Sarmi Velvet Gown - UPDATED PICS

jauntyrooster

jauntyrooster

Alumni
Added some slightly better photos - not great but better. Sorry if huge - I have resized a bunch but photobucket not cooperating.

I picked up this lovely Sarmi velvet gown today (nope - didn't come out of the trunk! :) I have no light to give you a good pic but it is floor length and bodice is beaded. It has a back metal zipper and I have shown photo of label - am dating to 1960s based on label resource and other info found online. Someone did an terrible hemming job on it so need to get fixed.

My real question is this - is it safe to steam the velvet? I am assuming I would need to do it from the inside of the gown so as not to damage the nap. Also, is there a good way tell what kind of velvet this is? I am clueless so any direction would be appreciated. Are there any specific photos that would help identify?

Thank you all. The trunk doesn't come home til Tuesday so just have to occupy myself with something til then. :)

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Wow..that is a pretty dress. I really can't answer your questions but I was wondering if you would post a photo of the full dress. It is very pretty. Thanks, Caryn
 
Hi Caryn,

I am will post as soon as I get some sunlight. Right now when I take pics it just looks like a black dress. Lighting in our house is AWFUL and when I try to add artificial light - well, I don't know what I am doing so things look pretty bad. I will work on it and try to add to this today. I see the clouds moving out (hopefully!)

Thanks!
Maureen
 
YOu should always steam velvet from the back, otherwise you will likely leave marks on the nap, and if it drips you can really screw the surface but good. However, don't expect miracles as crushed velvet is hard to uncrush completely. Silk velvet should uncrush the easiest, rayon the least. I would expect silk from Sarmi, but you never know - they didn't have as much disdain for synthetics in the 50s/60s as we do now.
 
Jonathan - In the 80s when my brother was at the height of his preppy dressing he called them the "
ons, the icks, and the esters" and he turned his nose up at all of them. He was quite the fabric snob back in his day. You made me remember this when you used the word disdain - perfect description! :)

Thanks for input.
 
I agree with steaming from the back side. (Simply beautiful dress, btw!) But, sometimes you have areas on the nap of velvet where it's flatter or "crushed" (but not on purpose--lol!) and you can either steam from the front--keeping the steamer head at a safe distance from the fabric so it doesn't get spit on--and finger fluff, or as you steam from the back, use a baby toothbrush (those with the very softest bristles available) to gently brush up those areas.

I'd guess it's a rayon-backed silk velvet, as many "silk" velvets are.
 
Oh my, I am glad to see the full dress. I love it. It is so beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

I have trouble with the lighting in my house too and artificial light makes a lot of the clothing look off color. That is my biggest photo challenge.

Caryn
 
I took to my high end tailor/dry cleaner. The hem is a complete disaster - uneven and poorly done. She is fixing hem and dry cleaning for me. There really aren't any crushed or dead spots thank goodness so hoping the dry cleaning will do the trick. She gave me the whole rundown on how silk velvet needs to be handled so I felt comfortable leaving with her. She was quite reasonable for both dry cleaning and the hem rework - I was pleasantly suprised. Crossing my fingers - always nervous ;)
 
it would be the measurement from the shoulder of your mannequin to the wheel I can see if you have that at home.
 
I thought of that but unfortunately, I had already adjusted manni height for a different dress. I would be guessing at where I had it sitting with this dress on.

If you want to email me at [email protected] I can get you info as soon as I have. Since I am not a member here, I want to make sure and be respectful of board rules.
 
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