Care and Cleaning for the Vintage Seller

Part 1 of A Guide to Care and Cleaning for the Vintage Seller
by Hollis Jenkins-Evans pastperfectvintage.com

Introduction

Welcome to a Down And Dirty Guide to Care and Cleaning. And let’s get this straight right off the top, I am not a museum conservator. Not by a long shot. What I know about the area of textiles comes from reading, talking to people who know more than I do and study with that unforgiving teacher – Trial and Error. I did study costume history for several years a part of an MFA degree in Costume Design and Construction and I started collecting in oh, 1979, and have been selling since 1992.

So where to start? Most of us are dealers with stock inventory. Museum techniques really won’t work for us. But I have rarely met a seller who didn‘t have a personal collection. And there are many things we can do to protect what we have and pass it on to the next owner.

Part 2 of A Guide to Care and Cleaning for the Vintage Seller
by Hollis Jenkins-Evans pastperfectvintage.com

Let’s start with the point of purchase

A lot of damage happens just getting our treasures home. Maybe you have found things at a local shop, vintage clothing show or were lucky enough to be given goodies. Usually they are stuffed in a tiny grocery sack, or a dirty cardboard box or even a huge used garbage bag and then handed to you. Delicious. If you can, try to wash your hands before you handle it all. Those nachos and cheese dishes can leave some really greasy stuff on the clothes.

Now for the obvious: Don’t try to carry too much – if you head to the car with 15 dresses and 10 hats piled in your arms, I promise you will drop something or drag on the ground. And those velvet dresses don’t look good after you have stepped on them in the gravel parking lot.

So be patient, be careful. Carry what you can securely. If you have a lot of dresses, lay them flat, grab all the hangers in your right hand, then slide your left under the garments and carry horizontally. You won’t drop anything and nothing will drag on the ground. Make as many trips at it takes.

Part 3 of A Guide to Care and Cleaning for the Vintage Seller
by Hollis Jenkins-Evans pastperfectvintage.com

Sorting and Cleaning

When handling your vintage, whether store stock or private collection, some guidelines that will help avoid problems:

• Wash your hands. Frequently.
• Consider purchasing white cotton gloves if you handle a lot of early textiles. Change gloves as they soil so you don‘t transfer dirt from one item to another.
• No ink pens, use pencil in the work area if you are labeling tags.
• Don’t smoke, eat or drink in your work area. Accidents always happen.
• Remove sharp jewelry that can catch on, snag or tear textiles.
• Remember that food, flowers , fur and old woolens may bring insects into the work area.
• Keep your work area clean, especially the table top where you will be placing textiles.

Now that you have your finds in your home or shop, this is a good time to sort out what needs cleaning, what needs repair and what needs no work at all.

Part 4 of A Guide to Care and Cleaning for the Vintage Seller
by Hollis Jenkins-Evans pastperfectvintage.com

Repairs

Warning, I may not be a conservator but I have been a professional seamstress and draper/pattern maker for 25 years. So I do have this club in my bag.

Now that you have your fab find or two home and clean, let’s finish getting get in good shape. But before we go too far, if you are seller, I do want to state that any repairs that involve replacement of original pieces, e.g. new buttons, need to be stated at point of sale. If you either collect or deal in vintage clothing, I heartily recommend you acquire basic sewing skills. I know, you avoided Home Ec like the plague but some basic skills will save a lot of time and hassle, not to mention cash.

A course at the local fabric store may be available, or self taught skills can be had by picking up an old Vogue or Singer How to Sew text in a used bookstores. Stitching techniques haven’t changed. A slip stitch in 1919 is a slip stitch now.

Part 5 of A Guide to Care and Cleaning for the Vintage Seller
by Hollis Jenkins-Evans pastperfectvintage.com

Dyeing

Let’s deal with this issue since it comes up fairly often in our forums.

This is something we do a lot in theater and costuming, where the needs of the production come first. But it isn’t something I recommend for vintage clothing. It is permanent change. And the vast majority of the time, it just doesn’t work. Think of dye as a watercolor. It isn’t opaque. It’s just a wash of color over whatever is dye is already there. So if there are stains or light areas, they will end up darker or lighter than the rest of the field.

Over dyeing also dyes all the interfacings and threads and labels that originally were another color, leaving a telltale sign you have been there. Most garments are made of commercially dyed fabric already and the fabric won’t usually take much more color. And purchasable dye remover won’t touch most commercial dyes. Other pitfalls are shrinkage, the fabric taking the dye unevenly and dye spots.

About the only scenario where over-dyeing might help is rinsing a dark garment with it’s existing color to freshen it up. And I still can’t really recommend it.

Part 6 of A Guide to Care and Cleaning for the Vintage Seller
by Hollis Jenkins-Evans pastperfectvintage.com

Documentation and Inventory

You found it, you’ve cleaned it, you’ve repaired it. Now is a good time to document and photograph your new acquisition, before you pack it away. Once packed away, the less you disturb it the better.

If you are a seller or store owner, odds are you already entered that great new Ceil Chapman dress in your inventory. If not, now is the time. You know what you have in it and what you have done to it.

Note the date purchased, the vendor, the cost, and assign your inventory number. Note repair or cleaning costs. If you do know the provenance, please make a note of it in your inventory. It’s is so easy to lose this information, and it will add to the monetary value of the piece. And it can be substantial amount. I sold an 1837 wedding dress several years ago that would normally have brought in the $400 range that went for over $1000 because I knew whose it was and was fortunate that a local museum saw it and wanted it.

Part 7 of A Guide to Care and Cleaning for the Vintage Seller
by Hollis Jenkins-Evans pastperfectvintage.com

Storage or What To Do With All This Stuff Now!

Storage. The bane of everyone’s existence with vintage clothing is having enough space to store it properly. I can’t help you add a room onto your shop or home, but I can tell you organization will make a huge difference.

A few thoughts about the storage area: be sure your storage area has good air circulation and keep it swept up and clean. This will help enormously with mold and insects. Never store your vintage (or any other) textiles in attics or basements. Or unheated and un-air conditioned spaces. The temperature changes and moisture will cause and contribute to quick decay. And water leaks and vermin will be hard to spot.

Ideally, the temperature range of your area should be 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit and have a relative humidity level of 45-55%. But since we aren’t museums with fine climate control, a good rule of thumb is that if you are comfortable, it probably is as well. If you are too hot, the textiles are as well. If you have trouble with high humidity, a dehumidifier will help. Fans can assist with air circulation.