Luigi Borrelli pieces cleaned and hand-finished by Alex's Dry Cleaning Valet.
Heritage & Expertise
Luigi Borrelli, Cared For by Alex's Team
Luigi Borrelli is the celebrated Neapolitan shirtmaker whose family tradition reaches back to the early 1900s in the province of Naples, with the house formally founded in 1957. Each shirt is built almost entirely by hand — often more than twenty hours of work — defined by hand-rolled seams, mother-of-pearl buttons, the soft unlined "camicia napoletana" collar, and the signature hand-finished details that made Borrelli a synonym for the world's finest shirts.
That hand-construction is exactly what aggressive commercial laundering destroys: high-heat presses flatten the collar's hand-rolled edge, harsh detergents yellow the fine two-ply cottons, and careless handling cracks the delicate mother-of-pearl buttons. Founded in 1984, Alex's specializes in precisely this kind of hand-finishing — preserving the construction Borrelli's artisans spent hours creating.
Specialist Care
How Alex's Cares for Luigi Borrelli
We launder each Luigi Borrelli shirt gently, hand-press it to honor the Neapolitan collar roll and hand-stitched placket, and protect every detail from button to seam.
Neapolitan soft collar
We hand-press the unlined 'camicia napoletana' collar so its natural roll is preserved rather than flattened under a hot commercial press.
Hand-rolled seams
The hand-stitched, hand-rolled side seams are finished by hand on our end too, never forced through a mangle that would pucker or break the stitching.
Mother-of-pearl buttons
Borrelli's genuine mother-of-pearl buttons are fragile under heat and pressure; we press around them and inspect each one so none crack or dull.
Fine two-ply Italian cotton
The high-twist Egyptian and Sea Island-grade cottons are washed in pH-balanced solutions at controlled temperatures to keep whites bright and colors true, never yellowed or scorched.
Hand-finished cuffs & plackets
Single and double cuffs and the hand-sewn placket are shaped by hand so they keep their crisp, tailored line without a stamped, factory-pressed crease.
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
Luigi Borrelli Garment Care FAQ
Can you clean my Luigi Borrelli shirts without ruining the soft Neapolitan collar?
Yes. The defining feature of a Luigi Borrelli shirt is its unlined, hand-rolled Neapolitan collar, and we hand-press it specifically to preserve that soft roll rather than crushing it flat under a commercial press. We also protect the hand-rolled seams, hand-sewn placket, and mother-of-pearl buttons throughout.
Do you pick up and deliver Luigi Borrelli shirts in San Francisco, or do I need to drop them off?
We are door-to-door, so you never drop anything off. Simply text 415-338-9318 to schedule a pickup anywhere in San Francisco or the wider Bay Area, and we collect your Luigi Borrelli shirts from your home or office and return them hand-finished and ready to wear.
How should Luigi Borrelli shirts be cleaned to keep the fine cotton from yellowing?
Borrelli's two-ply Egyptian and Sea Island-grade cottons should be laundered gently in pH-balanced solutions at controlled temperatures, not blasted with harsh industrial detergents and high heat that yellow whites and weaken the fibers. That is exactly how we treat every Borrelli shirt, finishing each one by hand to protect both color and construction.