Your wedding dress is not just another piece of clothing that you wear once and forget about it. A dress can be different: purchased for a once-in-a-lifetime type of event, or the type that you can still wear to official gatherings, important events, or even clubs.
A beautiful dress, whether it is an elegant evening gown or a breezy summer dress, deserves proper care and attention to maintain its shine and elegance. But taking care of your dress is not always easy, especially when you don't know the dos and don'ts of dress maintenance.
To help you out, Olivia Bottega shares some pro tips on how to take proper care of your dress without ruining it. These tips will help you keep your dress looking brand new, even after years of use.
1. All dresses
For most dresses, the first and foremost thing you should do is to use a garment bag to store your dress before and after the event. A garment bag will protect your dress from dust, dirt, and other elements that can damage it.
Ironing can also damage your dress, especially if it has a delicate fabric or intricate designs. Instead of ironing, use a steamer and hold it 10-15 cm away from the dress.
If you want to iron more dense fabric dresses, like Atlas, Mikado, you can use the iron board and iron it on a lower temperature on the inside out.
If you want to straighten a dress made of fatin fabric, we recommend leaving it hanged in a steamed room, above a hot tub or just run the hot water in the sink and let the dress hang nearby.
For dresses with horsehair and petticoats, it is okay to iron them separately. Make sure to use the inner hangers of the dress when storing it, as this will prevent any creases or wrinkles from forming.
It is essential to take your dress to a reputable dry cleaning service if you need to get it cleaned professionally. Make sure to choose a dry cleaning service that has a good reputation in your hometown to avoid any heartbreaking consequences. A poorly done dry-cleaning job can damage the fabric and ruin your dress's overall look.
2. Crepe
Crepe dresses are very simple to maintain. The most important thing is to use the garment bag, hang it by the inner straps, and steam it with a suitable steamer. If you do not have any of these, you can always use a reputable dry cleaning service before and after your wedding.
For example, this Emma dress may seem as a fair challenge at first, especially around the shoulders. But due to the fabric you can easily steam it by yourself at home, by holding a 10-15 cm distance, in that way you’ll make the natural creases of the fabric stay in place, meanwhile extra lines from when the dress was in a box will go away in a heartbeat.
The square neckline and a v-back cutout make this dress very simple to maintain, and the soft crepe fabric will make it very comfortable for you to enjoy your night in the dress.
3. Tulle
Tulle dresses may seem as a challenge at first, however, if you follow the above instructions it will be easy to keep one as neat as possible. Tulle is a very lightweight fabric that rarely needs extra care, just use a steamer, and if you do not need to, then make sure to keep it in a garment bag.
This dress will be super easy to keep neat and shiny, with off-the-shoulder straps which do not require much care. You can easily steam it for a few minutes before putting it on or after the event to store it by inner hangers in a bag. The soft skirt will become straight, simple, and fast after you steam it.
4. Organza
Organza dresses are as easy as tulle dresses when it comes to keeping them intact. Just follow the general rules and you’ll be safe.
It is best to keep this long-sleeved bridal gown with a full-floor length skirt held by inner straps only, to avoid ruining the plunging neckline. Just hold the steamer for a few minutes and the whole dress is ready to be worn again.
5. Sparkly
Sparkly dresses may seem as a challenge at first, however, we are here to help you out. Be careful not to rub it, because rubbing can damage the fabric and ruin the dress's overall look. Instead, use cold water and handwashing to clean your dress. If your dress has any glue, do not put it in the washing machine. You can use a gentle washing machine regime with baby powder for other accessories, but make sure to turn the clothes inside out before putting them in the washing machine. Also, use natural drying instead of a dryer to avoid damaging the fabric.
It doesn’t even matter whether sequins and glitters are on top of tulle fabric, crepe, organza and so on, just make sure to not rub it to avoid shedding of the shimmers. However, it is totally normal for some of the glitters to shed while wearing the dress.
This Melanie gown is easy to maintain, hold in on the hanger by inner straps and use a steamer a little bit further that with the rest of the dresses, to avoid steam ungluing the shiny bits.
And voila, you can enjoy a glorious a-line off-the-shoulder silhouette gown just like that.
6. Mikado
Mikado dresses require the same attention as a crepe dress. Make sure to hold the steamer not closer than 15 cm from the dress. Mikado is a very dense fabric and extra creasing is almost impossible, however you can still try to make it more perfect. If you have any spills on the dress just turn it inside out and use the same directions as for the sparkly dress.
This gorgeous princess Priscilla gown will be easy to steam once you hang it by the inner straps. Just make sure to hit the wrinkle spot and not to oversteam the whole dress without obvious reason. The square neckline will hold its shape during many washing machine sessions, as well as the shape and lushness of the skirt.
7. Lace and silk
Lace and silk are challenging to keep neat, so we recommend using the drywashing only, but if you need to get your dress ready to go, then steam it carefully before wearing.
Use the same method of steaming as for any other type of dress, try to hit the most annoying wrinkle parts if you have any, and avoid over-steaming the dress. You can always let us know about an issue if you have any with your dress and we’ll recommend you proper care.
But we are as excited as you are to see you slaying this off-the-shoulder short gown with a lace top and a shiny tulle skirt.
8. Chiffon
Chiffon dresses are similar to crepe and tulle in some way, therefore you can easily use the previous advice of handling the dress.
This chiffon masterpiece is very interesting in particular as it has many detachable parts. Each part has its own inner straps that you can use while steaming the dress with ease. Just steam each part individually and after steaming make sure that it’s hung by the inner bits. You can use this advice to any other accessory from our store, including veils.
This dress is very convenient as you can wear it in 5 different ways and even more, the more imagination you have the easier it is to style this dress. Make sure to not over steam it and you’re set to go and enjoy this beautiful extra convertible gown.
In conclusion, taking proper care of your dress is essential if you want it to look beautiful and new for years to come. Use a garment bag, avoid rubbing the dress, hand wash it using cold water, and avoid ironing. If you need to get your dress cleaned professionally, choose a reputable dry cleaning service.
By following these pro tips by Olivia Bottega, you can ensure that your dress remains glistening and shiny even after a very long time.