How do I store my dress to prevent it from yellowing?

Improper storage, along with not having your wedding dress professionally cleaned of the many visible and invisible stains that occur on your wedding day, are the two biggest factors in future fabric yellowing – and even worse – eventual fabric rot and decay. 

Storing your wedding dress improperly for 12 months or more could have it showing damages before your big day arrives or before you can sell it to the next bride.

Before Storing or Trying on Your Wedding Dress

1. Have it professionally cleaned if your dress has been worn, it should be cleaned within 6 months to reduce the risk of permanent stains.
2. Wash your hands thoroughly prior to handling your wedding dress. Our natural body oils will damage dress fabric over time.
3. Consider taking a quick shower prior to trying it on. Seems a bit excessive but to prevent fabric staining you will want to avoid transferring any lotion, perfume, or makeup onto your dress.
4. Take off your jewelry! Avoid the risk of sharp edges causing pulls or tears in delicate fabrics.

Short-Term Storage | Plastic or Fabric?

Ask your bridal boutique, or a local one in general, for a breathable fabric bag made out of cotton to store your wedding dress in for the short term (up to 6 months, not worn). Plastic storage bags can speed up fabric yellowing due to the colorless, odorless fumes they emit as they break down.  

Don’t have a cotton storage bag available? 

• Machine wash a queen-sized cotton bedsheet
• Machine dry without any fabric softener
• Cut a hole in the exact center of the bedsheet
• Place the hanger top through the hole.  This will be suitable for a breathable cotton storage option, 100% better for your wedding dress than plastic.

Dress Hanging Tips to Reduce Damage

We don't recommend hanging your dress if you can help it, but if you must please follow these tips:

1. Use a padded hanger: better than a non-padded hanger
2. Avoid thin hangers: avoid these as they will place stress on the fabric
3. Utilize the hanging straps: your dress most likely will have the sewn-in hanging staps in the underarms which will take the pressure off your dress material
4. Hang the train: dress trains can be 3 pounds of fabric (or more) which can add additional stress to the fabric when hanging - consider using a second padded hanger to reduce the pull on the hanging straps

Long Term Storage

Do not risk your dress yellowing! Only store a cleaned wedding dress beyond 6 months.

1. Avoid storing your dress in a regular box: the chemicals in a traditional shipping box may leach into the delicate fabrics of your wedding dress. This can cause fabric scorching and ugly staining that will become more visible over the years if left untreated. Use a lignin-free, acid-free cardboard storage box, the one you receive when you preserve a gown.
2. Store it somewhere cool, with low humidity and avoid sunlight: all of these things can cause and quicken the yellowing of your dress material, as well as other signs of damage.