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Heirloom Christening Gowns
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Christening Gowns with
gorgeous hand embroidery, tucking and eyelets. You really need to see the
close-up views on these to see the luxuriously beautiful fine detail.
There's even a christening gown designed especially for a boy with a skirt
that buttons off to reveal a romper underneath! Almost always
in stock and ready to ship to you. All christening gowns are white
unless otherwise noted.
What
makes a gown "heirloom"? The hand work techniques
that were once common place that are now extraordinarily rare. Look
for things like shaped lace, hand embroidery, tiny pintucks and
hand smocking as just a few of the tell-tale signs of an heirloom
garment. These are some of the beautiful embellishments that
add charm and character found on antique gowns - now available on
gowns for today and the next generations to come.
Every
gown or suit can be tomorrow's heirloom, but take care in selection.
The fabric content will make a huge difference in whether
the garment will "keep" for the next generation. So
will the way you clean and store it.
The
closer you get to natural fabrics, the longer the life span will
be of your intended heirloom garment. Cotton and linen will last
the longest. Silk will last quite a while. Polyester,
believe it or not, may have a very long live span. But fabrics
such as rayon, nylon and acetate do not. They have been known
to "self destruct" in just a few years. They also yellow
the fastest.
The
fiber content and the weave of your garment are different things.
The weave may be "batiste", but the content could
be all cotton, cotton/poly or poly/cotton. It may be of silk but
it may be woven as dupioni, shantung, satin, taffeta, organza or
one of many other types of fabrics.
How
you clean and store your garment can radically affect its future.
It must be stored clean and completely free of residue and
chemicals. Plastic such as plastic bags and storage tubs give off
chemicals that damage fabrics; does does normal paper and cardboard.
How
do we suggest storing your heirloom? First, make sure it is
absolutely clean. If it is washable, we recommend hand washing and
rinsing many, many times with cool water. You do not want
soap left in the garment. Do not use additives such as fabric
softener or starch - the garment should be thoroughly rinsed clean.
Allow it to air dry - laying flat is always best. When
thoroughly dry, store in a 100% cotton enclosure. We offer
wonderful garment storage bags for this purpose under Baby Accessories.
The cotton will allow the fabric to breath (you don't want it to
be cut off from air but keep it clean). Every few years, take
it out, soak it in clear luke warm water for hours and air dry again
- this helps rehydrate the fibers - then store. Do not iron before
storage - ironing removes moisture from the fibers (hence, dry-rot).
If
the garment is not washable (such as satins and most silks), we
recommend that it be dry cleaned and packaged by a preservation
specialist much like a bridal gown would be.
And
after your heirloom is no longer wearable - consider having it framed
(museum-mount, of course!) with a written history of who wore the
gown, when and where.
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