Hi all! I acquired this beautiful Cameo New York evening dress in a thrift store for a couple of dollars the other day. It's in pretty poor shape, but it's so pretty. Aside from some missing beads (pretty easy to replace) and a small section of the hem that needs re-sewing, there are some pink/red marks on the one of the straps. Is there any way that I can attempt to get rid of these, or do you think they are permanent? I love it regardless and would happily wear it with the marks (they are not that noticeable when wearing it) but it would be great to try and get them off. Also, when would you date this? I'm guessing that it's mid-late 50s? Thanks!
Hi Tamzzyn. Late '50s to early '60s for the dress I think. To remove the stain, you need to identify the fabric and ideally, what caused the stain too. Hard to know with vintage garments and marks have often been there for a long time too, which makes it harder. I can't tell what the fabric is from your pics, but it could be wool or rayon crepe? Either is a dry clean fabric and the embellishments make this a hard dress to soak any way. I think you're probably stuck with the stains as removal is likely to damage the fabric. My recommendation is to make the straps thinner so you just remove or hide the damaged parts.
Thank you I *think* that it's rayon crepe which is why I was leaning towards not being able to remove the stains.
