Have you ever had this happen…
You buy a fab 1960’s dress at a vintage show, decide to wash it because there are a few stains you’d like to try to get out, pull the dress out of the washer only to find that it has changed into a completely different dress?
No?
Come along on my journey and I will show you how to ruin your vintage treasures.
Pop them in the wash.
Think nothing of the fact that the dress you are washing is made of polyester and should easily be machine washed.
It’s a lie. Your dress has left the building. Instead of a hot, young, vibrant Elvis dress, a very faded, old and rather sick looking partied ragged version has taken its place.
Lucky for me I wore the dress and took some photos before I washed it.
At least I know what it is supposed to look like.
The day I wore this downtown and was waiting to meet my husband for supper two different young attractive men came up to me and complimented my style.
#winning
This is what the “normally safe” polyester dress looks after I washed it.
#losing
You should have seen my face when I pulled it out of the washer and saw the neon bright maxi had turned into “greige”.
What the?!
Pink, red, green and blue all came out, but guess what? The stains didn’t. Oh no, they are Arnold Schwarzenegger stains that had babies with the housekeeper which have grown into full sized big bad adult stains.
Lucky for me the brown, yellow and black stayed, although faded. Everything that is orange on the dress should actually be red.
So…since I LOVE this dress I decided that I would simply paint the colour back onto the dress.
Ya-huh.
I be that crazy when it comes to unique vintage clothes.
That was over two weeks ago now.
So far I’ve finished one side of the dress and have just started working on the sleeves.
Every day I work on it a for an hour or two. This is a monumental task.
It’s not as bright at the original but it is better than the dirty dishwater look.
Mel told me that by the time I’d finished the front I’d probably just go “full-on Jackson Pollock” on the back. Heh heh. She isn’t too far off. This is really testing my patience. Plus it is sucking up the acrylic paint like a sponge. I bought some acrylic markers which I’m using on some of the smaller areas and am currently on my third pack because they dry out so quickly. This dress is ending up costing me a whole lot more money and time than I ever could have imagined.
It is very strange to me that only certain colours lifted off the dress and how easily they lifted.
Have you ever heard of such a thing?
The moral of my story is this…never ever wash your vintage clothes.
Ha!
Right.
So gross.
Of course you’re going to wash your vintage clothes. I’ve washed loads of them on gentle cycle in cold water before and never had this issue.
If you see some fading on the item (as I saw on this dress) you could do a bit of a test by hand, with Woolite or another very gentle soap, on a small area maybe on the back of the item, in a sink, while keeping a watchful eye on it. If you see the water starting to change colour, the dye is probably coming out.
A simple solution but expensive one is to take the item to a very good dry cleaner. I should have done that and could have saved myself loads of money and time trying to repair the damage to this dress. That said, I have had items ruined at very good dry cleaners, so they are not 100% guaranteed either.
I don’t have any steadfast rules, other than to check the textile label and see what it recommends for laundering. This dress had no textile label so I was left guessing.
Everyone must have some story about what they ruined in the wash.
What’s yours?
Were you able to salvage the piece?
Linking up with Throw Back Thursdays I Will Wear What I Like 52 Pick-me-up
First….OH. MY. GOODNESS! You styled your dress so beautifully Suzanne! I loved it when you first showed us your purchase and seeing you wear it with the boots, hat, vest….PERFECTION!
Second….I would have cried crocodile tears when I took it out of the wash. 🙁
Third….you are doing an amazing job with recolourization! Brilliant! You know….adult colouring books are very popular right now. It’s supposed to be very zen and relaxing…you feeling it? Think of your dress as a wearable colouring book.
I love that idea : ) What would be fun would be to have a black and white dress and then walk around downtown wearing it and get people to colour it while I’m wearing it! I think that could be a Rick Mercer sketch.
This is a perfect idea….and great sociology experiment!!! jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
ps…your coloring is looking wonderful, if that’s any help!!
No, that sounds like a concept for an adult movie. Haha. You’d get some areas super-saturated with colour and others with none. But yeah, I’d watch it for sure. Especially if Rick Mercer were wearing the dress.
I was thinking exactly the same Mel hahaha. A dirty mind is a joy forever.
Aww! So happy you are coloring this back in though. It;s ga-roovy! Reminds me of my mom’s closet from when I was a kid. She had awesome clothes in the 70s.
I lent some dry clean only suits and dresses to a friend who had to go out of town on a business trip and was told that her usual work attire wouldn’t cut it. Cheapskate ignored the dry clean only and ran the colors of a blue background, white print dress that could not be fixed and tore the back seam out of my skirt. Ended up having to pay me for the items. What probably at the time would have cost her less than $20 bucks to have cleaned ended up costing her about $160.
I’ll be you never lent that friend any clothes after that!
I am so crazy about this dress. and was heartbroken when i read about the damage, but amused by the story telling!
Only you would attempt the restoration, ( actually I might have tied tried that once, when my eyes were better)
You have worked a miracle.
Now be careful that those markers are not toxic, please!
Sue is right adult coloring is theraputic!
xx, Elle
http://mydailycostume.com
The markers do smell a bit, but they are fabric markers so not like the really smelly ones. I’m grateful to be able to use them a bit because painting this is taking forever! I have to keep loading the brush non-stop.
That’s bizarre! In 35 years of collecting vintage clothes that has never happened to me. I wash everything from 1930s wool dresses to beaded gowns and they come out fine. Is it the washing powder? I always use non-bio stuff as the alternative contains bleach. If it’s hard to get hold of then baby shampoo is fine.
