Vintage fashion is fragile, deserving the same meticulous care as museum pieces. Unlike oil paintings, vintage garments are displayed for only six months due to their delicate nature. While you want to wear and cherish your vintage finds, they require special attention to preserve their beauty. To get expert advice, I reached out to New York-based storage and fashion archivist Garde Robe, who specializes in preserving precious collections. Doug Greenberg, from Garde Robe, shared his best practices for fashion storage and essential products to keep your vintage clothes looking their best.
Garment Bags:
All hanging pieces should be stored in breathable garment bags. Muslin and polypropylene (ppnw) garment bags are protective and washable, ensuring longevity. Avoid using dry cleaner bags for storage; they can damage your clothes. Instead, bring reusable garment bags to your cleaner to avoid plastic waste.
Hangers/Garment Boxes:
Never hang stretchable fabrics like knits, bias cuts, or heavily embellished garments, as they can distort. Store these items flat in a breathable garment box or folded with acid-free tissue to prevent creasing. Avoid using the same hanger type for all clothing. Choose appropriate hangers based on the garment’s type: broad-shoulder hangers for coats, pant-suit hangers with clips for slacks, and padded hangers for delicate items. When in doubt, store items flat instead of on a hanger. And absolutely no wire hangers!
Acid-Free Tissue Paper:
No luxurious closet is complete without ample acid-free tissue. This tissue eliminates creasing, pads shoulders, stuffs sleeves and handbags to maintain their shape, and separates items in a crowded closet or storage box. Use tissue to separate embellished or beaded items from other clothes to prevent snags and dye transfer from leather, suede, or denim pieces.
Wash and Stain Bars:
Finding couture-level garment care experts is challenging. Most dry cleaners aren’t equipped to handle expensive and delicate designer items. The best dry cleaners clean many items by hand and use different solvents and machinery for different fabrics. Before entrusting a precious garment to a cleaner, ask about their solvents and cleaning processes: Do they offer a choice of solvents? Do they clean by hand? Do they outsource leatherwork? These are essential questions. Consider working with a couture-level cleaner, even if it means shipping. For at-home touch-ups, Greenberg recommends The Laundress’s wash and stain bars.
A Steamer:
Steaming is an excellent way to release creases and eliminate wrinkles. Use distilled water in the steamer for the best results. Ironing is harsher on fabrics than steam and is only safe for sturdier fabrics like cotton that can handle high temperatures. Avoid steaming or ironing silk, velvet, leather, suede, and metallic embellishments. If you have a fashion emergency and need to steam a delicate garment, place muslin between the steamer and the garment to lessen the impact. Generally, leave these items to garment care professionals. Knowledgeable dry cleaners often remove buttons and embellishments before cleaning and reapply them afterward. This meticulous process is why the best cleaners charge more.
Beeswax Bars:
If your garment has a metal zipper, it likely predates 1965, as plastic zippers became popular in the late 1960s. Metal zippers are sturdier and less prone to warping but can sometimes get stuck. Apply a bit of beeswax to keep them running smoothly.
Purse Pillows:
Maintain the shape of your handbags with purse pillows. Fabrinique offers a variety of sizes. While tissue paper can work, a purse pillow is easier to remove than several wads of balled-up paper.
Distilled White Vinegar:
To deodorize a piece of clothing, fill a spray bottle with 90% water and 10% distilled white vinegar. Mist the solution all over the garment and air it out. Smoke and thrift-shop odors will dissipate in the process.
Underarm Dress Shields:
Underarm guards or undershirts provide a protective layer to prevent staining and perspiration marks, which are difficult to clean.
Red Cedar Blocks:
Cedar blocks deter moth growth but are not effective against all moth infestations. Place a few in your closets and drawers, replacing them when the scent fades. For more intense prevention, use moth prevention traps.
Shoe Tree:
Store men’s leather shoes with shoe trees when not in use. Leather Spa makes excellent cedar shoe trees. While women’s shoes have more style and fabrication variations, shoe trees are available. For trickier shoe shapes, tissue paper is a good alternative.
Lavender Sachets:
Lavender sachets won’t prolong the life of your wardrobe, but they will make your closet and drawers smell wonderful.
