PSA: Gown Preservation Boxes (Please read)

[Little Lady]

I need to rant a little, for give me.

Ladies, please, I repeat, PLEASE do NOT use gown "preservation" services that put your gown into boxes with those plastic windows in them.

I restore vintage clothing and vintage wedding gowns are a large part of what I do... the most common problem that I see after improper storage are gowns that have been stored in those preservation boxes.

Plastic contains polyeurethane, which emits a fume that rapidly deteriorates fabric. It causes fabrics to break down.... and consequently, yellow.

I picked up a gown tonight from a sweet woman who opened the preservation box and was horrified to see that her beautiful, 1960's chiffon dress with venise lace trim and ebroidery had a huge patch of DARK brown on the bodice!

The dark brown patch was in the perfect shape of the window of the preservation box. The box was stored inside of another box to prevent light damage and this still happened!

Thankfully, I think I can remove most of the yellowing but, ladies, this kind of damage can be PERMANENT.

I'll try to post a photo of this tonight once the house settles down, but PLEASE do not use a preservation company. Have you gown cleaned locally and buy a full box and tissue from an archival supply store.... the supplies will run you about $50 but its well worth it.

If you need help preparing your gown for storage, please email me and I'll show you how to do it, or I can post it here.


Ok... taking a deep breath. SOrry, didn't mean to get on my soapbox but it just breaks my heart to see these preservation companies decieve brides into thinking that their gowns are safe in these boxes.... especially when I see beautiful gowns ruined by them!

[aurelia]

Wow. I had no idea.

[bjmy1975]

Does every company and every box have that problem? Or now are they using a different kind of plastic in the boxes? After all, it's not the 1960s anymore.

[Little Lady]

Doesn't matter. ALL plastic contains polyeurethane. The cardboard boxes that the companies use are NOT archival quality or acid free.... they are just coardboard.

I know what I'm saying... I've been working around wedding gowns since I was 15.

[Ratanakich]

Doesn't matter. ALL plastic contains polyeurethane. The cardboard boxes that the companies use are NOT archival quality or acid free.... they are just coardboard.

I know what I'm saying... I've been working around wedding gowns since I was 15.

Thanks for the heads up bc I was going to preserve mine. I think I will just keep it in the bag it comes in and store it away that way inmy closet so I can easily put it on whenever I want (which i am sure will be a lot) :D

[Little Lady]

That bag is just as bad unless it is made out of 100% cotton.

Any online scrapbooking store will have jumbo sized archival boxes that are guaranteed to be acid free. Buy one of those and some of the blue acid free tissue that they sell (make sure its unbuffered) and just pack your gown in that.


My gown is actually wrapped up in a cotton sheet and stored in a huge photo box.

[Ratanakich]

That bag is just as bad unless it is made out of 100% cotton.

Any online scrapbooking store will have jumbo sized archival boxes that are guaranteed to be acid free. Buy one of those and some of the blue acid free tissue that they sell (make sure its unbuffered) and just pack your gown in that.


My gown is actually wrapped up in a cotton sheet and stored in a huge photo box.

Hummm... :(

[Little Lady]

You shouldn't store your gown hainging anyway. Over time the gavity cans tretch the seams.

HEre are a couple of places that sell that stuff. I have others but that would entail me getting off of my behind and giong down stairs to look at my rolodex. I'll post them later.

http://www.metaledgeinc.com/store.tpl?cart=10984883456567865


This one actually has a wedding gown preservation kir for $25
http://preservesmart.com/wedding_gown_preservation.htm

[Ratanakich]

You shouldn't store your gown hainging anyway. Over time the gavity cans tretch the seams.

HEre are a couple of places that sell that stuff. I have others but that would entail me getting off of my behind and giong down stairs to look at my rolodex. I'll post them later.

http://www.metaledgeinc.com/store.tpl?cart=10984883456567865


This one actually has a wedding gown preservation kir for $25
http://preservesmart.com/wedding_gown_preservation.htm

GREAT!!! thank you for the advice. I will have to pass it on. :)

[_Lindsay_]

This is really good to know! I was planning to get my gown preserved following my wedding! Now you have completely convinced me not to.

[ROBYN921]

Thank you so much for the heads up!!!! I'll be sure I note what you said & search for only the best things for storage!!! Awesome post!

[Little Lady]

My other computer got fried, but when my husband pulls the hard drive, I'll get the pictures of the gown that I restored that had the "window shaped" dark yellowing on the bodice. It ***e mostly clean, btw. It had to be soaked twice and then sunned to remove it to where it isn't blatanly noticeable.

Unfortunately, the lace where it was yellowed has deteriorated considerable in comparison with the rest of the gown. Its beginnign to, what I call, "micro fray." (for lack of a better word)

[MrsJ]

How long can you leave your dress hanging and it be ok? I have no where else to hang mine besides a hook over my closet door there is no room in my closets.

