what do I do with my dress?

kitsunegari89 · May 2014

I posted this in wedding recap, but thought I'd post it here too since I know most of y'all :-)

Okay ladies... I got my dress dry-cleaned right after the wedding and it's very very clean. It's currently in a plastic garment bag hanging in the guest room (with a bust form). I know it can't stay in the garment bag indefinitely but I can't afford $300 to have it "preserved". That's the cheapest I could find it around here. Will my dress be okay if I carefully pack it in an extra large acid free box with acid free tissue paper and a bust form and just air it out once a year or so? I can't help but think that all the dress "preserving" stuff is just hogwash and that I could easily do it myself. Anyone preserved their dress on their own? I need deets!

JoanE2012 · May 2014

I have no advice. I just got my cleaned and preserved. It was put in a box and I was told if I break the seal everything is void. And the "window" to see my dress is under the layer of the seal. So I haven't even seen my dress in the box. Heck, I hope it's MY dress in the box! The box is also too big for any of the closet shelfs. I have no idea what to do with it. Seriously thinking I should've just donated it......

misshart00 · May 2014

Mine is still hanging in my closet. I got married over two years ago.

ohannabelle · May 2014

I haven't "preserved" a wedding dress, but common sense tells me that the same rules apply as the rules for storing antique clothing, so.....

You've already cleaned it, hurray! Because a lot of sweat/ skin oil stains are invisible, until they sit for years, and then they darken. It ferments or something gross like that. I don't want to think about it.

Make sure you don't have lotion or perfume on your hands before you start.

Use acid free and lignin free tissue paper. Lightly stuff the bodice (and sleeves, if you have sleeves) and lay extra tissue between the folds when you fold it to fit in your box.

If there are any metallic pieces on the buttons or hooks or trim, wrap them carefully in smaller pieces of tissue so they don't have contact with the rest of the fabric. Tarnish will seriously stain fabric.

You can order "archival" storage boxes online. Again, acid free, lignen free. (The last time I did it was seven years ago, extra large garment sized, about 40 bucks. It came with tissue, but not nearly enough)

Contrary to popular belief, you can use a plastic box BUT ONLY ONLY ONLY polypropylene. This is marked PP and has a 5 in the recycle triangle. Other plastics have chemicals that cause discoloration.

Line the container well with tissue before you fold it up, store it in a dry, cool place, and yep, take her out to air every year or so. If this works for 150 year old fabric, I see no reason it wouldn't work on a wedding dress. And you save a couple hundred bucks.

Maggie0829 · May 2014

Mine hung dirty for over a year after my wedding in a guest room closet when I finally got around to getting it cleaned and preserved.

@JoanE2012 - I know what you mean. I can see my dress but they wrapped it in blue plastic (or something) and it isn't even nicely folded so all I see is a tightly wrapped blue dress. My box is sitting on the floor of my walk in closet, pushed into a corner and is currently being used as a shoe rack. Some days I wish I had just tried to sell it or donate it but then I get "but I can't get rid of my wedding dress!" feelings.

ohannabelle · May 2014

http://www.universityproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=2154

Found them! Archival quality polypropylene storage boxes. Still reasonable.

Inkdancer · May 2014

My mom's dress is hanging in a garment bag in my closet and it's doing fine. (To be fair it is only a few years old)

kitsunegari89 · May 2014

JoanE2012 said:

I have no advice. I just got my cleaned and preserved. It was put in a box and I was told if I break the seal everything is void. And the "window" to see my dress is under the layer of the seal. So I haven't even seen my dress in the box. Heck, I hope it's MY dress in the box! The box is also too big for any of the closet shelfs. I have no idea what to do with it. Seriously thinking I should've just donated it......

I've heard from an antiques preservationist (the one I can't afford) that the "open it and it's void" thing is bogus, and that those plastic viewing windows can actually damage the dress, too... Anywho, I've heard you should actually air the thing out periodically. I think I'm going to put mine in a large acid free box and stuff the bodice with tissue paper and store it under the bed. Luckily my bed sits pretty high off the ground so it shouldn't be a problem.

kitsunegari89 · May 2014

ohannabelle said:

http://www.universityproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=2154
Found them! Archival quality polypropylene storage boxes. Still reasonable.

Not too horrible. I might do that. I'm paranoid about buffered cardboard turning acidic after 10 years or so.

kitsunegari89 · May 2014

ohannabelle said:

I haven't "preserved" a wedding dress, but common sense tells me that the same rules apply as the rules for storing antique clothing, so.....

