LOOKING FOR a particular era or style of vintage clothing? Use our handy dandy search engine and enter the era, style, or color (i.e. 1940s, 50s, swing, black pumps) Translate our website into your language of choice! (Translations by Babelfish) Want more? Check out our exclusive History of Fashion Pages!   Want to earn extra cash? Become a vintageblues.com affiliate! click above for more info	- Care & Storage of Your Valuable Vintage - - Caring For & Cleaning Your Vintage New! Caring for and Choosing Vintage Fur - Care of Vintage Leather - Caring for vintage ties • Care and Storage of Vintage Clothing +: If possible, clean a vintage item immediately after wearing to avoid stains (especially perspiration) from setting   Use liquid detergent instead of powder; dry clean or use Dryel if in doubt about washing certain fabrics   Never store vintage items in a plastic bag; they need to be able to breathe   Fold or store vintage knits in a drawer - hanging them will stretch them out   Store fragile items (i.e. rayon, silk) flat or folded as hanging will cause shoulder 'humps' and can tear fragile fabric   Keep clothes away from light; light will cause fade and/or deteriorate fabric over time   Use moth balls or lavender to keep away pests; keep it near by but not touching the fabrics   Try not to stack heavy folded items as this will cause creasing and fold marks   Check for weak seams, holes or frays before putting any vintage garment in the washer; if in doubt, hand wash or Dryel (dryer method) a less than sturdy garment   Use cool to warm water to avoid fade or running of garment dyes and spot clean first before washing   Never use wire hangers! They can rust - always use padded or wooden hangers and hang your fragile items inside out or fold them carefully instead of hanging   Suggested fabric care: Silks - washable but use cold water. If crepe, raw silk or a lined garment dryclean only Rayon - can be washed in cold water although drycleaning is best. Always dryclean rayon crepe. Wool - don't wash, dryclean! Wool will shrink if washed. Velvet - dryclean only! If it's a silk velvet, then even drycleaning can ruin it. Spot clean or Dryel ONLY. Vinyl and plastic - should be hand wiped with a damp cloth. Heat will ruin or melt plastics. Leather - see below.   When drycleaning by a professional drycleaner, always ask them first if they are familiar with vintage garments!   • How to Choose & Care for your Vintage Fur: THE first and most important thing to do is check the coat thoroughly before you buy it. If the coat pulls, splits seams, or tears easily, then it wasn't cared for or has dry rot. Unfortunately, all you can do then is spot repair them with super glue or heavy duty thread. There is no way to rehydrate furs once they get so dry and brittle that they tear at the slightest movement. You can keep fixing them, or you can give 'em up for 'dead'. There is a couple of things you can check before buying a vintage fur, though, to see if it was decently cared for. Ask the seller if it was stored in a cedar closet, free of anything plastic covering it OR at least some place that wasn't damp (no, basements aren't good for fur!) The sad thing is, so many people thought it was a good idea to store their furs in plastic bags (and still do). This is such a no-no! That sucks the moisture right out of them OR worse, depending on the atmosphere around the coat, can store too much moisture in causing dampness, mildew and fur weakening. ALSO, you should never store your coats on a hanger (at least not for long periods of time). For a day - that's fine, just so it's a padded hanger or a heavy duty rounded wooden hanger. If you're not going to be wearing it for months at a time then store it lying flat (say, under a bed or someplace it won't get too dusty) and wrap it in either a clean, white sheet OR acid-free paper. Lastly, when buying a coat the first thing we do is check the seams under the arms, inside the shoulders, along the back neck, around the buttons (if there are any). Do the seams look like they're pulling at all? Are the armpits torn or ripping? If so, then pass on the coat. Another important thing to check for is dryness/dry rot; just lightly grab a small patch somewhere on the coat. Try different areas (the hem, the arm, the armpit, the shoulder area) and just lightly tug on it. Does a clump of fur come away? A couple of strands is one thing - that is normal shedding. If, however, a big puff or clump comes away the coat is already in the process of dry rot and is probably not-salvageable. Use your own judgement of course. If the coat is free or $5 then go for it anyway! You may be able to wear it a few times and get your money's worth out of it before it's too far gone....   • Care and Protection of your Vintage Leather Coat or Jacket: If you'll be wearing your coat or jacket in the snow or rain, make sure you use a high-quality water and stain repellent product, (like Wilsons Leather and Suede Protector) BEFORE WEARING to help prevent water stains and soiling. Use only formulas free of silicone and wax, ingredients that break down the natural oils in leather. Apply every two or three months with regular use. Use a high quality leather lotion on a soft cloth to moisturize your vintage leather coat or jacket. (We recommend Wilsons or Kiwi Leather Lotion as both have lanolin oils to replenish natural oils and protect all fine, smooth and grained leather. Avoid using Leather Lotion on suede or buffed leather) And yes, we know Kiwi is for shoes but it also works fabulously on fine leather coats! Avoid using cleaning fluid, shoe cream, saddle soap and mink oil. These products contain ingredients that may damage leather. We recommend that you test any protection and cleaning products on a hidden area of the leather. Apply sparingly and rub in well with a soft cloth (i.e. an old t-shirt) Let dry for a few minutes then rub again with a clean area of the tee to remove any residue and make sure the lotion has been absorbed well. Avoid applying hair sprays and perfumes while wearing leather. Don't attach pins, adhesive badges or tape to leather. REPAIR hems with a small amount of rubber cement (we recommend E6000 - in small doses only! it will bond anything within 24 hours but wait 24-48 hours before wearing) Cleaning Your Vintage Leather Coat or Jacket: Gently blot any liquid stains with a clean cloth. Winter salt stains your leather, wipe with a clean, damp cloth and dry naturally. If a white mark is left, use Leather Lotion and rub in well with a soft cloth (i.e. an old t-shirt) Visit a professional leather cleaner for more serious stains. Normal dry cleaning methods will remove essential oils, causing the leather to crack, fade and shrink. A cleaner who specializes in leather care will use a different method to clean and condition the leather. Care When Wet: If your leather becomes wet, allow it to dry at room temperature. (Never put leather in the dryer! ) Then apply a leather or suede protector. Buff suede with a soft towel to restore the nap. Use a soft cloth on any other leather. If your garment has faux fur trim and the fur gets wet, dry it with a hair dryer set on the lowest temperature. Shake fur during the drying process, and periodically fluff or shake during wear to maintain loft and maximize appearance.   • Caring for Vintage Neckties: We recommend not sending vintage ties to the drycleaner simply because they can use harsh chemicals. You can, however have them steam clean/press your ties, however using a hot iron is again not recommended. We prefer home drycleaning method with 'Dryel'. It really just freshens up the ties which is normally all they need. It comes with a great spot remover (which is usually color safe, although we wouldn't use it on handpainted ties) and a nice smelling damp cloth that you put in a special plastic bag. Put the ties in with the damp cloth and put your dryer on LOW heat for 15 minutes or so and voila! Fresh ties! Take them out immediately and lay them flat so they don't wrinkle and you're all set. If they do wrinkle, you can press them on a very low heat iron but put a cotton cloth or dishtowel over them first and press on the reverse side only. Jen's Extra Tip: Got a rusty zipper that doesn't want to move? Take a dab of warm candle wax and rub it along the (closed) zipper - voila! Smooth zipping....
	Back to top Page last updated 2/28/08 - got other questions? Email us at customerservice1@vintageblues.com Some of our leather tips are compliments of Wilson Leather