How to Find the Vintage 1950s Wedding Dress of Your Dreams

Are you frustrated because you can't find the 1950s wedding dress you've been dreaming of? You're looking for a cocktail or ballerina length full skirted dress and all you're finding are full length gowns? You want strapless and everything has sleeves? That's because dresses like this Jacques Griffe from 1955 were not the norm.

You're more likely to find full skirted tulle dresses in full length.

And you're even more likely to find a dress like this that is far more simple and covered up. In the 1950s, brides were expected to look virginal and modest and churches often required brides to wear a dress with sleeves.

So, how does a bride-to-be find the 1950s style wedding dress she's been dreaming of? Here are some ideas to get you started.

1. Stop looking at wedding dresses! What you're really looking for is a 1950s evening gown, cocktail, party, or prom dress that happens to be white or ivory. A party dress is far more likely to have the design details you want, like a strapless bodice, or a full skirt that is shorter than floor length. Use search terms like "1950s white prom dress" or "vintage white evening gown" or "1950s white full skirt dress". By widening your search beyond just wedding dresses, you're far more likely to find a dress that will work for you.

2. Consider a 1950s daytime dress in white or ivory cotton, and add details like rhinestones, lace appliques, or beading to it. A wide satin sash and a bridal tiara would go a long way to making this dress work for a wedding.

3. Consider color. There are lots of 1950s prom dresses and evening gowns in pastel colors like pale pink, soft peach, ice blue, light lilac, or dove gray that would work for a wedding. Do you really have to have white? The red roses could be removed from this pale pink lace gown and it would make a beautiful wedding dress.

4. It's best to leave a vintage evening gown at it's original length. If you're considering buying a gown and having it cut off and shortened, however, be sure to consult with your seamstress before buying to make sure that the design can be shortened. A gown like this would probably look fine if shortened, but the one in the second photo above would look odd if it were to be cut off. (By the way, I never advocate altering a dress by cutting it off, but if you're thinking of doing it, make sure it will work before taking scissors to the dress. And, please, don't tell me about it!)

5. Remember you WILL need to wear a proper foundation garment under your dress. 1950s dresses were designed to be worn with a corset or girdle, and you'll probably need a full, long line corselette, like the one shown here. Need tips on how to find a modern foundation that will work? Check out this post from last year. Keep in mind that the standard difference between the bust and waist measurements of a 1950s dress is 10". For a modern gal, a dress that fits you in the bust is likely to be too small in the waist without a proper corset. Even so, you may need to alter the waistline in order to make it bigger. Be sure to ask your seller if there is room in the seams to do this. It is far easier to alter the waist than the bust.

Here's a great example of what I'm talking about. This is a 1950s strapless prom dress I just listed at Couture Allure that would make a great wedding dress. The white chiffon is lined with a pale lilac-blue taffeta for just a hint of color and the waistband is the same lilac-blue. This was not designed to be a wedding dress, but is perfect for the modern bride who wants a vintage wedding.

How to Find a Good Dry Cleaner for Your Vintage Garments

My post last week about dry cleaning garnered a lot of reaction and a lot of questions from both sellers and buyers. The most frequent question was, "How can I find a dry cleaner I can trust with my vintage clothing?" Here are some tips to help you in your search.

This cleaner has been around since 1934!

1. Avoid franchise cleaners at all cost! Anyone can buy a machine and say they are a dry cleaner. Look for a small family-owned business that has been around for a long time, preferably one that has cleaned the type of garments you want to give them when they weren't considered vintage, but new! Ask if there is an expert dry cleaning technician on staff who has training in stain removal. A fancy storefront isn't necessary, but the premises should be neat and clean. Be sure to choose a cleaner who does the work in-house instead of sending your clothes out to be cleaned somewhere else.

2. Check with local vintage stores or dealers for a recommendation of a good dry cleaner that they use. If you live near a museum with a textile collection or a school with a fashion history course, try asking for a recommendation from someone on staff.

3. Once you've located a cleaner you want to try, check with the Better Business Bureau to see if there are any complaints about the dry cleaner. Also, check online review sites such as Yelp or Google for reviews from customers. Ask neighbors or friends who may have used the service.

4. Take a test garment to be cleaned. Choose a vintage garment that you haven't spent a lot of money on so you won't be out too much if it doesn't work out. Stick with something in wool or cotton, as these fibers are more forgiving, but choose something with a detail that will need attention. Don't choose a satin or taffeta garment for this first test. Evaluate the counter service. Tell the person this garment is vintage and ask if it can receive special care. Is the person at the counter knowledgeable? Even better, is it the owner? If not, did they ask for help from an on-staff expert or the owner? When you pick up the garment, check it thoroughly to be sure you are happy with the results. Does the garment hang correctly? Was the steaming/pressing done with care? Did any stains come out to your satisfaction?

