Operation 60s vintage dress Rescue 1960
60s Vintage dress 1960
We’ve all been there…. you’ve discovered a vintage treasure on a dig that is just what you’ve been searching for (even if you hadn’t realized it yet!), yay!!! Unfortunately, it’s in such a bad state of damage or disrepair that you think it might be beyond salvage. Don’t give up, I’ve got a few tips that might just make that diamond in the rough a little more enticing!
Let me tell you about the dress featured above. As per tradition, I spent my birthday a few weeks ago thrifting and vintage store shopping to my heart’s content. At one of my fav vintage shops I discovered this rad 60s vintage dress.
Let me tell you about the dress featured above
We’ve all been there…. you’ve discovered a vintage treasure on a dig that is just what you’ve been searching for (even if you hadn’t realized it yet!), yay!!! Unfortunately, it’s in such a bad state of damage or disrepair that you think it might be beyond salvage. Don’t give up, I’ve got a few tips that might just make that diamond in the rough a little more enticing!
Let me tell you about the dress featured above. As per tradition, I spent my birthday a few weeks ago thrifting and vintage store shopping to my heart’s content. At one of my fav vintage shops I discovered this rad 60s vintage dresses, but there were stains marks galore all over the front. Somewhere deep down I knew I’d always been searching subconsciously for a dress just like this one… and what if I never come across another one again?!? Of course, I just couldn’t leave it behind. Not this amazing 1960s vintage dress print, no way!
1) Have a creative backup plan. If you can’t get stains out on something, brainstorm before you spend on something of what you could do if it ends up being beyond your washing/repair expertise. Ex: For this dress I was planning to upcycle it into a crop dress since that would have cut off all the stains.
2) Use the damage as a bargaining chip… in the sweetest way possible! I asked the girl at the shop counter how much this dress was and if she thought I could get the stains out and had ideas how to do it. I chatted her up about how much I loved it and how bummed I would be if I couldn’t get them out…. so offered to sell it to me for 50 cents. SCORE!
3) Tap your resources for knowledge. Mothers, grandmothers, or any other women from a previous generation are often a pleathora of laundry knowledge that is invaluable when it comes to vintage stain removal! Seriously, I consider my Mom my most knowledgable business consultant for this very reason. (Please don’t tell her, it might go to her head!) As per her suggestions I was able to get all the stains out, here’s how:
-I soaked the dress by itself with a mix of detergent and oxyclean
-I ended up soaking this dress for 3 days, changing the water once a day and rubbing a paste of detergent and oxyclean directly into all of the stain spots. Each time I checked it and repeated the process they were getting lighter and lighter.
-After the spots were as light as possible I removed the wet dress and spot treated each tiny stain mark with a solution of 1/2 bleach and half water that I dapped on each mark with a q-tip (the dress is off white so straight bleach would have been too harsh). After dabbing all the spots I waited about 60 seconds and re-submerged the dress to soak for a bit to get all the bleach out. After removing the dress and laying it out to dry the spots were totally gone!!!!
, but there were stains marks galore all over the front. Somewhere deep down I knew I’d always been searching subconsciously for a dress just like this one… and what if I never come across another one again?!? Of course, I just couldn’t leave it behind. Not this amazing 60s vintage print, no way!
1) Have a creative backup plan. If you can’t get stains out on something, brainstorm before you spend on something of what you could do if it ends up being beyond your washing/repair expertise. Ex: For this dress I was planning to upcycle it into a crop dress since that would have cut off all the stains.
2) Use the damage as a bargaining chip… in the sweetest way possible! I asked the girl at the shop counter how much this dress was and if she thought I could get the stains out and had ideas how to do it. I chatted her up about how much I loved it and how bummed I would be if I couldn’t get them out…. so offered to sell it to me for 50 cents. SCORE!
3) Tap your resources for knowledge. Mothers, grandmothers, or any other women from a previous generation are often a pleathora of laundry knowledge that is invaluable when it comes to vintage stain removal! Seriously, I consider my Mom my most knowledgable business consultant for this very reason. (Please don’t tell her, it might go to her head!) As per her suggestions I was able to get all the stains out, here’s how:
-I soaked the dress by itself with a mix of detergent and oxyclean
-I ended up soaking this dress for 3 days, changing the water once a day and rubbing a paste of detergent and oxyclean directly into all of the stain spots. Each time I checked it and repeated the process they were getting lighter and lighter.
-After the spots were as light as possible I removed the wet dress and spot treated each tiny stain mark with a solution of 1/2 bleach and half water that I dapped on each mark with a q-tip (the dress is off white so straight bleach would have been too harsh). After dabbing all the spots I waited about 60 seconds and re-submerged the dress to soak for a bit to get all the bleach out. After removing the dress and laying it out to dry the spots were totally gone!!!!
40s – 60s Vintage Dresses on Pinterest | Ebay, Vintage Dresses and …