Post # 1

Member
1767 posts
Buzzing bee
Hey ladies!
I just got done talking to my Grandma; I am officially wearing her dress from her 1969 wedding to my New Year’s Eve Wedding this year! It’s pretty Jackie O-esque, but it’s sort of yellowed toward the bottom. And actually, my work computer appears to be cooperating for once, so hopefully you can see it:

I’m going to make some alterations to it– for example, I’ll be replacing the champagne bow with a black one to match the black mismatched Bridesmaid or Best Man dresses, and I’ll make the sleeves 3/4 length instead of full (I have a tendency to roll up long sleeves- NOT classy when they’re lacy and on my wedding dress). Plus, the bust needs let out a little bit. But a good family friend does alterations, and she said she’d do all that for free!
Anyway, the yellowing… any ideas on what could be done to correct that? Does that look like something a good cleaner could do, or is there a way to do it cheaply?
Post # 3

Member
2891 posts
Sugar bee
If it wasn’t a family heirloom I would suggest oxyclean and a five gallon bucket in the sun. If you take it in and they can’t get it out, I guess you could try that and if all else fails tea stain it.
Very pretty!
Post # 4

Member
18 posts
Newbee
Hey, the dress looks great on you! Hope it will turn out to be all that you want! I think you should be able to get most of the yellowing out, A good dry cleaner is probably your best bet. Do this before any alterations. Maybe your seamstress has a recommendation? The type of fabric will really matter as to how best to care for it.
I came to this site because I bought my dress at Brides Against Breast Cancer event and it had some yellowing around the hem as well. My dress is silk duponi, with a silk organza overlay. For $85 by local dry cleaner was able to get most, but not all of the yellowing out. I wore it anyway, and everyone told me it looked great. It makes a nice story too.
I looked into DIY, but I was too scared to do this to my dress. I saved these links in case the dry cleaners didn’t work out:
http://weddingconsultant.hubpages.com/hub/Tips-for-Safely-Restoring-an-aged-Wedding-Dress
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/diy-dress-cleaning-2