoring four or five days a week and cleans each piece after three wears sends eight to 10 items a month: roughly $1,488 a year before coats, plus about 12 hours on the trips.
Is dry cleaning bad for you?
The concern is perchloroethylene, the solvent most conventional US dry cleaners still use. The US Environmental Protection Agency classifies it as a likely human carcinogen and in December 2024 finalized a rule finding it presents an unreasonable risk to human health. A University of Southern California study linked detectable blood levels to about three times the rate of significant liver fibrosis.
If you are building a working wardrobe this season, start with the pieces that carry the most days: a wrap dress, a shaped blazer, a blouse, and a pant that packs, knowing that none of them will ever wait in a bag across town. Complete size runs are listed first in Dresses and Blazers.
Continue reading
- Dresses With Pockets and Other Small Freedoms in Tailoring
- Beautiful at Every Age, Dressing for the Woman You Are Now
- What Color to Wear to Work, a Wedding, a Funeral, and a First Meeting
What makes a dress hold its shape after washing
A dress keeps its shape when 3 things are right: the cloth, the cut and the way it is washed. The cloth matters most. A dense, structured weave springs back after water, and a small share of elastane, usually 2% to 5%, pulls the fibres back into place once the dress is hung up.
The cut comes second. A sheath with darts and seams through the bodice carries its line in the pattern, so the shape does not depend on a press that washes out. A lining that follows the same care instructions as the outer cloth keeps the skirt from twisting.
The wash comes last, and it is the part you control. Heat and rough spinning cause nearly all of the shrinking and stretching that women blame on the dress. A dress that needs a week to recover from one gentle cycle was never going to last a working week.
Which dress fabrics keep their shape in a washing machine
The table below compares the fabrics we use most in dresses with the way each one behaves at home. The compositions are the ones printed on our own product pages.
| Fabric | How it holds shape | How to wash it |
|---|---|---|
| Structured technical crepe with 3% elastane (the Lucy sheath) | Sculpted line through the body, with elastane recovery across long seated wear | Gentle cycle, cold water, air dry, steam |
| Polyester crepe with 5% elastane (the Dora) | Holds the bodice line through a seated dinner and a standing reception | Gentle cycle, cold water, air dry, steam |
| Textured viscose and elastane blend (the Rina) | Fluid drape with shape recovery across a full day | Gentle cycle, cold water, hang to dry, steam |
| Cotton and technical crepe jacquard, 80% and 20% (the Lucy jacquard) | Soft structure that keeps the flare of the skirt | Gentle cycle, cold water, air dry, low iron |
Fabrics to treat with more care in any wardrobe are silk crepe, which belongs with a cleaner, and loosely woven viscose with no elastane, which stretches at the seams when it is wet. Our guide to reading a fabric label explains where to find the composition on any dress.
4 Luna dresses that keep their shape in the wash
The Lucy navy sheath costs $695. It is a knee-length sheath in 97% structured technical crepe and 3% elastane, with a front placket, a pointed collar, hip pocket flaps and sheer sleeves that end in buttoned cuffs. The crepe holds a straight line from shoulder to hem, and the dress is machine washable on a gentle cycle.
The Dora costs $550. It is a fitted black sheath in polyester crepe with 5% elastane, a V neckline, short cap sleeves and 2 crystal bars at the waist and hip. The feather collar is removable, so take it off before the wash and the sheath goes in on a gentle cycle like any other crepe dress.
The Rina costs $595. It is a black A-line midi with a square neckline edged in white piping, short sleeves and a flared skirt that ends at mid-calf. The viscose and elastane weave is textured, which hides the small creases that come out of any washing machine, and it is machine washable on a gentle cycle.
The Lucy jacquard midi in midnight blue costs $695. It is a navy A-line midi with a jacquard pattern, sheer three-quarter sleeves and a sheer band at the hem. The 80% cotton and 20% technical crepe blend has a breathable lining, and the whole dress washes on a gentle cycle. Browse all of them in our dresses collection or in women business outfits.
How to test whether a dress will hold its shape before you buy
You can check a dress in the fitting room or at home in about 1 minute. Take a small piece of the skirt between your fingers and pull it gently in both directions. A good crepe or blend springs back fully within a couple of seconds, and a cloth that stays stretched has too little elastane or too loose a weave.
Then read the composition. A share of 2% to 5% elastane is the usual sign of shape recovery in a woven dress. Check the lining as well, since a lining with different care instructions from the outer cloth is the most common reason a dress comes out of the wash twisted.
The wash settings that protect the shape
These settings suit every crepe, blend and jacquard dress we make. The numbers matter more than they look.
- Close the zipper, turn the dress inside out and place it in a mesh bag. Remove any detachable trim, such as the Dora feather collar, first.
- Choose the gentle cycle and cold water, around 30 degrees Celsius or 86 degrees Fahrenheit, with a low spin speed.
- Use a small amount of liquid detergent and no fabric softener, which coats elastane and slows its recovery.
- Take the dress out as soon as the cycle ends, since creases set when wet cloth sits in the drum.
- Hang it by the shoulders on a padded hanger, away from radiators and direct sun, and let it air dry. Never use a tumble dryer.
- Steam it or press it on a low setting with a cloth over the surface once it is dry.
If a dress looks slightly relaxed after drying, a pass with a steamer on low heat brings the line back. Our blazers follow the same method, so a dress and a blazer can go through the same wash.
More questions about washing dresses at home
What fabric keeps a dress from losing its shape in the wash?
Structured crepe with 2% to 5% elastane keeps its shape best, followed by textured viscose and elastane blends and cotton and crepe jacquards. The Lucy sheath in 97% technical crepe with 3% elastane and the Dora in polyester crepe with 5% elastane are both machine washable on a gentle cycle.
Do crepe dresses shrink in the washing machine?
Crepe dresses shrink very little in cold water on a gentle cycle with a low spin. Shrinking comes from hot water and tumble drying, so air drying on a padded hanger is the step that protects the fit.
How do I wash a dress with sheer sleeves?
Close the buttons and zipper, turn the dress inside out and place it in a mesh bag on a gentle cycle in cold water. The mesh bag protects the sheer sleeves on the Lucy sheath and the Lucy jacquard midi from snagging against the drum.
Can I wash a lined dress in the machine?
Yes, when the care instructions cover both the outer cloth and the lining. The Lucy jacquard midi in midnight blue has a breathable lining and is washable on a gentle cycle, and it should be air dried like the rest of the dress.
How do I dry a dress so it keeps its shape?
Take the dress out as soon as the cycle ends, shake it once and hang it by the shoulders on a padded hanger. Dry it away from radiators and sun, then steam it on low heat to relax any small creases.
