I was super stoked to find this dress this past weekend. I've never found a 40s dress before, and it fits me to boot, which feels slightly miraculous (actually it's a bit too large, but better than too small). It's in surprisingly good condition, with only a few minor issues. It really amused me to find some original vintage tape (as in the Scotch tape kind) on the hem where it is coming undone and apparently the owner did a quick fix and never went back to sew it properly.
Beautiful! Lucky you! Two words of advice: Do not wash it! Rayon crepe shrinks, so it needs to be dry cleaned. I'd also remove the buttons for cleaning, then sew them back on, because rhinestones can fall out in cleaning.
Oh thanks so much. I will take your advice. I'm slightly tempted to see if shrinking it would make it fit perfectly (just kidding!) It smells clean, so I'll leave it alone unless/until I wear it. There already are a few button rhinestones missing.
Oh no, this made me recall that I washed the 30s rayon crepe blouse I posted here before and I tried it on AND IT HAS SHRUNK help help, is there anything I can do??
Wellll, you can try a technique I've used on shrunken wool sweaters: Add some hair conditioner to a bucket or sink of cool water and let the blouse soak it up for a short while, then remove it and gently stretch the fabric as it dries. Can't guarantee this!
Tears....well at least I can still get it on....maybe the treatments will at least make it presentable. Live and learn, though this isn't one I would have wanted to learn on!
Well I tried steaming the blouse and actually it's either worked or it just appeared to have shrunk because it was crumpled. I kind of wonder if it had already been washed and shrunk. In any case, I won't be doing that again.
