Ballroom dresses are many women’s most precious possessions, and so we’re going to examine the way to keep them that way. It is in your best interests to try and preserve the dresses you really love because it is not always easy to find replacements you like, and it is certainly costly to have to do so. It is well worth the investment of your time and care.
Firstly, your ballroom dresses need to be hung in a dry area with a good amount of room all around them to prevent creasing. Ideally they should each have a protective plastic cover. A dark-colored cover is much better than a transparent one as this will help stop the fabric fading from exposure to the sunlight. Just to be sure, keep them away from strong sunlight also. Leaving the cover’s zip open helps the dress to keep aired, serving to ensure that the dress does not grow to be damp and mold to form.
Moving on from how to store our ballroom dance dresses, let’s now take a look at the best way to care for them in terms of keeping them clean and well-presented. The care instructions supplied by the manufacturer or your dress-maker are an excellent place to start.
So, what’s the best way to wash your dresses, assuming that they are suitable to wash? Should you use a washing machine- or hand-wash? Generally-speaking, Lycra and georgette are suitable to be machine-washed as is much practice dancewear, but only if there are no embellishments or other bits that might drop off in the wash. Whichever way you choose to wash your dresses, to avoid shrinkage, it is best to opt for a very cool temperature. No more than 30 degrees Centigrade should be all right.
If there are heavy stains, then look at applying a pre-wash spot remover treatment also. You have to be especially watchful if the dress has dark-colored satin bias binding because this can mark the material. So you have to be careful in ensuring that the binding and the cloth do not come into contact with one another when still damp. This may look like overkill, but you will be glad you did it.
Now if your ballroom dresses are embellished, then you should never launder or even dry clean them. The possibility is that any stones will be harmed and lose their sparkle. What’s more, it’s also possible for the glue to dissolve. You may, of course, spot clean with a brush.
So what exactly do you do if you cannot wash your ballroom dresses, but you would like to freshen them up and perhaps remove the creases? It may well be feasible to hand-wash a body suit only. In this case, you must do it with the dress turned inside out and be especially careful to use cold water and mild soap only. Rinse out in cold water and drip dry. If you cannot wash the any part of the garment, then you can have a shot at hanging it in a steamy place, for instance from the shower rail.
Washing ballroom dresses is always fraught with danger. If your garment is particularly heavy when wet, it is probably best to place it over a clothes horse to give it some extra support and help prevent stretching. On the other hand, it could be hung over your bath to drip dry.
Now let’s examine the tricky subject of ironing. If you can avoid it, then you should do so. Again, pay close attention to the maker’s instructions. Synthetic fabrics are notorious for burning easily, so use a very cool temperature.
Your ballroom dresses will last so much longer and stay looking almost as good as new, when you take the time to plan their storage and you launder them correctly.