I was thinking from the photos and what you said about being "stored in a closet for a long time"(improperly, perhaps), that the silk of this lovely dress may have been compromised. When the silk is so fragile that it deteriorates with normal handling, it is, as Ruth suggested, a lovely display piece. I have a beautiful wedding dress that continually haunts me, as I did not purchase it because the condition was so poor. I would have only been able to use it for display and just couldn't justify having such a large piece with nowhere to display it and then to have to try to preserve it.....I still think about how lovely it was, though. Your pretty dress looks like it was a custom made piece and you will certainly have to ultimately decide it's fate, as you can do hands on examination and accurately determine the stability of the material. I'm inclined to agree with Nicole and try not to even purchase items anymore that have a great deal of damage, if they are to be for sale. Now, I am sometimes weak when it comes to purchasing one for myself....even if it has damage and I just absolutely love it, I will often buy it for me. But, it's hard to sell damaged items....shoot, it's hard to sell items sometimes that are near perfect!!!
