Vintage Garments
We know vintage garments
At RAVE FabriCARE, we understand the delicate nature of vintage garments. We respect their value to you. And we’ll do our very best to safeguard them.
Cleaning a vintage garment is a skillful process that involves great thought and care at every stage of the cleaning and finishing process.
Our strength is our personalized advisory service. When you bring in or send in a vintage garment to us, a knowledgeable Fabricare Consultant will:
- Examine the piece carefully
- Identify the challenges presented by the piece
- Discuss the areas of risk
- Explain our recommended restoration and/or cleaning process
- Identify the results that we believe you can and cannot expect from our work.
Specifically, we will discuss the problems and/or conditions of use, storage or manufacture that may limit whether such items can be safely cleaned and yield satisfactory results.
Potential issues to consider
At the very least, the following potential problems and/or conditions require careful examination:
Beads/Sequins
May peel, separate, dissolve, lose color, fall off due to loose, broken or rotted threads. If glued on, the glue may dissolve in either an aqueous solution or in dry cleaning fluid.
Lace
May be discolored, stained, or deteriorated due to age. If glued on, the color may change. If the item is a garment trimmed with lace, the lace may have to be separated from the garment, independently cleaned, and then reattached after the rest of the garment has been cleaned.
Hemlines
May be badly soiled, scuffed, frayed, torn or glued. Soil removal may be limited.
Linings
May be discolored, worn, frayed, torn, or stained.
Stains
May be stained from food or beverage, perspiration (can be invisible and turn yellow or brown in processing), dye bleed, or rust from metal components (buttons, hooks, zippers, etc.).
Dyes
May be dry cleaning fluid soluble and/or water soluble.
Trims
Bows, buttons, buckles, flowers, appliques, rhinestones and other ornamental attachments may separate or discolor. If trim is glued on, the glue may dissolve. Trims might have to be removed and then reattached after the rest of the garment has been cleaned.
Overall Condition
Scuffing, pulls and snags; yarn slippage; crushed nap; yellowing due to age, exposure to light (natural and artificial) or improper storage in appropriate climate conditions and/or acidic storage materials; stained and soiled; worn necklines, cuffs and hems; insect damage; dry rot and tears. Weakened or rotted fabric may tear. Unstable dyes may bleed.
Summary
Cleaning vintage piece is a skillful process that involves great thought and care at every stage of the cleaning and finishing process. It also involves potential risk. So it’s important to understand the potential risks involved before proceeding.
It's also important to understand that that there are some vintage pieces that are suitable for cleaning and/or restoration. And there are others that are in such poor condition that there can be no reasonable expectation that a positive result can be achieved.
Accordingly, we can only work on pieces that have these 3 attributes:
- have existing structural integrity
In other words, the fabric has reasonable strength, is not weak or rotted, and will not disintegrate or develop holes and tears with gentle/safe cleaning/restoration processes.
- have no major visible damage
In other words, there is no moth damage and no visible tears, holes or fraying of any importance that could enlarge in the cleaning/restoration process and, as a consequence, require a significant investment of our time to repair any unanticipated damage.
- have dye stability
In other words, there is a good match between the dyes on the piece, the issues associated with the garment (stains, soiling, odor, mustiness, etc.) and the dry cleaning and/or wet cleaning techniques required to clean and/or restore the piece.
If you live in the greater Phoenix metro area, we encourage you to bring in your vintage pieces for evaluation. An appointment is advisable.
If you live outside the greater Phoenix metro area, we encourage you to send us a series of pictures of your vintage pieces for evaluation. If our initial evaluation is positive, you might decide to ship your vintage pieces to us for further evaluation. After we receive your vintage pieces, we'll contact you to discuss their suitability for cleaning and/or restoration.
If your vintage pieces are not suitable candidates for cleaning and/or restoration by RAVE FabriCARE based on the 3 criteria stated above and you, nonetheless, wish to consider cleaning and/or restoring them, we suggest that you contact a private Textile Conservationist in your area. You can start by calling your nearest museum or historical society and asking for a recommendation. Alternatively, just google "Textile Conservation."
Some examples of our work
Here are some examples of our work:
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Services to resellers
Please note that we do not accept commissions to restore vintage garments from resellers.
And the reason?
Our goal is to deliver the best technologically achievable result given the existing condition of the garment.
The seller's goal is to maximize profitability (loosely defined as the difference between the likely sales price in the event of a successful restoration and the original acquisition price plus the cost of restoration).
That presents us with an inherent conflict of interest.
Accordingly, we cannot entertain questions such as: Can you just treat/remove the wine stain on the front, or brown stains on the collar, or yellow stain on the underarms?
In the vast majority of cases, there are many more issues associated with the garment than just a single area of staining and the entire garment requires treatment.
Chinese and Japanese vintage garments
There are typically a host of issues associated with the restoration of many Chinese and Japanese vintage garments that, taken in combination, work to prevent satisfactory restoration results. These issues include:
- Stale, musty odors
- A combination of water soluble (typically perspiration) and dry cleaning fluid soluble (typically body oil) stains
- A multiplicity of dark and light colors
- A multiplicity of fabric combinations (for example, cotton and silk)
- Color loss from artificial and/or natural light, DIY stain removal, and the like
- Dyes that are relatively poor and "bleed" to either water, dry cleaning fluids or both
- Threads used to sew seams and appliques that have "rotted" over time.
Fact is, many of these vintage garments may have never been previously cleaned. So the issues typically associated with vintage garments are exacerbated.
Accordingly, we do not accept Chinese and Japanese vintage garments for restoration.
Risks and rewards
Cleaning a vintage garment is a skillful process that involves great thought and care at every stage of the cleaning and finishing process. It also involves potential risk. So it’s important to understand the potential risks involved before proceeding.
Especially if your vintage garments have been contaminated by fire, smoke, soot, water, mold, mildew and/or humidity as a result of a fire or flood.
When you’ve been entrusted with maintaining and preserving the integrity of a precious and valuable textile, you can trust the experts at RAVE FabriCARE for an informed consultation and care at every stage of the cleaning and finishing process should you decide to proceed.
