A-1 Arlington Clarendon Valet

Fantastic job replacing the heels on a pair of booties. The cobbler even polished them for me an they look brand new! Definitely will be using their services again. It was $ 17.50 to replace the heels, which is pricey but for the high quality of work it was definitely worth it.

Wonderful service and repair. I had shattered the heels of my boots and accidentally ground them down by a quarter of an inch. He leveled them, added new heels, and made everything look like new. Cost was $ 30 for the pair, a great deal instead of new boots! I’ll be back.

Best place in town for both dry cleaning and shoe repair. They are consistent and do a great job. I have had several pairs of shoes completely salvaged by them and can say the same for dry cleaning where they have done miracles with my clothes. Definitely A #1 in town!

Best dry cleaner! Consistent great service, excellent pricing, and the people who own it are extremely nice and helpful. I used to live next door, but now that I live a half hour away, I still drive over here because I haven’t found any place in NoVa to be as good.

I’ve been using A-​1 for my dry cleaning, shirts, tailoring, and shoe repair and enjoying conversations with the proprietor and his wife since I moved to Clarendon about 13 years ago. My wife has been a satisfied customer even longer than that.
Our experience consistently has been positive, actually beyond positive. They typically underpromise yet overdeliver on service and quality. For example, when I brought in shoes last week to stretch (I bought a size too small), he explained why they might not be stretchable, having to do with the rubber soles. When I picked them up, they fit! Aaron also shortened a leather belt of mine after I lost weight. It’s fabulous.
This is a true small business — family run — where you get to know and trust the staff and workmanship. I was sorry to read a previous post from a loyal customer who had a bad experience but I’m sure mistakes happen everywhere from time to time… no one is perfect. But if you’re on Unilocal to get a sense of a local business’s quality service, customer satisfaction and likely competitive prices (not sure as I haven’t given one item to another dry cleaner in more than a decade), I highly recommend you give A-​1 a try.

My experience at this shoe repair location is as good as it gets. I’ve been to a few shoe repair locations in the area, and this is the only location that the owner takes his time to get the job done the first time.
Pricing —
Now you’re in the heart of Clarendon. A very up and coming area to live in if not already. Don’t expect to pay cheap prices. Cheap prices tend to come with poor workmanship. You don’t purchase a pair of Ferragamo heels and not upkeep them. You don’t purchase a BMW and not be aware of how expensive the maintenance is. The more wear and tear you have on your shoes, the more it’s going to cost you regardless of the brand. A lot of shoe companies have very poor craftsmanship. It’s all manmade. This is not a manmade business. This is all done by hand and by one person.
Old School —
I LOVE IT! There is this retro cash register that the owner uses. Crazy how it still functions and gets the job done. There are little to no small businesses that still keep it real. The pen and paper makes me feel like I’m at my dad’s grocery store. There’s something heartwarming about it. If it gets the job done, I’m all game.
The next time you go into the store, take a look at the owners hands. There’s over 30 years of wear and tear on his hands and yet, he still somehow manages to perform at his absolute best.

I have spent hundreds of dollars in this place and I considered myself a loyal customer. I went to the shop predominantly for rubber soles on my shoes. One day he charges $ 40 the next day he charges $ 50 for half the shoe. I think it is very unprofessional and a disservice to a loyal paying customer to not finish the job and dismiss me like I don’t exist. I will NEVER patronize this business again and am definitely reporting him to the BBB. Everyone should be treated with respect!

I’m new to the area and this was my second location to try. The other was just a little far. I’m always extremely humbled when walking into a shoe repair because I know I wear my shoes to the brink of death. I came in with three pairs of boots in differences states of disrepair — one the zipper came of the track (thanks for nothing Charles David), another just needed reheeling, and the last was 3 years old and I wanted to see if he could help them.
Boy, was I not prepared for this…
At each boot he goes through the items he would have to do and each repair costing 30 – 90 dollars — EACH on EACH boot. He picked up the second pair of boots with the broken zipper told me I should have brought them earlier and they needed resoling. Well, I had only wore them twice when the zipper broken. I mentioned it wasn’t necessary I just needed the zipper fixed. He said I was a liar and wasting my money. If I didn’t get them resoled he was wasting his time fixing them and I was wasting my money. Um, a liar? I get a little reprimanding when my shoes are bad, but a LIAR? Can you fix my shoes or not, sir?
The last pair went unnoticed and I pointed out that they just needed to be reheeled. The other two pairs of boots were totaling about $ 150 to fix at this point. He launched in again on how they were so bad, I should have brought them in sooner and how I wasn’t telling the truth on what had happened to them.
WTF? They are shoes, I don’t owe you a saga on them. I picked up all three pairs and said I wouldn’t be getting my shoes fixed there. He laughed in my face and immediately started yelling and shooing me out of the store with his hands. He heckled me the entire way I walked out including when I said I said I would Unilocal him as he tore up my ticket and threw it at me when I walked out the door. I was so completely blown away and baffled. I have never had an experience so bad that I had walked out of somewhere before.
This guy was an absolute lunatic.
Needless to say I found a great new place that fixed them all for $ 50 total… perfectly with not even a comment.

