Vintage garments restoration
We are experts in restoration of family heirloom wedding gowns and antique dresses.
If you had a dream of getting married in a family bridal gown that time has yellowed and stained, call us!
We restore vintage bridal gowns to the true color without damage to delicate fabrics or dyes.
We remove stains and discoloration that ordinary dry cleaners cannot, and the restorations of our cleaning team have been featured on television and in publications around the world.
Whether it is a vintage wedding gown or vintage wedding veil or one of those special gowns you or someone in your family wore as a child, we can renew it for your special day.
You can trust us to give your treasured family artifact the delicate care and attention it deserves.
Oxidation
Exposure to air and light causes oxidation, and when fabric oxidizes, it turns yellow.
Different types of fibers oxidize at different rates of speed.
For example, cotton discolors more quickly than other fibers, but over a long period of time the different fibers may all oxidize to the same hue.
As a result, a vintage wedding gown that appears yellow or even brown throughout may, when restored, turn out to be an ivory silk gown trimmed with white cotton lace.
Still other factors that yellow gowns are excessive heat in the attic where the vintage wedding gown was stored and fumes from the plastic bag or container in which the vintage wedding gown was stored.
Dry cleaning does not remove oxidation, but our restoration process does, and we can return a vintage wedding gown to the true color–whether it is white or ivory.
Oxidation is not as evident in colored fabric, but it, too, oxidizes, and colors may also be restored.
Caramelized Sugar Stains
Brides who bring us yellowed and stained vintage wedding gowns often think the original bride spilled coffee on her wedding dress and that the wedding gown was never cleaned, or the cleaner failed to remove the stains.
These dark brown stains are actually caramelized sugar stains.
Years ago–and even today–cleaners did not realize sugar does not dissolve in dry cleaning solvent.
The wedding gowns they processed looked clean, but the sugar content in the stain was still there.
The sugar content in these latent stains turns yellow and eventually dark brown.
Much like oxidation, dry cleaning does not remove caramelized sugar stains, but our restoration process does…
Free Consultations
There is never any charge to consult with us about caring for your vintage wedding gown and other vintage clothing.
Our award-winning couture wedding gown care includes your personal inspection and archival, museum-quality storage materials. Vintage gown restorations and vintage veil restorations.
VINTAGE GOWN REPURPOSING
We can offer you ideas for redesigning the family wedding gown for today’s bride, suggest ways to turn your wedding gown into a christening gown, or help you with special projects such as displaying a family wedding gown at a reception or anniversary celebration.