Fabric & Care

Most of what shortens the life of an occasion dress happens in the first hour after you take it off. Four minutes of care buys you years.

The rule for every fabric

• Hang it the moment you take it off, on a padded or wide hanger. A wire hanger leaves two points in the shoulder that never fully come out.
• Let it air for a night before it goes back in the wardrobe.
• Store it out of direct light. Sun fades a dye faster than any number of wears.
• Do not fold satin or sequins. A fold in satin becomes a crease, and a crease in satin becomes a line.

By fabric

Creases the day of

Hang the dress in the bathroom and run a hot shower with the door closed for ten minutes. Steam drops most travel creases out of satin and chiffon without an iron touching the fabric. A handheld steamer does the same, held a hand's width away and moving.

A stain, on the night

Blot with a dry white cloth, from the outside of the mark inward. Do not rub, do not use hot water, do not use a coloured napkin. Then let a dry cleaner finish it, and tell them what the stain was — a cleaner who knows it is red wine treats it differently from one who guesses.

Storing it after the event

Clean it before it goes away, even if it looks clean. Sugar, perfume and body oils are invisible when fresh and turn brown over a year. Store in a breathable cotton bag, never in the dry cleaner's plastic, which traps moisture against the fibre.