Charvet pieces cleaned and hand-finished by Alex's Dry Cleaning Valet.
Heritage & Expertise
Charvet, Cared For by Alex's Team
Charvet, founded in Paris in 1838, is the world's oldest shirtmaker and the original maison de chemises — the house that created the modern shirtmaker's shop and the made-to-measure dress shirt, coining the very term chemisier, and that has dressed everyone from Charles Baudelaire and the Duke of Windsor to John F. Kennedy. From its salon on the Place Vendôme, Charvet is celebrated for whisper-fine two-fold cotton poplins, exclusive woven patterns, single-needle tailoring, and an unmatched palette of shirtings and silk ties found nowhere else.
Charvet's exceptionally high thread counts and delicate mother-of-pearl buttons are precisely what aggressive commercial cleaning destroys: harsh solvents grey the whites, mechanical presses crack the buttons and flatten hand-rolled collar edges, and over-starching breaks down the fine yarns. Alex's specializes in exactly this caliber of shirt — gentle hand-laundering and hand-finishing that protects the fabric and construction rather than wearing them down.
Specialist Care
How Alex's Cares for Charvet
Each Charvet shirt is hand-laundered in gentle, pH-balanced solutions, hand-pressed on a board rather than machine-blocked, and finished to the collar and cuff detail the maison is known for.
Two-fold cotton poplin
Charvet's fine two-fold and Sea Island cotton shirtings are washed gently and at controlled temperature to preserve the high thread count, then hand-pressed so the fabric keeps its characteristic soft luster instead of being scorched flat.
Mother-of-pearl buttons
We hand-press around each genuine mother-of-pearl button — never over it — so the delicate shell never cracks, chips, or yellows under heat the way it does on a commercial press.
Single-needle tailoring
Charvet's single-needle seams and fine stitch density are reshaped by hand on the board, keeping the seams flat and true rather than puckered or distorted by mechanical blocking.
Hand-rolled collar and cuffs
The collar roll and cuff edges are pressed by hand to retain their soft, sculpted shape, so the shirt sits correctly open or under a tie exactly as it was cut to.
Silk and bespoke detailing
Silk evening shirts and Charvet's exclusive woven patterns are spot-treated and finished individually, with light or no starch by request, so the weave and color stay vivid wash after wash.
Pickup & Delivery
Door-to-Door Across the Bay Area
The same white-glove standard travels everywhere we serve. Pickup from your front door, doorman, or garage — returned cleaned, pressed, and ready to wear.
San Francisco
Monday – Saturday
Next-business-day return; Saturday pickups return Tuesday morning.
Peninsula & South Bay
Monday · Wednesday · Friday
Returned on the next scheduled service day.
Marin County
Every Day
Same-day return is the standard — morning pickups come back the same afternoon.
East Bay
Thursday & Saturday
Returned on the next service day.
Wine Country
Monday & Thursday
Sonoma & the Napa Valley — $300 service minimum, or a $75 delivery charge each way.
$75 minimum per pickup with free pickup and delivery across San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin, and the East Bay. Wine Country (Napa, Sonoma & St. Helena): $300 service minimum, or a $75 delivery charge each way. Same-day service available in most areas for an additional fee.
Common Questions
Charvet Garment Care FAQ
How should a Charvet shirt be cleaned so the fabric and buttons aren't damaged?
A Charvet shirt should be hand-laundered, never run through aggressive commercial chemical cleaning or a hard mechanical press. The two-fold cotton poplin must be washed gently at controlled temperature to protect its high thread count, and the genuine mother-of-pearl buttons must be pressed around rather than over, since direct heat cracks and yellows the shell. Alex's hand-launders and hand-finishes every Charvet shirt to preserve the single-needle seams and hand-rolled collar.
Do you pick up and deliver Charvet shirts in San Francisco?
Yes. Alex's Dry Cleaning Valet is a door-to-door service across San Francisco and the Bay Area — we collect your Charvet shirts from your home or office and return them hand-pressed and ready to wear. Simply text 415-338-9318 to schedule a pickup, and we handle everything from there.
Should Charvet shirts be starched?
Charvet shirts are best finished with light starch or none at all, by your preference. Heavy starching breaks down the fine two-fold yarns over time and stiffens fabric that is meant to feel soft and supple. Alex's, family-run since 1984, presses each shirt by hand and applies starch only as you request, so the collar and cuffs hold their shape without compromising the fabric.