HELP!! Vintage white lace dress that has random pink coloring in spots that I need to get out.

[Mandy]

It is a Katie MFG dress and is approx. 30 years old. It was my mother's wedding dress. It was stored in a shoe box and yellowed over the years. It also developed random pink coloring in areas of the lace parts of the dress, possibly where it was exposed to something. It was gently cleaned, but the pink spots are still there. You can see in the photos that the spots are mostly on the top part of the dress. Please help!

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Hi Mandy and welcome to the forums.

I can't quite see what's happening with the spots but removing them will depend on what caused them and what fabric the dress is - can you tell by the labels what the composition is? I'm thinking nylon or polyester lace but if you're not sure can you please post a clear and in focus close up.

It looks like a strapless dress with a plastic boned bodice? Can you tell what the bodice is lined in? Maybe white cotton?

 

[Mandy]

Thanks for getting back with me Nicole! It is hard to tell. I cannot find a tag that gives me any fabric info. I will send more photos over in a minute!

 

[Mandy]

Here are close ups of the pink coloring. The dress is not that yellow, the lighting is off.

 

[Mandy]

Here is a photo of the tags as well as the lining. It doesn't feel like a cotton, it's more slippery to the touch. It is boned and elastic in the back, but the elastic is extremely worn.

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Thanks for the extra pics Mandy - it sounds like a synthetic lace with polyester lining.

Are you sure the pink is a staining? It looks like part of the lace as it follows the lines of the design.

 

[Mandy]

I worded that incorrectly, sorry. It definitely follows the lines of the design in areas. It's only on random parts of the dress, and they were not originally there. Here is a photo of it when it was new.

 

[Mandy]

Any idea why/how it happened and how to remove it? I have searched everywhere and can't seem to find an answer. Your help is much appreciated!

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Mandy, staining is unlikely to appear along the lines of the design, so perhaps it was always there and wasn't as noticeable in the past - or it was painted on at some point (yes, that sounds unlikely to me too).

If you look at the underside you should be able to see if the pink is applied to the top only (suggesting stain or paint) or if it's woven into the design.
If woven, it's always been there.

 

[Mandy]

It's not painted on nor woven. You can see on certain areas the pink fades into the normal color of the dress. Almost as if it was exposed to something that caused the discoloration. After having the dress dry cleaned, my mom stored it in a shoe box for 25+ years. It's such a strange happening and I can't figure out how to have the pink removed.

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Mandy, it's really hard for us to tell much from the photos: if you have a good dry cleaner nearby you could ask for their opinion.

Whereabouts on the bodice is the pink? Just the front, or the back or the sides? Do you think it was caused by touching something during storage? If so, any ideas what?

Personally, I haven't seen anything like this so I can't help any further, sorry.

 

[EndlessAlley]

is it possible the pink areas were much lighter parts of the design originally and have darkened over the years and become more noticeable?

 

[retro ruth]

Given that it follows the design of the lace, I think it must be to do with fibre composition of the lace. Eg certain strands were woven in say, cotton or rayon, and the rest is nylon. Then the cotton or rayon has aged, or been affected by storage, or some other process, differently to the rest.

You see this sometimes when you dye lace, that some parts take the dye much more deeply than others, following the design as yours does, because different fibres were used to make one piece of lace.

I can only imagine that storage exposed it to some kind of environment that has caused one type of fibre to become discoloured like that. I'm not sure what exactly would do this though, possibly being stored next to something that was pink, in an atmosphere that wasn't entirely dry? Or colour from the box it was stored in? Or some kind of chemical reaction that has taken place over time?

Is it consistent throughout the dress, or only on one side or in certain places, eg where it might have been touching something else?

If a dry cleaning hasn't removed it, it's difficult to know what else to suggest. If it were washable, I would try a colour run remover. Perhaps your dry-cleaner can do some kind of colour run removal process?