I used A-​1 for dry cleaning for almost a year with no serious problems, just minor complaints. However, over the last two months he gave me back two shirts with prominent stains that weren’t there when I dropped them off and lost a $ 100 shirt. He was not remorseful nor made any effort to keep my business when I explained to him that I can’t afford to have my cleaner losing my clothing. I will explain the two major incidences and then the minor complaints, for those who are interested.
First, I received two shirts back with stains that weren’t there when I dropped them off. When I brought back the shirts and asked him to fix the problem, he became confrontational with me. He did fix the problem, but still charged me the original cost of dry cleaning. I thought I should’ve been rebated given that I went there twice a week for a year.
He also lost a shirt of mine. I can’t have my dry cleaner losing clothes and talked to him about it. Again, he got very confrontational with me and accused me of accusing him of stealing. I assured him that I wasn’t accusing him of stealing my shirt, but that he did lose it and it is a $ 100 shirt. I asked him to make an effort to reimburse me for the shirt. He only offered $ 17.50 and I told him that is unacceptable and to keep my business, he needed to offer more. He did not care and let me walk.
I have not been back since the lost shirt incident and could not be happier. I moved my $ 200/​month dry cleaning bill to a cleaner in Virginia Square and have been impressed with the new place’s work product, record keeping, and desire to keep me coming back. I’m sad that I had to leave A-​1 but I cannot afford to have my dry cleaner make mistakes such as adding stains and losing clothes.
I will lastly talk about the minor complaints because if you are particular about your clothing these will matter to you. First, when you get shirts laundered, he places a clip on the cuffs that leaves an indentation. This is annoying because you spend the money to get a shirt cleaned, pressed, and starched only to have to iron out the indention. Additionally, They clothespin the tag onto the bottom front of the shirt. This leaves two noticeable holes on the shirt. However, it’s only a problem if you are planning to wear the shirt untucked.
And the last minor complaint is his record keeping. There is no electronic record of the dry cleaning and he takes the itemized receipt when you pick up the clothing. Just seems sloppy to me and would’ve helped me when he lost my shirt.

Been going to him for probably 7 years. Not sure I’ve ever met a more dedicated person to his/​her profession and customer. I go for dry cleaning, shoe fixing and the occasional key to be made. I’ve had some issues here and there w/​dry cleaning, but he always figures it out with me.

I lived in Clarendon for 5 years and always used A-​1 valet for all of my shoe repairs. I was bummed when the original location closed but was so happy he got the new location! I moved to DC 3 years ago and still take my shoes to Arlington to be repaired! He does an impeccable job and it’s worth the slightly higher prices. Often I take somewhat hopeless cases to him and he promises me he’ll «try his best» — the shoes often come back looking like new!
He has done everything for me from creating entire new soles for expensive italian boots, to reheeling shoes, to toe taps, and more. A former roommate of mine had bright blue vintage leather heels that she practically destroyed on bricks at a wedding and he was even able to repair them.
And, if he cannot repair something, he will be straight up and tell you. I’ve never even asked for a second opinion because I know he’s the best!

BLUF — this is a GREAT place!
I’ve been coming to Clarendon Valet for the past 2 ½ years and have never had one issue and am always satisfied. The owner and his wife are extremely nice people, who have extremely reasonable rates and do incredible work.
I only go there to have my shirts and suits (along with the occasional sweater) dry-​cleaned and they’ve always done a fantastic job, are quick and very accomodating.
My wife takes her clothes there as well as leather purses and shoes. They’ve always done an immpecable job with her high end shoes and boots and at extremely reasonable rates. Last time I picked up some boots, I asked her to guess how much she thought it was, her guess was more than double what it actually was.
As others have noted, the owners are extremely nice — if you’re short on cash and your bill isn’t enough to charge, they’ll let you pay next time or work out an accomodation. They also make keys and have an assortment of little knick-​knacks that come in handy when you least expect. I’ll be honest — I haven’t used them for tailoring as I’m somewhat particular on my tailoring and have a great person already, but based on the quality of all their other work, I wouldn’t hesitate to go to them if you need someone.
They’ve been around since the ’80’s, you can see the photo in the store, and that’s for a good reason. Great people, great work and happy to have them in my neighborhood. My wife and I both enjoy the small and funny exchanges we have with the owner when we go in.

This place is run by a very sweet old couple, who not only let me in to get my shoes after they had closed on Saturday, but when I didn’t have enough cash to pay them for all of them (they had closed out their credit card machine), let me take the one pair I wanted to wear that night. I picked the rest of them up on Monday.

