Choosing An Archival Wedding Gown Storage Box
Choosing the box you store your wedding gown in is a very important part of the process of preserving your precious gown for the future
. There are many things that can harm your gown over time, and the benefits of a proper archival storage box are essential to long-term preservation.
Before you even think about storing your gown for the long-term, make certain it is very clean. No storage medium can keep spots and stains from weakening fabric and becoming permanent.
If you have your gown cleaned by a professional dry cleaner, they will most likely have a storage box that they use. If it does not fit the criteria of an acid-free archival box, then ask to have it done without a box and provide your own.
Museums and professional conservators are very particular about how they store the garments and other textiles. The recommendations in this paper are based on the preferred practices of museums such as the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. and the Chicago Historical Society, which has the second largest clothing collection in the United States. There are standards for archival papers that have been set by the American National Standards Institute. Some wedding gown boxes are designed to meet these standards.
Many things can harm your clothing while in storage. Insects, light, humidity, temperature extremes, molds and mildew, dust, gasses and other contaminants. Putting your precious gown into the wrong type of storage container can also cause damage.
Non-archival plastics, that is normally used for dry cleaned clothes or for the thin plastic garment bag your gown came from the bridal shop in will off-gas, which means that over time they produce a gas that is harmful to fabric. They are fine for a few days between your clothes being finished at the cleaners and making it to your closet, but no clothes should stay in those bags for long. Boxes made of kraft (brown) paper are highly acidic and the acid in them will migrate to the fabric of your gown.
Keeping the gown in a corrugated acid-free, archival box has many benefits. The first is that the gown does not have any weight on it to stress the fabric, as it would when it is hanging. The gown is protected from light and dust, the corrugated cardboard helps to control humidity and keep insects from the gown. The box also works as a filter to keep out spores from mold and other fine contaminants. The use of corrugated board also allows the gown to breathe. In other words, air can circulate around the gown, which is how museums keep their collections.
Properties to look at in an archival box are if it is lignin-free, sulfur-free, and acid-free. Lignin is the part of the tree that holds up the trunk, it is acidic and will cause the box itself to turn yellow and brittle over time. The acid can migrate from the box to the fabric of your garment. A box with all or most of the lignin removed will last for many decades, or even centuries. When the lignin, sulfur and other unnecessary components are removed from the pulp, what is left is cellulose. This is what you want your box to be made from. Cotton, for example, is almost pure alpha-cellulose.
Acid-free is another term that is used when looking at boxes for long-term storage. Not all acid-frees mean the same thing. There are buffered and un-buffered acid-free boxes. Buffered means that calcium carbonate has been added to help keep acid down and raise the pH level of the box. Buffered boxes are ideal for storing paper, especially paper that has been made with a high lignin content. It is not meant for clothing, especially those made from silk, wool or other animal fibers. The high pH level is actually bad for those fabrics. You may find that a box appears to be acid-free on the surface, but when tested, it is not. This is because a coating has been applied to the boxes so that they have a higher pH level. This is NOT an archival box, or even an acid-free box, it just appears that way at first glance.
When looking at boxes you will find that some have windows and some do not. This is mainly a matter of personal preference. The window allows you to look at your gown, when you want, without having to handle it, and perhaps accidentally damage it. The window should be made with an archival material, such as clear oriented polyester, and should be covered so that light does not get in and damage the gown when it is being stored.
You may also be told to seal the box. Some cleaners believe it is better to handle the gown as little possible, and will tape the box to discourage opening it more than necessary. If it is sealed and a warrantee is violated by opening it, look for another cleaner. Others will encourage you to take the gown out every year, inspect it, and refold it, so that hard creases do not set into the gown where it is folded. Museums and conservators regularly inspect the clothing in their care, refold it, replace the tissue and, if they use it, wash the muslin.
The second method of sealing an archival gown storage box is by shrink wrapping it, sometimes this is called vacuum sealing or hermetically sealing, and sometimes the air inside is replaced with nitrogen. This is a false security and mostly an expensive marketing ploy. No museum does this with their collection, and many professionals actually speak out against it. Using a corrugated box and a plastic film will mean that the nitrogen is replaced with regular air within a year. Not only is it one of the most expensive methods of packaging your gown, it does not do anything extra for keeping the gown safe. In fact, if any moisture is left inside the box, it will condense and encourage mold and mildew growth.
One type of archival box is made with corrugated plastic. Although this is a good box for storing some things, fabric is not one of them. Static electricity can build up in the box. It does not allow the fabric to breathe and built up condensation can encourage the growth of mold and mildew. Lastly, if you ever have a fire, the plastic containers will melt long before a corrugated box will catch on fire. Most dresses that go through a fire in a corrugated box will be fine with a cleaning. The melted wax and the awful smell ruin most items stored in plastic containers.
Not only is the container chosen important to the long-term preservation of your dress, but what is put into the box is also important. There should be nothing in the box that is not archival. If any accessories are to be stored in the box, they should be placed separately in an archival bag. Items used to protect the gown should also be archival. Any tissue used in the box should be acid-free and un-buffered. Occasionally the gown is wrapped in muslin, for an extra layer of protection. Make certain that the wrap has been washed to remove any starches or sizings before wrapping.
After making certain the gown is fully protected in the best archival box you can find, be certain to store it in a dark, cool, dry area, such as under a bed or in an inner closet. If you do that, you will have a dress that will be able to be worn by your children, grandchildren and for even more generations to come.
by: Nancy L. Jones
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