You've already cleaned it, hurray! Because a lot of sweat/ skin oil stains are invisible, until they sit for years, and then they darken. It ferments or something gross like that. I don't want to think about it.

Make sure you don't have lotion or perfume on your hands before you start.

Use acid free and lignin free tissue paper. Lightly stuff the bodice (and sleeves, if you have sleeves) and lay extra tissue between the folds when you fold it to fit in your box.
If there are any metallic pieces on the buttons or hooks or trim, wrap them carefully in smaller pieces of tissue so they don't have contact with the rest of the fabric. Tarnish will seriously stain fabric.

You can order "archival" storage boxes online. Again, acid free, lignen free. (The last time I did it was seven years ago, extra large garment sized, about 40 bucks. It came with tissue, but not nearly enough)

Contrary to popular belief, you can use a plastic box BUT ONLY ONLY ONLY polypropylene. This is marked PP and has a 5 in the recycle triangle. Other plastics have chemicals that cause discoloration.

Line the container well with tissue before you fold it up, store it in a dry, cool place, and yep, take her out to air every year or so. If this works for 150 year old fabric, I see no reason it wouldn't work on a wedding dress. And you save a couple hundred bucks.

THANK YOU FOR THIS VALUABLE AND HELPFUL INFORMATION. YOU ARE AWESOME, FRIENDO!

I will be doing this. I also need to clean and preserve grandma's wedding dress (that we just found in a box of junk all wadded up...), so maybe I will do them both this way.

Quick question:
Can I line the container with muslin instead of tissue paper? I actually have a bolt of muslin lying around... I have no idea where it came from, and it's probably at least 30 years old, but it's a shame to waste it. Or is that a bad idea and I should just use tissue paper?

ohannabelle · May 2014

I've stored flat linens (handkerchiefs and doilies etc.) in muslin, washed well with no bleach (again with the chemical discoloration thing) and no adverse effect. The tissue is better for clothing because it prevents deep wrinkles by fluffing it. Try ironing a sixty or seventy year old crease out sometime, and you will curse the original owner.

kitsunegari89 · May 2014

Tissue paper it is, then! I think I'm going to make a few dresses with the muslin. It's actually quite a nice 7 yards of fabric now that I've really looked at it. They don't make stuff like it anymore.

doeydo · May 2014

I have heard that hanging it in the closet or something can cause the dress to stretch or get out of shape due to the weight of the gown pulling down. I would keep the dress in the garment bag and put it inside a container under my bed or something and keep it away from sunlight.

huskypuppy14 · May 2014

Seriously, what is so special about wedding dresses, that they have to be preserved. Is it because you might keep if for your future daughter to use in 30 years. I still have some of my prom dresses, and they are doing fine in the closet.

Maggie0829 · May 2014

huskypuppy14 said:

Seriously, what is so special about wedding dresses, that they have to be preserved. Is it because you might keep if for your future daughter to use in 30 years. I still have some of my prom dresses, and they are doing fine in the closet.

I think it is because they are 1) more expensive they your typical prom dress, 2) something that you keep for 30+ years because it has sentimental value and something that can potentially be used by a future daughter or niece either by them wearing it or just using pieces, and 3) are typically white and made with expensive fabric that can easily yellow if not preserved or stored correctly.

CMGragain · May 2014

My dress is 37 years old. I have kept it in a box, wrapped in unbleached muslin. It hasn't yellowed, but my daughter wasn't interested in a dress with sleeves. I don't really know why I am keeping it. It is out of style now, but I wish I had donated it to charity when it was current.

a13049 · May 2014

I bought my dress, new at the brides against breast cancer event. I saved so much money and am planning on donating it back for another happy bride. I think the days of saving our dress for the next generation has passed. I know they also have a charity that turns wedding dresses into dress for angel babies. There are probably more. Of course, do what you want. Just thought I would throw that out there, as an option.

ohannabelle · May 2014

CMGragain said:

My dress is 37 years old. I have kept it in a box, wrapped in unbleached muslin. It hasn't yellowed, but my daughter wasn't interested in a dress with sleeves. I don't really know why I am keeping it. It is out of style now, but I wish I had donated it to charity when it was current.

Oh, keep it, please. Our daughters don't want our dresses, because that's just the way of it, but our granddaughters might. My daughter would have worn my mother's dress, but it was just the wrong color for her and she wanted white.

