Preserving your gown

Your wedding gown – you’ll never own anything quite as beautiful or symbolic as the attire worn on the most exciting day of your life. It’s a new gown that’s distinctively yours, and you can protect it long after you return from the honeymoon by following these tips on selection, dry cleaning and careful storage.
As you begin to shop for your wedding gown at a reputable bridal salon, make sure you allow ample time to find the style, fabric and accessories that suit you. It is a good idea to inspect the gown at the time of purchase and obtain instructions from the bridal consultant on proper care. Every wedding gown should have a care label. Be sure to locate and read yours thoroughly before taking the gown home.
When the wedding festivities are over, preserve your beautiful gown as a keepsake or for your own daughter to wear on her special day. Experts at National Gown Cleaners, a gown cleaning and preservation service based in San Jose, California, recommend that brides place their gown in a garment bag, preferably muslin, as soon as possible after changing into a going-away outfit to prepare the gown for cleaning and long-term storage.
The gown should be thoroughly inspected for food, beverage, grass, tar and other stains. May of these stains can be invisible at first glance, but left untreated, they can cause permanent yellowing of the fabric. A champagne stain is especially tricky since it may appear as a water stain at first, but will turn yellow after dry cleaning if not treated beforehand. You’ll also want to check for a soiled hemline.
Go over the entire gown with your cleaner. Check the shoulder and collar areas for makeup and lipstick stains, and look for makeup spots inside the gown as well. Check the bodice and the sleeves for perspiration stains. Food stains will probably be found on the front of the dress, but be sure to check the back for grease and oil stains. It should take at least 10 minutes to inspect thoroughly the condition of your gown before it is professionally cleaned.
Following cleaning, your gown will be ready for long-term storage. Proper storage is necessary for even aging of the fabric. Otherwise you could be disappointed years later to discover a damaged wedding gown.
Request that your cleaner pack the gown for storage in an acid-free, lignin-free box that meets specifications for preservation. Lignin is a natural component of paper and cardboard and is believed to contribute to chemical degradation and erosion of the storage box if it is not removed during manufacturing. Although there is no guarantee, a lignin-free box is the best prevention for eventual yellowing of the garment.
Acid-free tissue placed between the folds of the dress and stuffed in the bodice will prevent permanent wrinkles and folds as well as help stabilize the environment of the box. A gown should never be sealed in plastic or vacuum-packed since gases from the air can bet trapped in the enclosure and cause permanent damage to the gown.
The National Gown Cleaners discourages brides from packing their gowns in boxes containing a mylar front which allows viewing of the gown in the box. Often, the windowed front is a form of plastic which can cause yellowing of the visible portion of the dress.
There will be plenty of opportunities to admire your dream gown since you should take it out of the box every five to seven years. The gown should be refolded to prevent permanent creases and white cotton gloves should be worn while handling the gown to prevent oily fingers from making contact with the fabric.
The best place to store your gown is in a cool, dry place such as underneath a bed, not in an attic or basement where temperatures are too extreme. It is important that air is able to circulate around the box and provide a consistent, stable environment for the gown. The less the gown is moved, the better it will age.
With care and effort, your precious wedding gown will remain a treasure for many years to come, evoking memories of your wondrous wedding celebration.

Reprinted by the National Gown Cleaners preservation services with permission from Elegant Bride Magazine.