So it would be easiest & better to get it cleaned afterwards and wrap it in a 100% white cotton sheet and pack it away in a Rubbermaid storage container?(one of the websites you listed said it was ok?) Can it be any kind of rubbermaid container?

[Little Lady]

If your wedding isn't a long time off, its ok to store it in the ba until your wedding day, but you should clean and pack it away as soon as possible afterwards.

A rubbermaid should be ok, but you'll want to leave the lid somewhat loose on it to let it breathe.

[MrsJ]

Well i am a lil over 5 months away.. would it be fine hanging until then?

[bjmy1975]

I'm not trying to pick a fight or anything. But if the plastic is soooo bad then how can every dry cleaner and every preservation service be wrong. I actually called my dry cleaner, and say what you will, we had a long discussion about this. She has seen dresses that have been in boxes for 25 years and are fine. There appears to be many factors that come into play with boxing a dress.

And just as a side question... if the plastic of the box will ruin the dress, won't the PLASTIC BEADS on my dress also ruin it? Just a question to ponder!

[alley06]

I think that she's more talking about the plastic being see through and allowing light to discolor the fabric, not the plastic itself.

[soon2bMrs.Kosby]

Thanks for the heads up I want my dress to last forever!

[MrsJ]

alley yes that is what i was thinking too.

[Little Lady]

Its more thn just the light getting in. You have to go through someone who can GUARANTEE that the box is acid free and that the plastic is polyeurethane free. Prestige and other large companies that do all the advertising DO NOT use acid free boxes, even though they say that they do.

I ahve been restoring wedding gowns professionally for years. YES plastic CAN ruin a dress and it DOES. Particularly polyeurethane and vinyl.

And yes, some plastic beads CAN ruin a dress as well as plastic sequins. If you look at alot of the dresses from the 1980's that were dripping with those pearls beads and sequins, you can see it. Often the beads and sequins themselves turn brown and will turn the fabric underneath them as well.

Now, if you are talking about tiny seed beads or aurora borealis beads... no. they are made of glass so they WONT damage the dress.

1975... I'm jsut curious, why are you being so defensive on this issue? Do you work for a gown preservation company?

[bjmy1975]

1975... I'm jsut curious, why are you being so defensive on this issue? Do you work for a gown preservation company?

NO... I work at WalMart!! Nice try though. I don't appreciate people coming on here and posting things like this that get poor brides in a tizzy. :mad:

My personal opinion is what was posted. I already had my dress cleaned and boxes when I read this. I took the time yesterday to call my cleaner and have a discussion with her about it. She had no reason to lie to me because my dress was already cleaned. She had nothing to gain from answering my questions. She was very reassuring.

People are going to take this thread as gospel when it isn't. Everyone needs to check with their cleaner and make their decisions. Do more research on it. Not just listen to the rantings of someone who still hasn't produced that picture! I'm very skeptical about things on line without proof. So instead of calling me out, maybe you should call out the person who posted WITHOUT PROOF!

My personal opinion of the dress in question in the first post is that the sun was left to shine on the box and that is what ruined it... not just the plastic itself!

[Little Lady]

The gown in the first post was stored ina two-part preservation box. THe first one witht he window and then a second storage box, so no, it was not exposed to sunlight. The gown has already gone back to its owner or I would take a photo of the boxfor you.

As I said, I DO have photos of the "before" but the computer they were stored in is fried. My husband would have to take the hard drive out, put it in another computer and pull them off that way. He would do it sooner but the old computer is a laptop and this computer is a PC. I have the after photos but they won't do you much good.

I am not out to stir people into a tizzy... I'm not a troll, I have no reason to do that. But the TRUTH is that so many of the "museum quality" boxes are NOT. IF you're going to have your gown preserved its HIGHLY advised that you make certain that the company actually usues proper materials.

Your dry cleaner probably DOES use a reputable service... but many do not.

[22yearsl8r]

I think a little awareness of potential problems is useful. Thanks for posting both experiences. It will be something I will consider.

[Kenechia]

It's good that we are having this dialogue as I never thought about stuff like that. I just thought to call any of those preservation places but now I can ask more questions.

[Ratanakich]

OK so I went to my bridal shop a few days ago for my bustle and I thought I would ask the question. I told her how I read this and asked her if it was true and she said that it is true about a chemical in plastic can make your dress turn yellow. I asked her if mine would be ok in the bad they give for 6 months and she said that if I don't feel comfortable just get a big white sheet and cover it in that. So this is a second confirmation that this is true. And for the safety of my dress, when I get it back I am going to hide it under a sheet. I'm not taking chances.