Mary Anne brought this very old and very fragile wedding gown to us to restore.  What a treasure for her to own this 1870’s vintage brocade and peau de soie wedding dress with lace cuffs. This tiny gown also had pleats and lace at hemline.  It had yellowed significantly and was in fair condition. However, it was in amazing condition considering it’s age.

Mary Anne Clark's wedding dress restoration of 1870's vintage gown is complete.

Mary Anne Clark’s wedding dress restoration of 1870’s vintage gown is complete.

We set up Heritage Couture™ treatment for the vintage wedding gown which included several hours to hand baste the pleats and remove boning before careful hand cleaning and whitening.

The lace at the sleeves and neckline was very fragile with tears already visible (see photo below) and we anticipated more tears during and after treatment. The other lace was in much better condition, however due to it’s age,was still fragile.

Jennifer worked very hard  to protect  the fragile gown during cleaning and restoration. The color of the gown came out very nice and the hemline lace held up well to cleaning. We knew the neckline lace would not hold up and so after gown cleaning we replaced it with “newer” antique lace which was in much better condition.

One of the challenges we faced was determining how to drape the pieces of this vintage gown. After several experiments, we came up with what we believe is the correct positioning. And as we placed the gown on a dress form, we could hardly believe what a tiny bride it must have been to wear this gown. We don’t believe it is even a size one.

It was a thrill and honor to give Mary Anne’s treasured, 19th century wedding gown the royal wedding dress restoration treatment. Due to it’s age, we decided that Heritage Box™ wedding dress preservation would be best  for this vintage wedding gown.

Get a free quote today for your heirloom wedding dress restoration.

Before Wedding Dress Restoration

Vintage wedding dress restoration included replacing fragile torn lace with newer antique lace.

Vintage lace is very fragile and torn in many places. We replaced it with newer antique lace.

19th century wedding gown receives wedding dress restoration to whiten fabric and lace.

19th century wedding gown receives wedding dress restoration to whiten fabric and lace.

Compare the wedding gown hemline before wedding dress restoration with after wedding gown restoration.

Compare the wedding gown hemline before wedding dress restoration with after wedding gown restoration.

After Wedding Gown Restoration

Mary Anne's wedding gown restoration is complete. It took a while to determine where to attach all of the pieces of the vintage bridal gown.

Mary Anne’s wedding gown restoration is complete. It took a while to determine where to attach all of the pieces of the vintage bridal gown.

The bride who wore this wedding dress nearly 150 years ago couldn't have even been a size one. It is a very tiny dress.

The bride who wore this wedding dress nearly 150 years ago couldn’t have even been a size one. It is a very tiny dress.

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