Whitening a 50 Year Old Peau de Soie Wedding Dress?

cybergrannie
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April 21, 20180 found this helpful

Peau de Soie is satin and does not take well to water so I would recommend taking your dress to a professional cleaner but find one that specializes in wedding dresses.

It is possible that a shop that specializes in wedding dress cleaning would also have a professional seamstress that could help with the redesigning you are wanting to do.

• A professional cleaning will be expensive and will require "time" so be prepared for this before you consult one.
• This dress looks pretty plain as far as most wedding dresses go (not a lot of layering) so it may not be as expensive to clean as most dresses.
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• Most of this type cleaning establishment will not give a good (and never a firm) estimate of cost over the phone.
• Wherever you take your dress be sure it is well protected in a garment bag if possible but wrapped in a large sheet will work also.
• If you wish to try removing any of the yellowing at home you should be very careful with using any type of "stain removal" product without testing thoroughly on the fabric in a place that can never be seen.
• Usually a very mild diluted dish soap (blue Dawn) might be safe to use.
• Wipe the spots with a cloth dipped in the soap solution and wait to see if it helps.
• Rinse in same manner with warm water and clean soft cloths - blot with no excess water.

In the end - you will have to decide what this dress means to you and if you are willing to take a chance that it may not be cleanable at home.

Judy
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April 17, 20180 found this helpful

If it is washable, soak it in a tub with Napisan, available at Walmart