What's the best way to clean the ballroom gown after wearing it for competition? I've been dry cleaning my gowns, but I heard that I really should do it. Please advise....

Yoshiko

Well, how are your costumes holding up? Any fading, bleeding of colors, shrinking or loss of decorations?

General rule is not to dry clean the costumes. The delicate, synthetic fabrics and decorations don't stand up well in the heat. Hang them so air circulates freely around the costume, not in plastic. You can turn the garmet inside out and gently hand wash the body suit using a tiny amount of gentle soap and cold water.

Has anyone tried to have one 'laundered' at the cleaners, not drycleaned? I know they offer the service of cleaning wedding dresses so why not a costume.

Thank you for your input. I'll try hand washing the body suit next time. I'm not sure what 'laundered' means.... do any dry cleaners know how to do it?

First, what kind of fabric is your costume made out of? Lots of fabrics will bleed/fade washout. Some will shrink. Also if you have alot of stonework/decorations, etc., you may want to find a reputable recommended dry cleaner - one who specializes in wedding gown preservation - who can take a look at your dress. It's pricey at best. Me? I know my own costume fabrics pretty well. And I don't recommend this for everyone. On some, I gently only wash the body/leotard by hand in Deft (for babies) or Ivory or Woolite in cold water. On others, I have had success, not recommended for everyone, on placing my costume in a pillowcase and making sure the pillowcase was not going to come open in the gentle soak cycle or a very closed knit mesh bag made for delicates, zipped it closed and gently washed/soaked the entire thing in cold water with woolite or Deft gentle liquid detergent. I then laid out the costume to dry, as carefully as a priceless sweater so as not to stretch it out. The stones that naturally fall off were caught in the mesh bag and I was able to re-apply them to the gown(s). Note: I know my fabrics and how they react in cold water plus I have alot of experience with stonework and decorations. SprialGrl offers good advice about circulation of air for your costumes and delicate fabrics.

Dry cleaning can be one of the worst things you can do to a heavily stoned gown, as the chemicals destroy the glue and you can be left with a lot of dark grey circles on the gown from where the flatbacks fell off.

The other thing that is terrible for a gown is to not keep it clean. The body oils and sweat will, again, destroy the glue on stonework, leaving dark grey circles. And, of course, not washing your gown can result in permanent staining and permanent bad odor.

Can you describe what materials your gown is made from? I have owned a variety of gowns, and have had good success with handwashing in cold water with Woolite and laying flat to dry.

Since all of the replies I received talk about hand washing the dress, I am guessing this is the best way.... My dress is made of Chiffon and has many stones on the body suit, do I just wash the doby suit area?

My costume is made of Chiffon and has lots of Swarowski Stones on the body suit. So, hand washing is the best way to go, I guess? What do you do for your dress' skirt?

With any luck your fabric of your costume was pre-treated (pre-washed) before it was built as your costume. Chiffon can be a blend of fabric content. Chiffon silk or chiffon polyester...etc etc. Silk reacts differently than polyester. Plus the color may run/bleed/fade and the fabric may react as well. You might "test" some underside of the skirt taht is the little seen part of the skirt fabric - that doesn't show to the audience. To see how it reacts with handwashing/cold water/and air dry or laying it flat style of drying before attempting the rest of your costume. Everything you do in washing your costume will be gentle. IF you make the leap to wanting to wash/clean the entire costume find a net/mesh laundry bag for delicate clothing (ususally sold in laundry aisles where I live of our local stores) where the mesh is so fine it will catch the stones that go missing in action during your cleaning. Still, cold water and gentle detergent/hand wash gently, if this is the route you decide on. I use Gem-Tac glue to replace the stones back onto my costumes. This advise is not for everyone - it is simply what works for me.