Wedding gown restoration is a service that we have been perfecting for about 8 years. During those years, we have taken professional training classes and we have performed numerous wedding gown restorations and gained a tremendous knowledge with that experience. We have learned that successful wedding gown restoration is a combination of Art and Science.

The science part is the knowledge of the various chemicals we can use to whiten aged wedding gowns. For instance, we have learned whether to use an alkaline or an acidic chemical and what temperature the chemicals will work best.

While the science portion is critical, I believe the Art portion of wedding gown restoration may be more important. This Art is really the understanding of the chemicals and how specific fabrics, in different conditions, and at various ages will respond to those chemicals. With each wedding gown restoration, our knowledge continues to grow and gives us greater confidence as we work on individual gowns.

Our goal is to restore each wedding gown to the best condition possible. Some gowns can be made almost white again, while others a soft ivory may be the best possible outcome, without risking damage to the gown. The oldest gowns we have worked on have been over 100 years old. But it is not uncommon for us to restore wedding gowns that are only 30 years old. So the conditions of the wedding gowns really do vary tremendously.

With each gown, we analyze the fabric content and the condition of the gown and then make a determination of which chemical to use, what temperature to use it at, and how long to soak the gown. It is really exciting to see the transformation that can occur. Occasionally, we will utilize more than one chemical in hopes of achieving the best results.

We restored the wedding gown below this past week, and utilized two different chemicals to whiten the gown as well as possible. A third chemical was used on the veil. We are really excited about the end result and I am kicking myself because I forgot to take the “before” pictures! Nevertheless, please enjoy the “after” pictures.

Howard wedding gown after restoration	Howard wedding veils after restoration

Note how we added several inches in the back with a lace up so it can be worn by a modern woman. Women were much smaller a century ago! Our bride is located in Texas, so she sent the dress to us with her measurements and we adjusted our dress form with her measurements. It looked so nice that I hated to cover it with the train. We hope to add wedding pictures after her big day.

Back of gown before alterations	After alterations
Front view of finished gown	Back view of finished gown

How can this be possible?  First of all, on testing the box we discovered it was not acid-free (an essential for preservation).  Most likely it was dry-cleaned before storage, and it may have looked great at the time, but dry-cleaning does not remove water based substances such as champagne, clear soda, or even perspiration.   So over time, these substances still on the gown have oxidized into very bad stains.

If the gown had not been sealed, Ann could have inspected it periodically and discovered these stains sooner.

Preservation box was sealed	Wedding gown has yellowed under plastic window
Oxidized Hemline stains	Oxidized Underarm stains

This gown is a beautiful silk organza over acetate satin gown dating from the 1970′s.  Penny Winters is hoping her daughter can wear the gown for her upcoming wedding.  It was in very good condition so it was a perfect candidate for restoration, although their were a number of oxidized yellow spots and general yellowing on the gown. It has restored beautifully. 

Carmina also did a beautiful job cleaning and repairing the veil, although when repairing tulle, you cannot make the repairs invisible. Fortunately there are some appliques on the headpiece that could be used to cover the veil repairs. Click on the smaller pictures to see up close photos.

Before	After
Veil Before	Veil After – click for close up