There are some easy but essential rules to follow if your wedding dress is to remain as beautiful and perfect as the day it was worn:

• Plastic dress covers are not suitable for long term storage. Only use them for short term hanging prior to your wedding. They let in light which fades the fabric and they do not allow for changes in humidity which could cause condensation and mould. PVC covers will also break up after several years allowing dirt particles to drop into the fabric and spoil it.
• Do not store in a normal cardboard box unless made with special pH neutral board since all boxes contain acid that passes into the dress fabric causing discolouring and yellowing.
• Wardrobes, drawers, suitcase linings and colour dyes in clothes will all have an effect on the purer fabrics of a wedding dress if they lie together. Always separate a wedding dress from any other item using an acid free medium.
• NEVER wrap the wedding dress in BLACK tissue paper. All coloured tissue paper contains dye which will affect the dress. Place the dress in a totally dark place and use tissue paper which is white and acid free.
• Don’t hang a dress on a hanger other than for a short term in order to avoid stress on the seams and shape.
• Never store a dress in the attic even when well protected since there is potential for various problems such

as a leaking roof, damp, dirt, squirrels, birds and various insects.