Storing Your Vintage Clothes

Whether it’s your grandmother’s wedding dress or a 1950s sock-hop poodle skirt from  a consignment shop, it’s likely you have a vintage piece in your closet. It may not be something you throw on for any old day, but knowing it’s there for an occasional walk down memory lane makes it worth saving. You can trust Style by Dependable to gently wash, care for and restore those pieces to their former glory. But once they’re back in your hands, how do you properly store them? Here are some tips for the most effective way to store your vintage clothing:

• Use padded hangers to preserve the shoulders on dresses.
  • Keep items with thin or fragile shoulder areas folded over by the waist or shelved. Gravity does pull on hung items, so be aware of each item as you consider how it is going to be stored.
• If you are planning on wearing your vintage piece (lucky you!), then keep clothes away from the light. Ultraviolet light deteriorates fabric over time.
• Storing things in a canvas, breathable garment bag is ideal. Do not store in plastic garment bags! Plastic garment bags do not breathe, so odors, sweat and damaging chemicals are trapped with your clothing. Canvas garment bags are widely available and some even have special features such as cedar to ward off bugs.
• If you have a piece that needs extra special care, such as a delicate and aging silk dress or a piece made from lace, these fragile  items should be wrapped in acid-free tissue paper and kept in a cedar chest. Acid-free tissue can also be used to fold items to prevent creases, or it can be stuffed into items that should retain their shape, such as shoes or hats.

Have more questions about your vintage pieces? Visit any one of our Style locations and we’ll be more than happy to help!