Expert-recommended products to help you take care of, clean, and extend the life of your most precious vintage pieces. Photo: Louie Banks. Vogue Arabia, March 2020 I’ll never forget my first vintage blunder.
I took a 1950s blouse with 3-D floral embellishments to a run-of-the-mill dry cleaner around the corner. It was returned to me with its chiffon overlayer in shreds and my previously thriving silk buds were rumpled, drooping, and wilted—like a flower bed dug up by the neighbor’s dog. I only had myself to blame, really.
I should have known better. I didn’t communicate to the cleaners that this top was as old as their granny and it should have been handled with the utmost care. But mostly, I should have known that the garment should not have been dry-cleaned at all.
Vintage Garment Care Essentials, According to Vogue : Fashion is fragile. Consider that of all the extant objects from bygone decades housed in museums, the most care is taken in the conservation of fashion and textiles. While oil paintings remain forever on the walls of a museum’s permanent collection, fashion departments limit the display of clothing to six months only.
Of course, vintage that isn’t housed in a museum is meant to be worn and loved, but it does require a level of care. For this, I reached out to New York-based storage and fashion archivist Garde Robe. The company helps to store, maintain, and care for precious collections of fashion (vintage included) assembled by individuals and ins.