I am somewhat new to the area and know how hard it is to find a cleaning/​alterations place close to my new area. I read some reviews on Unilocal to try and find a good fit for my needs and this place is AMAZING! Aaron is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He remembers my name every time I walk in and if I need something done same day he always makes it happen. I always need my slacks hemmed and he takes his time and does a really good job. If you don’t have a place yet or are not in love with where you go, check them out!

I have been going to Clarendon Valet since 1998.
This a wonderful family owned, small business. First went with a beloved bag and pair of shoes that needed new life breathed into them. Aaron is a magician with fixing all things leather. Shoes, purses, briefcases, etc. What’s great is he let’s you know his recommendations and exactly what he can do, what he can’t.
I’ve had suits hemmed and dresses altered. Dry cleaning is great! Everything I’ve taken comes back on time, in perfect shape and it’s green, so that’s a total plus. I now live 6 miles away and have three cleaners in walking distance, but I still go to Clarendon Valet.

I’ve been using them for around 6 months in a big part because of the reviews here, which is why I’m writing. The work had been good. Pressing was a little sloppy but otherwise, my shirts were clean.
A few weeks ago I brought in a pair of slacks with a small grease spot on them and asked him to have a look and see if they could get it out. I could live with it, but, would have been nice if they could have removed it.
Instead, I get the pants back a week later with a 3″ square spot very discolored, as if someone had used diluted bleach or a brush or something. Hoping it was residue from the cleaning, I asked him to try washing it out. I got the pants back today, spot obviously not any different but the waistband now looking mildewed.
I’ll not be taking my business back – I lost an $ 85 pair of pants today which was bad enough – I have no intention of risking clothing that was an actual investment.

I came here to repair my leather briefcase. Specifically, a rivet had broken where the shoulder strap attaches to. I dropped it off on a Friday afternoon and picked it up on the following Tuesday. A very quick job!
I was very surprised at how great a job he did. The repair was very clean and one can hardly notice that the rivet was replaced. When I dropped it off he explained to me quickly that he had to make a cut in the leather at the back and remove the old rivet. Replace the rivet and use a washer to make sure it doesn’t slide through the leather. He matched the color of the aged brass rivet very well. I thought the cut was going to be large and apparent, but the new rivet completely covers the incision he made.
The charge was $ 25 which was not bad at all considering my leather bolivian briefcase is worth much more than that and I had stopped using it since I couldn’t use the shoulder strap. I would highly recommend this place.

I have been here for both shoes and dry-​cleaning/​alterations and they are outstanding on both accounts. The owner, Aron, is extremely nice and will go the extra mile to make you happy in my experience. I believe the prices he charges are fair and for dry cleaning this is the only place I go when I need something turned around fast (24 hours).
Shoes: Excellent repair jobs — I have had several pairs of well-​worn stilettos and pumps fixed up to look like new. Very impressed with his work!
Dry-​cleaning/​alterations: I have used them for dry cleaning many times and like to take things here especially when I’m in a pinch (its very close to my office) and need something turned around fast. I was extremely impressed last week when I brought in a brand new (worn once) silk evening dress that I had somewhat destroyed at a wedding the weekend before.
I had spilled greasy veggies on the front of the silk dress and the stains were noticeable — I read online to use cornstarch to soak up the grease, which I did, but the dress (an inky blue) looked like I had been rolling around in flour when I brought it in. To make matters even worse, I had stepped on it with my heels and made several small rips in the fabric. Aron cleaned the dress to perfection and also had the rips fixed with an iron on patch in less than 24 hours! I wore it again to another event the very same day.
VERY HAPPY! Love this place! :)

Where this place is really outstanding is shoes. I’ve brought a few pairs of shoes here for various things and each time they came out like a brand new pair. It is clear the cobbler cares about his work. Even though I just needed a new sole on one pair, he polished them and did edgework all around as well. I’ve also brought luggage for repair and was happy with their work.
Dry cleaning is dry cleaning. They are a little less expensive than some in the area. However, this place is well above average on shoes and alterations. For any kind of alterations like a hem or bringing in the waist a little bit they are good. Can’t speak to women’s clothes but one time I waited while they were fitting a woman and it seemed like they knew what they were doing making chalk marks and so on.

So far, I’ve only been to them for dry cleaning and alterations. They are great with both.
Dry cleaning really isn’t that big of a deal, really. As long as things aren’t burnt or over-​starched or ruined generally, I’m happy.
Alterations are a trickier thing. I’ve had a few things altered and each one came out great. The latest was an old suit coat that wasn’t fitting as well and they made it look as close to custom-​tailored as I think one could get.
…plus the family who runs the place is just plain nice. They’re real salt-​of-​the-​earth types, with whom it’s a pleasure to do business.