 

[Mandy]

My mom informed me that the dress was stored in plastic for a period of time before she placed it in a box. The pink is not consistent in the pattern. It does follow the pattern of the lace, but only in certain areas. It is much more prominent in the top portion of the dress, mainly on the back.

 

[Midge]

Whatever it is, it does sound like some crazy chemical reaction due to the composition of the lace. Maybe storage played a role in it too - maybe the part where it is more marked was touching the plastic or the box - was it stored folded up?
Freakish things can happen, especially with synthetic materials. I'm a Barbie doll collector, and there was a short time in the 80s - about 2 years - when Mattel must have done something with the material of their dolls that was different. These dolls develop light-colored splotches on their legs. One can buy a pristine doll, never removed from her packaging, and pay top dollar for her, and she has them. No matter if her legs are bare or she wears something on them. No matter if she was exposed to sunlight, which can fade the colors, or not. I have several of them. Two I bought originally packed - one had not light, but orange splotches, and her dark-skinned friend had green ones. A variety of the light splotches. It's a mystery as far as I know and there's nothing one can do about it.

 

[retro ruth]

If it's mainly in one place in the dress, it does suggest that it was exposed to something that has caused this reaction. I believe some plastics do give off fumes that can cause damage over time. Sorry I don't have any advice to offer on whether you can remove it. I imagine it would take specialist expertise, such as a textile conservator, to know what could be done.

 

[Pinkcoke]

I can only think that mould is sometimes pink, and possibly this staining was left behind after the mould was removed in cleaning.

When you say it was gently cleaned - was it dry cleaned or washed?
I ask because I have had success using Napisan (a mild baby bleach) in removing dye run from a red shirt onto white appliques which had left one side noticeably pink. I actually removed the applique to treat it by first trying a 50/50 solution in a large spoon and soaking the stained material, when that was not strong enough I moved onto straight Napisan, but only after I had determined it was not destroying the material. This method is risky, and requires several rinses through afterward to remove the stench of bleach. I don't think I would dry this if it had been dry cleaned however, as that would be mixing chemicals which may have an undesirable effect combined. Plain water is PH neutral however and would provide a clean slate to work on, and also confirm that it could be rinsed afterward. If it were mine, I would find the most insconspicuous place to try this on with just a drop to see if the colour lightens at all.

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

A synthetic lace won't go mouldy, that's something that only affects natural materials. Petroleum based fibres do not offer anything to feed spores.

Mandy, as I see it, here are the possibilities:

- A different material was used in those affected portions of the lace and it has become discoloured over the years due to a chemical reaction as a result of poor storage (plastic) or age. Against this idea:

• the pink would be visible in the underneath as well, not just on top.
  
• it would be more even, not random as pattern weaves follow a pattern.
  
• pink is a very unusual colour to discolour. I've never heard of this happening.
• modern (post '70s) synthetic laces are generally all one material.

To test this idea, see if you can see the pink appearing in the same part of the pattern elsewhere on the dress. If there is a regularity, it suggests it is a possibility. You could also perform a burn test on a small clipping to confirm the fabric composition.

- The pink has been applied in the intervening years. Against this idea:

• The dress has been in storage, has not been worn.
• Why would anyone do such a thing?
• If they did, wouldn't they "paint" the bodice front rather than random areas on the back?

Mandy, my advice is to wear the dress as is. If you really want to remove the marks and don't mind potentially ruining the dress, you could wash in a colour run remover. I would do that first before trying Napisan (oxygen bleach) as I find the latter rarely works on colour run. Colour run remover removes dye that shouldn't be there, so if it has been applied or developed somehow since it was last worn, it should improve it.

Failing that, I would hand wash in mild detergent and warm water and if that doesn't work then I'd go for the run remover.

The reason I recommend the run remover first is that subsequent treatments can set the colour - if you've had it dry cleaned, it's possible this has already happened but it's worth a shot.

Good luck!

 

[poppysvintageclothing]

I wonder if that color was not picked up from the shoe box it had been kept in.