Elegant Cleaners & Tailors

I have gotten both dry cleaning and wash and fold done there on multiple occasions. I have not had an issue with dry cleaning, however, when it comes to the wash and fold, the clothes have come back still dirty. The first time it occurred, she offered to wash them again free of charge and when they were returned, they were clean.
Thinking it might have been a one-​off the first time, I decided to try it one more time, and they again came back noticeably dirty. I will no longer be doing any service with them.
That being said, I do agree with other reviewers that the lady at the front is friendly and courteous. I have also not had any clothes lost. Everything comes back neatly folded/​hung. Unfortunately, the service does not compensate for the lack of cleanliness.

I’ve been going here for 3 years. The owner is a sweetheart and very honest. She’ll tell you when she’s unable to clean an item and when to take it elsewhere. Elegant picks up and delivers your clothes too. Great neighborhood cleaner.

Best part about Elegant Cleaners? it was about 3 steps from my front door.
However, in a city where apparently the only monetary breaks we get are cabs, manicures, and dry cleaning, I can say that this place does not adhere to the unspoken rule that dry cleaning is to be one of the only things cheaper in NY than anywhere else. Not to say that Elegant Cleaners is wildly expensive, but they’re certainly not the most cost-​friendly place on this block.
First off, they advertize that cleaning of cotton button-​up, work-​type shirts are supposed to be a $ 2.50 charge, they always charged me $ 6.00. Is this because it’s a women’s button-​up and therefore they do something different to it? It’s just a cotton shirt like a men’s cotton shirt of the same type, yet every time I brought one in, it was $ 6. After a few rounds of this, my simple cotton shirts now cost more to be dry-​cleaned than the purchase price at the J. Crew outlet sore.
Secondly, for a place that gave me a 5:00 pickup time, I found myself showing up at 5:00 to pick up my dry cleaning, and without fail, each time I arrived, it was not ready. i was then instructed to come back at 6:00. or 6:30. Or the next day. Every time I picked up dry cleaning, it was late.
However, like I said, lucky for me this place was about ¼ block from my apartment and 2 blocks from my office. That alone made it the place I came back to on the regular. Also, the employees (employee? I only ever saw one lady) were INCREDIBLY nice. Really sweet. One time I came in to pick up some dry cleaning, my order did not hit the credit card minimum, but I had no cash, so she let me pay her later. Just like that. no questions. She recognized me as a regular customer and, without thinking, said «you pay me later.»
In New york, trust like that is a bit hard to come by, and I was flattered to be extended it.

Elegant Cleaners & Tailors. Where elegant clothes go to die.
Allow me to share with you a story of three expensive pieces of clothing that met their individual fates in the hands of this establishment.
Once upon a time, there was a smoking hot but extremely classy white printed Herve Leger dress that cost more than most people’s monthly rent. An unfortunate stain befell this dress, so it was taken to Elegant Cleaners, where the stain was pointed out, a stain sticker was stuck on it, and the girl who owned it thought the stain was going to come out! When she got it back, she saw that it… wait for it…(drum roll please)…did not.
Once upon a time there was also a delicate, gauzy silk BCBG dress that (looked like it) belonged to a 21^st century woodland fairy. The fairy sent her beloved dress (which was worn for a photoshoot in the Cloisters AND on her 24^th birthday which is a big deal for Chinese people) in for a routine cleaning at Elegant Cleaners. The fairy spoke human tongue quite well, so you can imagine how baffled she was when the dress came back and it was apparent that the cleaners misunderstood «cleaning» for «de-​threading,» as there were dozens and dozens of little threads coming loose on the dress. Perhaps the evil dress nymphs had taken a nail file to the silk, or perhaps Elegant Cleaners just sucked, but either way, the dress was magical no more and the fairy wept, and her best friend (me the Unilocal Elite) promised to write a Unilocal review to comfort her and put rainbows back in the sky.
Once upon a time there were a pair of Robin’s Jeans that were so much better than the pants in Sisterhood of the Traveling pants because instead of fitting Blake Lively and Alexis Bledel and America Ferrera at the same time which we all know is not possible, they granted supermodel legs to the wearer yet were very comfortable at the same time.
These jeans were worn and worn until one day a five inch tear appeared in the seat. The owner was horrified and immediately took them down the block to Elegant Cleaners, who promised to make everything better. Well, their sewing machine must have been snorting bath salts, because the jeans came back with yards and yards of not-​exactly-​color-​matching thread tacked on in puzzling zig zag patterns (see uploaded photo). In other words, the repair job looked like a joke aka absolute sh**, but I mean at least they are not stingy about their thread.
There is always a moral in fairytales. The moral of these fairytales is to warn to you take your dry cleaning and tailoring somewhere else. The end.

I dropped off one shirt for a wash and press, just to pick it up stinking of dirty clothes and chemicals. I had to immediately wash it so it wouldn’t stink up my apartment. I will agree that the person who greets you at the door is very nice, but unfortunately that is the only thing positive thing I can say about this place. I definitely will be avoiding this place in the future.

My significant other and I love Elegant Cleaners. We live right across the street and this is the only place we go to for dry cleaning. The manager — I guess her name is Jane from the review below — is SO sweet and always remembers us when we come in. We’ve never had a problem with any of our clothes. If you live close by like we do, you can ask them to deliver to your building.

Jane, the manager, is great and usually can get your tailoring and dry cleaning done when you’re in a jam.