how to store vintage clothes

K

krcc

Registered Guest
Now that I have rediscovered my vintage clothes, I'm wondering how I should be storing them. I'm not a dealer, just a collector. My clothes are in boxes in my attic and little by little I'm remembering I've got some cool stuff. It's mostly 1960's era. As I bring them down from the attic I have to decide what to do with them. Just hang them in my closet, or should they be in a clothes bag? If a clothes bag, what kind is best? Is the plastic bad for the fabric? Is it ok to leave them in the attic with the drastic temperature changes?
Thanks -
Kate
 
well...l work in a museum and art gallery, which has a huge resource and storage of costume...so the ebstw ay to store (and l dont t=do this myself l'm ashamed to admit, as l dont have the space or resources hey ho)
but acid free tissue paper for folding items, though of course folding isnt best, but ahs to be done ..

hanging on hangers if room available, tissues stuff out older fabric of sleeves and wrap around hanger inside shoulders, so as not to cause any tension.

acid free boxes for some items, and of course a control temperature environment is the best choice. but as not practical usually, the loft isnt ideal as it where most heat either escapes from and so through the garments, or where it lingers if the roof is insulated.

a clean muggy free cedar wardobe is best, lve heard beech is good too...but l just like a wood wardrobe...or walk in space, or my ideal must have on MY WISH LIST is a spare room to hang it all in....

this of course is ahrdly gonna happen ehre, unless my kids and husband
leave home and leave me the house.....so doubt it...LOL



NEVER use plastic, is doesnt allow items to breathe, and its tick to patent, leaving the writing on the item thus not removable and ruined.

l collect cotton pillow case and cotton sheets and linens and make a hole in the pillow case and cover the delicate garment or indeed fur coat with this....


l store jewellery, in those glass vanity trays, that you see zillions of in charity shops, they store one on top of the other in plastic boxes, with or without lids..doesnt matter for these items.

Ideal papce for handbags is acid free tissue paper inside to keep their shapes and to enable them to stabd up!! try not to layer them in a box, they wil become squashed and dented by anothers buckle etc. Ideal is to pop them in a contemproary or old glass cabinet, where they will be stored dust free...


thjats it for now, l'm sure will come up with something else.....
 
We've had this discussion many times on several lists and professional conservators note this:

To add to Sarasattic, cedar is irrelevant; moths are only attracted to cloth which is dirty or stained so it is important to make sure wool in particular is thoroughly clean. Cedar does nothing except create aroma.

While using old sheets is protection, they must be desized. It is very difficult to remove body oils from bedding; they are there even though you can't see them. In this respect they do as much damage as other non-acid free protectors.

Test Fabrics sells desized muslin for those of you who are interested. To desize at home -- wash new muslin or sheeting 3 or four times with museum washing paste similar to Orvus. For used bedding, there is a special solution needed to add to wash water which I don't remember, not being a chemist.

However, if anyone here belongs to the Smithsonian's Texcons list, you can ask for further advice.

Joan
 
thanks for asking Kate and thank you Sara and Joan, I've just learned a great deal!

Joan - who knew? - I have cedar everywhere!!! balls, little hangers and such that I sand every now and then - especially now as all the moths are looking to bed down before the winter and I yell at DH to quickly CLOSE THE DOOR! With the exception of closing the door, I guess I can relax a little more.
 
the reason cedar is used is that the wood is so dense it doesnt absorb odours it helps neutralise them with its natural discenfectant odour.
 
Cedar was the magic wood; little did persons realize that wood has acid and not good for wools unless wool has protective covering. We used newspaper [in the days when paper was hot type] to wrap wool sweaters in for summer storage and placed in cedar chest. And kept our angora sweaters in the fridge during the winter to keep the hairs fresh and upgright. My dad never knew what to expect when he opened the door.

Joan
 
thanks again, ladies! My mother was a tosser - rarely stored anything; so I find this all very fascinating. I, on the other hand, am a hoarder, but I just use boxes and bins etc. Angora sweaters in the fridge - I'm going to try that - currently I put some furs in one.
 
I'd also like to add that older pieces don't do well when hung. After time it tends to pull on the shoulders. Also this might be an obvious suggestion but wire hangers can do damage over time too. Where I live sun fade is an issue I block the direct light from coming in my storage area as well as cover my inventory with large pieces of fabric. As mentioned above sheets work really well for this.
 
