Make Sure Your Wedding Gown Lasts A Lifetime

A wedding gown is a treasured keepsake for many brides.  You only need to wear it once in your life (or at least that’s the hope), but even so many women choose to keep and preserve their wedding dresses either to commemorate the big day or to one day give to a child.  However, if that’s your plan it’s important to know that a regular cleaning and a wedding dress preservation are different things, and not every dry cleaning service offers the second option.

Cleaning A Delicate White Fabric Demands Extra Attention

Even if you treat your wedding dress with care during the big day, it will still pick up some stains when you wear it.  The natural oils and sweat of your body will enter the fabric even if you shower just before putting it on, and since the hem of a wedding dress usually drags along the floor it can pick up all kinds of dirt, dust, and spills along the base.  Because a wedding dress is supposed to be pure white, the dry cleaner needs to pay special attention to finding and removing every hint of a stain.

Preservation Should Begin Right Away

The chemicals that create stains in fabric are often much harder to remove if they have a chance to dry out and bond to the fabric.  That’s why a red-wine stain needs immediate attention if you want to save the dress, rug, or carpet the wine ends up on.  For similar reasons, it’s important to get your wedding dress to the preservation specialist before you go on your honeymoon and not after.  You may have to make sure a family member or friend does the job, but make sure it happens.

The Box Needs To Be Airtight And Oxygen Free

Oxygen is a corrosive gas.  It can rust steel, tarnish silver, and cover copper in green fuzz.  A lot of materials, including wedding dresses, will slowly suffer damage and wear over the years even if they only sit in a closet because of what oxygen and moisture can do to them.  That’s why wedding dress preservation involves sealing your dress in an airtight box filled with nothing but pure nitrogen.  Nitrogen is an extremely stable gas, so your dress will be safe and in great condition until the time comes to use it again.

Storage Should Be In A Cool, Dark Place

Along with oxygen and moisture, sunlight can also have a damaging effect on white fabric.  The natural color of most fibers is somewhere between yellow and brown, and the dye used to turn it white can break down over time thanks to exposure to ultraviolet radiation.  Long-term exposure to heat can also cause the chemicals to break down.  The best place to store your wedding dress is in a dark closet or a wedding chest with a sturdy lid.

Of course, it’s also important to choose a good business to preserve your wedding dress.  In Beverly Hills, the service to call is Beverly Hills Cleaners.  We’re happy to dry-clean dresses and suits, tailor outfits, clean drapes, and preserve wedding dresses for future generations.


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