Bleach type spots and dating help on dress?

There are several light spots that remind me of bleach spots. I think it's silk but haven't tested yet and no labels, I was thinking of dying it but I'm worried that the lighter spots will stay lighter unless I dye it something very dark like emerald green, midnight blue etc. I prefer to keep it the original colour but the spots may be too noticeable in proper light. Opinions?

The dress has boning and the zipper was metal but had started to rust so I removed it already. It was hand sewn and hidden. The skirt is extremely full. The fabric isn't as loud as taffeta but still swishy-audible. I'm sure there's a word for that but you get what I mean
Thanks for any help offered.

 

Thanks Susan! Hopefully we'll find someone who has experience dealing with those light spots or dying, and perhaps you'll see it again in a different colour. I keep picturing Liz Taylor in that glamorous emerald green. Mmm, so lovely.

 

Lovely gown. The fabric and construction are dry clean only so I would only recommend dyeing if it was a lost cause as the process will likely damage the fabric. It will lose its crispness and the beautiful sculptural bust may get thrown out of wack and sit badly.

The bleach spots aren’t very noticeable from your photos so I would leave as is. Another option is to cover them with with an embellishment like beading or sequins.

I’m curious about the zipper: they don’t usually rust. If you can, it’s best to replace with something similar rather than a modern one which will reduce its value.

 

What a great technique for those spots! Yes I can definitely try it on an unobtrusive spot first. There are about 8 spots that I can find but the image shows the largest, it's about the size of a pop can ring. Thank you Linn!

Hi Nicole,
I never even thought of the texture being ruined by getting it wet with a dye. Makes perfect sense now! I'm going to try the eyeshadow because I probably have that silvery-blue-grey.

As far as the zipper rusting, quite a few pieces in this batch had rusted snaps, hooks and zippers. Most of the time there was no damage to the fabric so I caught it in time. The clothing isn't water damaged or musty but I think they were all stored in high humidity. I probably kept the original zipper so I'll take a look to see if there's anything notable about it. Maybe have a company name on them. I'll use the same type zipper as a replacement. I have a ton of old sewing notions that are in good condition so I may have one of the same era.

Thanks again!