40s satin Dorsa suit cleaning help

Blondzai

Blondzai

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Gleefully dug this ol girl out of a by the pound thrift store but to no one surprise she is filthy and it smells like a thousand wet basements. Because it appears to be satin I’m terrified to wash her. Can I at least do a cold water soak? I do plan in removing the buttons and shoulder pads before doing so but I don’t want to get water marks. Any advice or wise words? Prayers welcome.
 

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Yikes, this is one that scares me...it looks like it must have been a wedding suit, the back is amazing!
It is either dry clean (if you have one that understands vintage, they are few and far between these days)
or let it soak in cold water, you already know to remove the buttons and should pads.

This one is really a question of trying to salvage as it is gorgeous!
 
Last edited:
poppysvintageclothing said:
Yikes, this is one that scares me...it looks like it must have been a wedding suit, the back is amazing!
It is either dry clean (if you have one that understands vintage, they are few and far between these days)
or let it soak in cold water, you already know to remove the buttons and should pads.

This one is really a question of trying to salvage as it is gorgeous!
Click to expand...
Let me tell you... I am TERRIFIED. I’ve had it for months and have been too scared to take the plunge. It’s unwearable as is though and I maybe paid a buck for it so it’s a risk worth taking as the design is soooo beautiful. I’m new to the restorative cleaning process and after several items ended in heartbreak my nerves have held me back. BUT I’m gonna try the water soak and hope for the best
 
I would dry-clean if I had a really good dry-cleaners who would handle it as a wedding dress. That's pricey. If it's just smell, an zone treatment would help. Some dry-cleaners do them and it's not expensive. Maybe an ozone treatment first, then a dry-cleaning?

If you tepid water wash, do it flat in a tub, watch the water for color removal. You may see a lot of yellow - this would be old dry-cleaning fluid. Fold this as little as possible. Lay flat on towels to dry, again as few folds as possible. Being satin, it will hold onto creases and wrinkles if it's allowed to dry with them. So watch it, and when it's still a little damp, fluff it up and hang it. It will press up best if pressed or steamed from the wrong side while still slightly damp.
 
No idea i'm afraid, I have ruined a couple of beautiful pieces that were difficult to say goodbye to. I just wanted to stop by and ogle at it's beauty! Please do post pics of how it comes out. 40's are a favourite for me :)
 
Another vote for drycleaning. If it's dusty you can gently vacuum to get the dust out. I'm afraid that any kind of laundering will crush the satin and it will be forever crushed. Sometimes it's better to be clean and crushed though.

Dynamite suit. Hope you can save her.
 
UPDATE: I took the plunge and have done a really long cold water soak followed by another long soak in cold with some Laundress for Delicates wash (after testing an inconspicuous spot of course). Not 100% clean yet but a vast improvement. The stench is gone and there is no longer a trace of the HORRIBLE pit stains. There are still some (lightened) brownish smears on the back of the jacket and a few spots left on the skirt but I'm happy to say she is looking bright and shiny. Im thinking of doing another water bath and applying some of the wash directly on some of the spots while she is wet and seeing if that will lift out more. I know it sounds risky but Ill let you guys know how it turns out
 
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