Wedding dress preservation

[Anonymous]

I am wondering if anyone can recommend a good place to get my wedding dress preserved. Yes, it's been nearly 3 years since my wedding but hey...better late than never, right?

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

parkway cleaners on connecticut ave in chevy chase, md

[Anonymous]

I did mine by mail - Wedding Gown Preservation Co in NY. It's pricey but they did a good job (bought a sample so they cleaned it before AND after wedding), and the shop where I bought my dress spoke highly of them.

[Anonymous]

They sell a kit for it at David's Bridal.

[Anonymous]

I thought I heard it didn't really do any good??

[Anonymous]

Dry cleaners sometimes do wedding dress preservation. Mine did. Not sure why I spent the $$ b/c odds our my DD won't want to "touch" my wedding dress. LOL.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the suggestions! I hate to spend the $ on this (which is why I waited this long), but I just feel awful allowing my expensive dress to remain balled up in a box. I think I would just feel better having it at least professionally cleaned and pressed and put in some sort of bag. Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

I used wedclean.com, an online company. My dress came back a beautiful box with a window so I can see it. It was only $100.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used wedclean.com, an online company. My dress came back a beautiful box with a window so I can see it. It was only $100.

Light may be the most damaging environmental factor, actually. Make sure that window is covered!

[Anonymous]

I would LOVE to sell my dress! i got it on consignment and it was perfect, perfect, perfect for me. I would love to give it to another person, but don't want to spring for cleaning it if it will go nowhere! I got not even one little nibble on Criagslist... I suppose "used" isn't popular, though, honestly, when it cost me $200 I just about wet my pants with joy.

Um, you're wondering what this has to do with original thread... My Q is, how much does it cost to properly clean a silk chiffon wedding dress?

[Anonymous]

This is 10:12, the window is covered, one can lift the cover to see the dress then close it again .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would LOVE to sell my dress! i got it on consignment and it was perfect, perfect, perfect for me. I would love to give it to another person, but don't want to spring for cleaning it if it will go nowhere! I got not even one little nibble on Criagslist... I suppose "used" isn't popular, though, honestly, when it cost me $200 I just about wet my pants with joy.

Um, you're wondering what this has to do with original thread... My Q is, how much does it cost to properly clean a silk chiffon wedding dress?

PP here who used Wedding Gown Preservation Co in NY. I think it cost about $150-175 for the "kit" you use to send it off, and I think the price includes cleaning and shipping both ways.

[Anonymous]

I've taken a few classes in clothing and fabric preservation, and what most of these companies are doing is not "preserving" your dress. It's just dry-cleaning it and putting it in a box and charging a lot. The off-gassing from a plastic window is not good for the dress, whether the window is covered or not.

How to best clean the dress depends on the material, but once it is clean you could get a roll of white acid free paper and sort of roll the dress in it, folding it loosely. You don't want sharp folds because those stress the fabric. Then store it in an acid-free box somewhere where it won't be exposed to light or water. Don't store it on the floor, in case there is a flood or water leak. If there is heavy beadwork, support that with tissue paper. Clothing holds up fairly well over a generation or two. It's the styles that don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've taken a few classes in clothing and fabric preservation, and what most of these companies are doing is not "preserving" your dress. It's just dry-cleaning it and putting it in a box and charging a lot. The off-gassing from a plastic window is not good for the dress, whether the window is covered or not.

How to best clean the dress depends on the material, but once it is clean you could get a roll of white acid free paper and sort of roll the dress in it, folding it loosely. You don't want sharp folds because those stress the fabric. Then store it in an acid-free box somewhere where it won't be exposed to light or water. Don't store it on the floor, in case there is a flood or water leak. If there is heavy beadwork, support that with tissue paper. Clothing holds up fairly well over a generation or two. It's the styles that don't.

For silk dresses, be sure that the acid-free materials are not alkaline-buffered. Off-gassing from plastic windows depends on the kind of plastic film used. Some are more stable than others. I still think that within the time span of one generation, given reasonable storage conditions outside the package, light is the agent of degradation most likely to make the dress unsuitable for a daughter's eventual use.