Don't feel guilty if you can't afford or have the space to store things like a major museum -- just do your best. I use old sheets over racks to keep dust and light from discolouring my hung garments. I box anything beaded, knitted, silk, fragile, or very old. I don't have many acid free boxes so I use regular boxes and use acid free tissue (non buffered) between the box and the garments. Buffered acid free tissue paper is not good for feathers, wool or silk. I stuff my hats and shoes (usually) with tissue paper as well. Also prioritize. Don't worry about acid free tissue paper first if you have beaded dresses hanging from wire hangers or everything stored in the attic, which is never a good idea. You want an environment as stable as possible. If the room is comfortable for you then its probably fine for the textiles as well. Too hot, cold, dry or damp are all enemies of cloth -- especially if it bounces back and forth between those extremes. I can attest to cedar being useless as I had a moth infestation once and lost all my white furs which were in a cedar lined trunk. For some reason the moths liked the white furs over the black or brown ones...
Also rayon is tricky and their colours can shift. Don't store them in light or near anything else that off-gasses like varnished wooden hangers, plastic bags etc. They are best on hard plastic hangers or stored in a box.
 
If it hasn't been mentioned - don't forget to watch showboxes and hat boxes - very acidic too. They were really only intended to bring your purchases home. Not posterity.

Joan - can you use fresh sheets just out of the package or do they still need resizing
 
New stuff is sized or has special finishes so it needs to be washed. I will try to find my notes about this subject. I think they contain the process to make a washing solution for desizing.

Joan
 
I just checked my Texcons notes.
First, there is some excellent information about storing textiles at home by the Smithsonian and when to use either buffered or unbuffered archival tissue paper www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmah/antqtext.htm

Muslin desizing per the Smith -- normal detergent washing does not remove starch [sizing]. To determine if there is sizing, use an enzyme or peroxide. If the test is negative, you may have a polyvinyl alcohol size. [But this was not elaborated on, the assumption that all the conservtionists on the list knew what to do].

Another professional source recommends buying cheap unbleached muslin, washing and rinsing well. Expensive grade muslin has more permanent pressing, sizing, finishes, bleach, etc., thus making it more difficult to desize. Test Fabrics sells desized muslin which is unbleached, desized and scoured at a reasonable price.

I think the above site may be help to you. Also excellent moth repellers are sachets of lavender, rosemary, thyme, dried orange peel.

Joan

Re archival tissues and boxes -- wood containers should first be lined with heavy weight freezer weight aluminum foil to act as a vapor barrier. Archival tissues will. Tissues need to be changed periodically -- about every 2 or 3 years, which is why some conservators prefer muslin wrappings because they can be rerinsed every so often.
 
I can add that for padding any hanger, thick old towels folded in 1/2 on the vertical grain to be double, and draped over the hanger like a shawl are terrific--cotton and well washed to remove the original chemicals. This is a good method for hanging leather and other garments that need a rounded shoulder area as well as torso support.

I also want to emphasize what was listed above about lining wood storage with foil. This is really why anything ceder is not desirable: it gasses off (that is where those tiny brown dots come from on old cotton garments). Keep all those wood fiber items away for the same reason (paper, wood hanger, wood trunks, wood shelving, cardboard boxes).

The gasses from plastic are less visable in damage. Plastic bags approved for food can store small items, however. Don't cover garments directly with plastic bags, you will sometimes notice the stickness of the product as it ages.

Lay horizontal any item whose weight will pull down its shoulders. If it must be hung, you can prepare a 'torso' type of hanger cover out of an old washed bed pad and fix the waistline of the hanging garment to that inner padding for support.

Always wash cotton garments before storing, if possible. Do not starch and press those antique muslin dresses and petticoats.

Moths: I have spoken with museums who also have this problem, and I hear that freezing the wool for a few days will kill the eggs, so now you know what to do with that old inefficient freezer out in the garage.

Finally the last 3 items for good long term storage: dark, dry, cool

(I know what you're thinking "yea, right", but at least you know what is ideal, and that will help you to provide your pieces the best situation possible<:)

Happy Collecting!
--Jennifer O
 
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