A question we are often asked is how do we preserve strapless wedding gowns with Museum Method™ (hanging) wedding gown preservation? Or what about a gown with thin spaghetti straps, or straps made of delicate fabric? Are those small straps supposed to bare the weight of the whole wedding gown? Excellent questions…
Gravity – it’s very useful for keeping us all on the ground, but not very helpful for storing textiles. If you are like most people, you have probably had a sweater or two ruined by hanging on wire hangers. Which is why you now always hang sweaters from padded hangers. Padded hangers protect our sweaters by distributing the weight of the sweater on a broader, rounder, less angled surface.
We use this same principle by distributing the weight of your wedding gown with cotton twill tape straps that we sew into to your strapless gown. We generally utilize the original straps attached by the gown manufacturer to hang the dress (usually found on the sides of the dress.) But we add at least four more straps that we sew into your wedding gown bodice lining. Two straps are sewn in the front, and two in the back, making six points of weight distribution. Additional straps may be sewn into waistlines for exceptionally heavy dresses. The cotton straps can be easily removed with a seam ripper if the dress is to be worn again.
The extra straps distribute the weight of the wedding gown evenly around the gown so that no area is distorted. Also, wedding gown trains are rolled in acid-free tissue and rolled up and sit at the bottom of our preservation bag. This also helps to reduce the weight of the gown on the upper portion of the gown.
| Cotton straps are stitched into lining of strapless gowns for support for Museum Method™ wedding gown preservation | Acid-free tissue covers the straps before the gown is placed in our preservation bag |