Long Term Dress Care Tips
So, did Covid-19 put your wedding plans on hold? We are hearing from more and more brides about their wedding dates being postponed until 2021 and they aren’t so sure what to do with their wedding gown in the meantime. Some are very nervous about keeping the dress safe until the day they get to wear their gown so we have put together some tips on how to care for your special dress until the new wedding date arrives.
The first thing we want to point out is that wedding gowns are a little hardier than most people give them credit for. We keep some bridal gowns in our shop for 3 or 4 years and they’ve stood through the test of dozens of try ones, clamps, pulling, and dragging across the floor. Lucky for you, none of those things are normal for your gown.
Dress care tips:
Leave your wedding gown in the black breathable garment bag that we provided. If you didn’t purchase your gown at our shop and don’t have a breathable fabric garment bag, no worries! We have them available to purchase at our shop for $10.
If you want to look at the dress (and we know you will want to do that a few times), we encourage you to wear latex gloves or some other sort of hand covering because natural skin oils can cause discoloring of fabric after sitting over a period of time.
Storing the gown hanging is fine, simply make sure the ribbon loops of the gown are what is holding the weight of the dress. There is a chance you may need to make the loop go over hanger a few times until you can feel there is no weight on the straps. If your dress has straps or sleeves, you also have the option to remove them from the hanger entirely, letting them droop forward or backward. Simply keep in mind any weight on the straps of the gown or the illusion necklines can cause stretching or tear over time.
Make sure where ever you are storing the gown, maintains a somewhat constant temperature. You don’t want the fabrics of the gown going form huge temp swings. Any indoor closet should be fine.
Keep your gown in a space away from your pets…because ya never know!
When you zip and unzip the bag, make sure you put a hand behind the zipper so it won’t catch on the fabric of the gown. We don’t want a snag running down the front when it comes time to finally put it on!
Keep the gown away from smoke. Nothing will yellow a dress quicker than nicotine.
If you want to store the gown on a closet shelf, we suggest keeping the dress in the breathable fabric garment bag and fold in half and place on shelf. (in half you will not get near the boning in the bodice and is safe for a long period of time!)
A reminder if you purchased your gown at Couture Closet, we will be happy to steam your gown complimentary so it is looking fresh and aisle ready when the new Big Day arrives! Just bring it by the shop at least a week before your new wedding date and you can pick it up a few days before the Big Day! That’s it!