Cleaning *ahem* bodily fluids from black silk beaded gown

TrashPandaClothier

TrashPandaClothier

Registered Guest
So I found an amazing fully sequined/beaded gown (all black, like my heart) a the thrift store about a year ago. Made by Marc Happel, pre-NYC Ballet tenure.

It's incredible, but has a couple issues which put it fairly squarely within the "personal collection" pile, rather than the sell pile:

1) one row of sequins is coming loose, missing about 9" of sequins/beading. I am confident in my embellishment &repair skills, and *could* easily fix this, but have no desire to if I'm unable to deal with issue #2...

2) There is a suface stain in the lining, of a delicate nature. Judging by its location and...appearance...it seems to be of bodily origin. My guess is that the previous owner either a) wore this dress without anything underneath or b) had a coat closet close encounter of the intimate kind, if ya know what I mean.

Does anyone have any advice on removing surface bodily fluid stains from delicate garments? Especially ones that may have been there for 20+ years? I know, it's gross. But the dress is amazing and I would feel remiss in my duties as an amateur clothing preservationist if I didn't at least *try* to find a solution.

I have searched the internet high and low, to no avail. I will appreciate any information, ideas, or anecdotes related to the removal of this kind of thing.

[Editing to add: if there's already a discussion on this topic somewhere else in the forum, please help by directing me there! Also, any ideas why I'm having such a hard time finding any discussion of this sort of stain removal anywhere on the entire internet? Is it really *that* taboo, that not even Reddit is talking about it?]
 
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Forgot to mention, the stain in question is on the inside/lining of the dress. Not on the beaded & sequined exterior.

Also, I'm not going to try to sell the dress! Even if I am able to get the stain out...asking purely so I can maybe have this incredible piece in my personal "museum" collection.

Please please please help, y'all!
 
Might it be an option to carefully excise that portion of lining and replace with a patch? If it’s not in an area that requires a lot of structural integrity, seems like you ought to be able to find a piece of black fabric of similar weight and type (silk, rayon etc). Use Fraycheck or other binding for edges of patch and lining and hand stitch in place? It just seems more straightforward than trying to decide how clean is clean enough.
 
mags_rags said:
Might it be an option to carefully excise that portion of lining and replace with a patch? If it’s not in an area that requires a lot of structural integrity, seems like you ought to be able to find a piece of black fabric of similar weight and type (silk, rayon etc). Use Fraycheck or other binding for edges of patch and lining and hand stitch in place? It just seems more straightforward than trying to decide how clean is clean enough.
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Totally. This is my backup plan. I'm just a bit of a perfectionist so the idea of a patch job on such a lovely dress makes me a little sad. I'm a professional seamstress, so I don't doubt my ability to do it well...I was just hoping to avoid it if possible.

I'm also asking out of a thirst for knowledge. I thought if anyone would know/have experience with this type of cleaning, it would be the VFG :)
 
If the stained portion of the lining can be somewhat separated from the dress, you might try following directions for lessening or removing blood stains Use barely warm water, because hot water will set protein stains. Use the mildest soap you have, and rinse (sponge) thoroughly as you go with lots of underneath padding that you move as you go. The discoloration may not be completely gone, but you may feel better about wearing the dress. Good luck.
Marian
 
Vinclothes said:
If the stained portion of the lining can be somewhat separated from the dress, you might try following directions for lessening or removing blood stains Use barely warm water, because hot water will set protein stains. Use the mildest soap you have, and rinse (sponge) thoroughly as you go with lots of underneath padding that you move as you go. The discoloration may not be completely gone, but you may feel better about wearing the dress. Good luck.
Marian
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Thanks for the reply, Vinclothes!

But the stain, I believe, is either semen or vaginal discharge, not blood. I know both of these substances have more protein than blood, so I'm afraid that more drastic measures may be necessary. Maybe an enzyme cleaner? I'm just afraid of discoloration. The fabric in question is black silk.

Sorry for any confusion. In my attempt to address the issue delicately, I'm afraid I obscured the true nature of the stain!
 
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