5. If you're happy with the results, take a second test garment to be cleaned. This time, choose a fancier garment in satin or taffeta. Ask that it be steamed instead of pressed, as pressing can make impressions from the seams in these fabrics. The cleaner should be amenable to this request. If you are happy with the results, I think you've found a cleaner you can work with! If not, keep looking.

And if you're in the Boston area, I highly recommend my dry cleaner - Surf Cleaners in Winthrop!

The Issue of Dry Cleaning

I was speaking with a fellow vintage dealer recently and she asked me, "Why do you dry clean everything before you sell it?". My unspoken response was, "Why don't you?"

In the interest of full disclosure, back when I sold on eBay, I didn't dry clean vintage garments before selling them. But knowing what I do now, I wish I had. When I started my website, I began sending just about everything to my dry cleaner before selling. I am lucky enough to have a professional cleaner who knows how to work with vintage, and who takes great care with the garments I entrust to him. Even so, it amazes me how much hidden damage dry cleaning will bring to light, which is why I think you should only spend your hard earned dollars on a garment that has already been cleaned before you purchase it. Personally, I feel that if there is going to be a problem that gets exposed with dry cleaning, I want it to be my problem, not yours.

This 1950s silk dress is a great example. Early deodorants were not as effective as today's products, and antiperspirants did not come into common use until the 1960s. As a result, unless the original owner used dress shields or had her garment dry cleaned before storing, the fabric at the underarms of a vintage garment is sometimes fragile. The silk of this dress looked fine when I gave it to the dry cleaner, but it didn't stand up to gentle cleaning and came back looking like this. Damage from fabric that is weakened at the shoulders will also show up during dry cleaning.

Be wary of a wool garment that hasn't been cleaned. When moths chew on wool, they leave behind a residue that will often hold the fabric together until it is cleaned away. This dress had one tiny moth nip at the shoulder when I sent it off to be cleaned. It came back with a lot more holes, including this cluster at the front waist that was invisible when I purchased the dress.

This 1960s cotton dress was vivid black and white when I sent it to the cleaners. Unfortunately, the fabric was not colorfast and the black faded to gray with lots of white specks when cleaned.

None of these issues was readily apparent before the garments were cleaned. And can you imagine how disappointed you, as a customer, would be if your dress had come back from your dry cleaner damaged like that, before you even had a chance to wear it?

Dry cleaning will expose weakened thread, which means the seams will need to be resewn. There are some odors, from moth balls, cedar closets, or cigarette smoke, that are so deeply embedded into the fibers, dry cleaning will not help. These odors may need an ozone treatment before a garment is suitable to sell. And if you have allergies, you should be wary of an uncleaned garment which harbors decades of dust, as well as other nasty stuff you don't want to know about.

Freshly dry cleaned garments waiting to be listed at Couture Allure.

Many sellers claim that they have "dry cleaned" a garment at home before selling it to you. This probably means they have sprayed the garment with Febreze, which just puts a layer of scent on top of the dirt, or they have put the garment through a Dryel cycle in their clothes dryer, which has just baked the years of dust and dirt into the fabric. Neither of these methods brings you a clean garment. Learn to read between the lines before buying. And don't trust that old standby, "Has spots that will come out with cleaning." Really? I can tell you with certainty that yellowed underarm stains, lipstick smears, and scattered brown spots called "foxing" will not come out of fine fabrics that need to be dry cleaned. Also be wary of a seller who claims they wash everything before selling. Hand or machine washing will ruin fabrics like taffeta, satin, and rayon crepe that must be professionally cleaned.

Freshly dry cleaned garments waiting to be listed at Couture Allure

If you're shopping at a vintage website, and the seller does not state that their garments have been dry cleaned before being offered for sale, email the site owner and ask if that dress you love has been cleaned, and if so, how. If the site owner tells you it has not, consider whether you want to take a chance. And ask if the site owner will stand behind their product if the garment comes back from your dry cleaner damaged.

Here's our dry cleaning policy at Couture Allure:
We have almost all of our items dry cleaned before offering them for sale so that your purchase is ready-to-wear when you receive it. Washable items will come to you freshly laundered and ready to wear. Even though cottons are washable, we often have these items dry cleaned to avoid shrinkage and fading, and to maintain a crisp finish to the garment. Exceptions to our dry cleaning policy include items with fur trim, fur coats, leather garments, items with non-permanent accordion pleats, or items with elaborate trims that our dry cleaner refuses.

Think about it. Why would anyone spend $300 on a dress that still has traces of someone else's white deodorant at the underarms? Ewwwwwww.