Hand washing dry-clean only garments.

[herminia]

I have two dress - one a silky 100% polyester dress and the other a J Crew "cotton cady" dress. Both are dry-clean only, but I can't see why. Any tips on determining what will be damaged? Gentle hand washing with cold or warm water? Woolite?

Technically, these are "dry clean" items, not "dry-clean only."

Thanks.