Name: Kim
Message: Hi,
I tried a search but couldn't find an answer. I have a 100% acetate red dress that I bought from a consignment shop. It bleeds on my bra when I perspire, and bled on my jeans when I took both items to be dry cleaned. What can I do to stop the bleeding?

What can you do to stop the bleeding? There's not much you can do for a dry-clean-only dress. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to throw it away. Now you know why the previous owner did not want the dress. If you had purchased the dress new, rather than at a consignment shop, you would return it and get a refund, but I suppose that that is not an option in this case. The dress is defective, and the manufacturer should replace it.

Sometimes a garment that bleeds can be salvaged by washing it repeatedly, so that all loose dye is removed and the now-faded garment is safe to have near other garments. You may as well try this. If the dress is truly dry-clean-only, it will fall apart and you'll have to throw it away, but you'll be no worse off than you are now. If it does survive, perhaps washing will manage to remove all of the loose dye and be able to wear it without endangering your other clothing.