I keep my great grandmother's dress on display in my room- she and her mama made it in 1915. It's incredibly precious to me. I'm sure my grandma would have died sooner than wear it, in the thirties, but I am so grateful that it was saved.

kitsunegari89 · May 2014

ohannabelle said:

CMGragain said:

My dress is 37 years old. I have kept it in a box, wrapped in unbleached muslin. It hasn't yellowed, but my daughter wasn't interested in a dress with sleeves. I don't really know why I am keeping it. It is out of style now, but I wish I had donated it to charity when it was current.

Oh, keep it, please. Our daughters don't want our dresses, because that's just the way of it, but our granddaughters might. My daughter would have worn my mother's dress, but it was just the wrong color for her and she wanted white.
I keep my great grandmother's dress on display in my room- she and her mama made it in 1915. It's incredibly precious to me. I'm sure my grandma would have died sooner than wear it, in the thirties, but I am so grateful that it was saved.

I would have absolutely worn my mother's handmade silk cocktail dress but it had not been stored properly and was ruined by champagne and cake that was never cleaned off... anyways, she had her heart set on me having the big dress she always wanted. The dress I wore is pretty classic and is not trendy at all. I imagine if I have a daughter, and she's anything like me she might want to wear it. If not, I still want to hang onto it. It's silk taffeta and alçenon lace with a chapel-length train and buttons down the back. I also am definitely holding onto my 1920's pearly wax orange blossom headpiece. If my hypothetical daughter doesn't want the dress, she might want to wear that. I don't think everyone is swayed by trends. I wanted a very old-fashioned dress. Plus, there's so much fabric in it that it can always be completely remade.

ohannabelle · May 2014

I love that dress!

And the wax orange blossom is to die for. How to do old fashioned/vintage perfectly, without looking like you're on your way to a costume party. Classic. Beautiful. Two thumbs up, because I only have two thumbs.

Bubblegum5586 · May 2014

My mom has her grandmother's dress, her mom's dress and both her dresses (one from 1984 and one from 2005) all preserved. But now thinking back, it never really came up for me to even look at them when we started the dress searching process....

But I was so very blessed to get to wear my great grandmother's garter. My aunt had recently came across it while helping my grandmother move. She had it re-elasticize and cleaned and gave it to me the night before my wedding. Along with it she created a beautiful scrap book of my maternal side with items she had also came across. It started with my grand- grandmother's wedding with a picture of them signing their Ketubah and a hand written toast from the bestman! Followed by pictures from my grandmother's wedding and then my mothers (first - to my father) wedding and then the last page was the invitation to my wedding. Not really applicable but wanted to share

Maggie0829 · May 2014

@mrshutzler - Your dress is gorgeous (love the lace top) but I would not call it old fashion at all. I would say it is a modern version of a traditional dress. In fact, a lot of dresses today are heading back to the direction of your dress which is very exciting to me cause I am so over the "I have to take tiny steps cause my mermaid dress is so tight around my knees I can't walk right" dresses.

wrigleyville · May 2014

I love the idea of preserving my own dress. I've read too many horror stories about stores that "preserve" someone's gown and end up selling the bride's actual dress. Meanwhile, the box has a completely different gown or is just stuffed with enough fabric to make up for the weight of a gown. The only reason they were discovered is because the bride opened the box for whatever reason.

Anyway, thanks for the instructions! My dress is a classic cut/design that has been popular for decades, so there's a chance one of my nieces will want to wear it. I'd be honored if they asked, but it's not like I'm going to push it on them. If anything, it will just be a nice piece of family history. I would have loved to have seen my grandmother's dresses, but they were given away many years ago.

windie · May 2014

i would have LOVED to wear my mom's dress - which was originally my grandmother's wedding gowon -- and was also worn in 3 other weddings - but alas i am not a size 4. my dress is a tribute to that dress as its all lace & has a jacket

afox007 · May 2014

I always wanted to wear my grandmas dress which wa not preserved and is still in excellent condition hanging in a garment bag, but I outgrew it when I was 14 since she was tiny. Even if I got down to a size zero there's still no hope it was a lace mini dress and a lot more "mini" than all 5'9" of me can pull off without being inappropriate!

JennyColada · May 2014

I really like the idea of donating my dress after I wear it, so I'm no help.

happywiggle · May 2014

I'm of no help; I'll be donating mine to the angel babies.

kitsunegari89 · May 2014

amrhodes23 said:

I'm of no help; I'll be donating mine to the angel babies.

Not going to lie... that's a really depressing afterlife for a wedding dress. I don't think I like the idea, though I do like that someone makes clothes for the little ones that don't make it.

rajahmd · May 2014

I had mine shortened so I could wear it again and again. In fact, I wore it yesterday as my graduation dress. So no preservation needed here.

what do I do with my dress?

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