If your closet has its fair share of vintage clothing that you like to cycle through as part of your wardrobe, there are a few things that you should know about caring for these items so that they can remain a part of your wardrobe for as long as you’d like. Especially if the items are particularly fragile or old, caring for them correctly is vital.
To help you in doing this, here are three tips for caring for your vintage clothes and accessories.
Store Items In Garment Bags
When you acquire a vintage item, before you put it away in your closet, you should first store it in its own garment bag. This will give it the best possible protection between wears.
If vintage clothing and accessories are stored in your closet without being in a breathable garment bag, you run the risk of damaging them. If rougher items are stored near them, they could cause harm to your vintage items. Even keeping vintage clothes in dry cleaning bags can be harmful to them. So if you don’t already have breathable garment bags made of something like muslin, these should be added to your vintage clothing collection as soon as possible.
Plan To Be Gentle With Them
When you’re choosing where and when to wear your vintage clothing and accessories, keeping them safe should be your top priority.
Ideally, you should try not to wear vintage items to a location or event where there’s a higher chance that they could get stained or have too much wear and tear exerted on them. Also, if the weather is bad, you may want to think twice about wearing anything vintage, as elements like rain can wreak havoc with sensitive materials. If after the event you think you might have to do more for cleaning than just using a gentle brush, this might not be the time for wearing something vintage.
Research Everything Before Cleaning
Before you attempt to clean anything vintage, you should first do a lot of research about the item. Based on what the item is made of and how old it is, your process for cleaning will vary. And while you can sometimes trust a dry cleaner with your vintage items, it’s usually best to either try to launder them yourself if you’re able to or bring them to a vintage cleaner who you know is well versed in caring for these types of items. Otherwise, you could wind up with vintage clothes that are shrunk, damaged, or ripped to shreds and vintage jewelry that’s tarnished or otherwise ruined.
If you aren’t quite sure of the best ways to care for your vintage clothing or accessories, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you learn how to do this correctly.