as a present, I've been told I can choose a dress from an expensive shop I really like. However, browsing through the website I've discovered that nearly all of the dresses are dry-clean only (a couple of plainer ones are hand-wash and some which are sold out at the moment are machine washable).

They're day-time type dresses which I'd intend to wear about once a week, rather than special occasion ones. Is it worth me buying it? How much does dry-cleaning cost? If something says dry-clean, can you actually hand-wash it or will that ruin it? Bear in mind I'm the type of person who leaves hand-wash things at the bottom of the laundry basket for a couple of weeks before I can be bothered to wash them.

Should I buy a dry clean dress or choose an easier one? The one I like is very pretty.