I want to preserve my wedding dress. Where do I buy acid free
tissue paper? Also, is the acid free box necessary? (If so, where do I get
this?) I was thinking of storing my gown in a rubber maid container. Is that a no-no?
I already had my dress dry-cleaned but did not have them put it in a box, etc.
for me.
Good questions. Some art supply stores, dry cleaners and
archival arts
resources can supply you with acid free tissue paper. If you can't get
it from a local source, try Light Impressions. I think the URL is just
Lightimpressionsdirect.com, but you can do a search to find them if that's
not correct.
www.lightimpressionsdirect.com for the acid free tissue paper.)
The box, however, in some ways is more important than the tissue, from
the sound of your plans. I would strongly recommend NOT storing your
gown in a real Rubbermaid (with an airtight seal)--with or without acid
free paper. The tight seal will likely encourage condensation, and keep
the fabric from breathing; a semi-transparent box may allow light in to
discolor the fabric, etc. An acid free gown box, though likely a bit
more expensive than a comparable Rubbermaid container, is a better
choice.
You can often buy the boxes from your local dry cleaner, whether or not
you have/had them clean the gown. Most don't care about that. They
make a good enough profit selling the box with or without the
"preservation" services. Some will also, as I mentioned, sell you the
tissue paper as well. And keep in mind, even had you had your gown
"cleaned and boxed" professionally, once you *open* the box, the
conditions for your gown are no better than if you had purchased the box and
tissue and packed it yourself.
Another easy way to store a gown is to wrap it carefully in a
light-colored sheet (traditional wisdom recommends light blue, but I've
seen good results with white and pale grey sheets as well) and fold and
pack it loosely into a hope chest or other large conventional trunk. If
you store it in a dry, cool place, then the fabric can breathe to limit
fume fading/discoloration, the sheet keeps contact soil from affecting
the gown, the gown is easily accessible to re-fold once or twice per
year to reduce deterioration at the fold lines, etc.
Favorable long term gown storage conditions can help preserve your gown, but
gowns *do* tend to discolor and deteriorate over time. Your goal should be to
minimize this, not prevent it completely.
Best wishes and much happiness to you.
Foreverwed.com Expert-- Sara L. Ambarian
