What to Do (and Not to Do) When Using a Wedding Dress Box
How To Handle Your Wedding Dress Box
When it’s time to store a wedding dress for sentimental reasons or for future use, you’ll likely use a preservation company that provides an appropriate box to preserve your dress. Alternatively, you might be using your own box to store your dress. Either way, you need to know a few things about wedding dress boxes.
First, they should be sturdy enough to protect your dress from insects, sunlight and dust, but also made of an acid-free material that gives the fabric room to breathe. Plastic is not breathable enough and can trap moisture, which leads to mold. A typical cardboard box contains acid that can damage the dress. Most wedding dress boxes are made of specially formulated heavy-duty cardboard.
Second, you should pay attention to what’s around your dress. Typically, preservation companies wrap dresses in acid-free muslin that helps protect them. Never use colored tissue paper or anything that is not PH-neutral, as it can damage the fabric.
Third, if there’s a window in the box for viewing, it should not be plastic, but acetate.
Now that you know what wedding dress boxes are meant to do, let’s talk about what you should do with your wedding dress box.
Keep it sealed
It might be tempting to open your wedding dress box and take a peek at the gown of your dreams. Our advice is: don’t. Leave it sealed.
These boxes are designed to keep air out of them, as oxygen is the enemy of clothing kept over a long period of time. When a dress is sealed in a box, all the oxygen is sucked out to prevent oxidation, which can cause yellowing, discoloration, and other types of damage. Now, if you’re breaking the seal so your daughter can wear it on her wedding day, you’ve got the green light!
Not all preservation companies seal boxes, so it may be possible for you to open the box. If you do, just make sure your hands are clean and that you put it back as it was and close the box properly. Talk to your preservation company and follow its recommendations for opening the box.
Store it right
Where should you store your wedding dress box? Since most boxes have a window that allows you to see the dress, it might be tempting to display it in a prominent place where you’ll see it daily. However, direct sunlight can fade your dress, even through the box window.
We recommend storing your wedding dress box in a cool, dark place with relative humidity at 50 percent. Basements are not ideal. You might find a space underneath your bed or in your closet. You can also add your wedding dress box to your UOVO storage closet for safe keeping. That way, you’ll be sure it’s in a climate-controlled environment that’s secure. Learn more about UOVO’s wedding wardrobe storage and preservation services.
UOVO Fashion Services
UOVO provides premium wardrobe storage and preservation services. We offer digital wardrobe organization, secure physical storage facilities, travel wardrobe storage and more. We can even store purses, shoes and sports equipment. Contact us today to learn more.