Anyway, the dress looked wonderful on, I’m not surprised you get complimented. Men appreciate wild colour and print far more than most women that’s why we can score psychedelic frocks relatively easily! Its starting to resemble it’s former self. Maybe this time next year it’ll be dazzling the town again! xxx
I wondered if you’d had any similar problems over the years Vix.
The dress had some fading which I assumed was from sunlight. I don’t think it was now though. I think it could have been from water.
I’ve also washed many other vintage pieces and never had anything like this happen. The weirdest thing is that only certain colours lifted. Not all of them. It is like some of the colours were only laying on top of the fabric and not dyed into it.
What a crazy thing to happen and let’s just say you are dedicated to the restoration of this dress!! The only problem I’ve had is mostly shrinkage. I bought a sweater last year that I love with some side zippers and washed it and it came out just big enough of my 7 year old. I was so crushed. I am horrible and reading washing instructions. What makes me mad is when I buy polyester items and it needs to be dry clean…I always thought synthetics were tough but nope don’t put in regular wash, I have ruined many things.
Alice
http://www.happinessatmidlife.com
Would love for you to stop by & join TBT Fashion link up.
I agree about the polyester thing. Used to be you could throw all polyester into the washer. Heck! It’s made out of plastic! Normally plastic doesn’t shrink.
This dress is absolutely gorgeous, so I can understand you wanting to restore it. But what an undertaking! I’m so impressed. My minor in college was textiles – and I think you are right about certain colors not saturating into the fabric. Very strange that it lasted this long though!
What is weird with the red for example is that orange was left on the dress. It looks like yellow was laid down first as the colour on the fabric (as a dye) and then the red was laid on top which would result in orange if the red hasn’t fully absorbed into the fabric. Just so weird.
A wonderful look, and a dress is cute. Suzanne pure.
Hi Suzanne!
Noooooooo, what a horror to take the dress out and see that happened.
I’ve not had it happen to vintage clothes but I did lend my sister some white trousers as a teen and she washed them on a high setting, they then shrunk and the metal detailing on the waistband rusted over the trousers.
That is an Amazing dress though, so I’m glad you managed to save it. The original styling is amazing!
Oh no! I can picture the sadz when you pilled this out of the washer I love, love this dress and I would have cried, then worn it greige. But you are patient, and creative, and it will be saved. When Sandy did my laundry – for the last time – he washed and dried a black wool dress that I loved. Now a size 000, it had to go to the thrift for some tiny scrap of a girl. xox
Patti
http://notdeadyetstyle.com
My husband threw a wool sweater in the wash as well and it came out big enough for my pug! LOL He uses that as an excuse to never do laundry again.
Oh no! It’s such a fabulous dress, I hope you are able to restore it to it’s former glory! Washing tragedies can be nightmares. My most horrifying washing disaster took place when I was probably 7 or 8….I happened to throw a mink hat that my mom had inherited from her grandma into a load of dirty clothes in the washing machine…not really sure what I was thinking or if I was thinking, I was really little after all. Yeah, that was an epic disaster and my mom was pretty upset about it. Your story brought back a really old memory. That’s how I learned, at 7 years old, that you simply can’t throw furs in the washing machine…
Eeek! Yeah…funny that the animals can be out in the rain but then the fur itself cannot be washed.
Already I’m impressed that at 7 you were doing laundry.
Arnold Schwarzenegger stain. Ha ha! Oh my. I’m so happy you have before photos because that is a beauty and you are a beauty. Yes!!! That has happened to me. And I tried the same thing you’re doing. I used fabric magic markers. It did not work. I tried to dye it black. That did not work. I wore it anyway. Called it grunge. Good luck with your dress!
Crap Connie! Did the colour come out again with the magic markers? I’m going to be super pissed if it all comes out again. I know that the acrylic paint will stay, but I’ve been using fabric markers as well.
I’m sorry to say that yep the colors slowly faded. And when I dyed it it wouldn’t dye evenly. Even though I redyed it three times in the darkest black possible. It was a sad situation. It came out a muddy blotchy brown. That’s the second time I tried markers (I once tried to fill in a bleach stain) and they always fade. Maybe you’ll have better luck. Fingers crossed.
Have you tried acrylic paint? It’ll last forever and is permanent. I have jeans that I painted 26 years ago that haven’t faded yet. AND still fit me! Ha!
Who would have thought polyester would lose its colour? That said, I still wash special things by hand in a bucket and use a separate plunger just for hand-washing (never for the toilet). If I see any bleeding, I rinse it with vinegar in the water. You are very patient (and talented) to paint the dress, time consuming but I’m sure you’ll be happy when it’s done!
♥ carmen
Does the vinegar set the colour?
Vinegar sets the dye and prevents colour bleeding and fading.
I must try this.
Holy sh*t! That’s a brave undertaking. It looks like it’s actually working, though! I can hardly tell that anything was wrong it. Good luck with the remaining restoration!
– Anna
http://www.melodicthriftychic.com
Thanks…it is a long slow process. I’m kind of using it like meditation.
I have never had that happen to me, and I buy some pretty offbeat stuff.
Now we see a new side to your personality – dedicated! Not only that, dedicated to the vintage cause.
It is along the same lines as me rescuing a small piece of vintage patchwork. What was I thinking? Why was it important to me? These are questions that will never be answered. Anyhoo, I fell in love with the little piece of material. After I back and bind it, it will hang in my “office/workshop.”
http://thriftshopcommando.blogspot.com/2015/10/repairing-vintage-patchwork.html
How very odd indeed. That’s a new one on me, never seen such a dramatic colour fade before. I admire your perseverance in painting the colours back in, but then the dress is pretty spectacular so it’s worth the effort! xxx
Picky, picky, picky, Suzanne!! If I hadn’t seen the Before pics I would still have thought, WOW, Wild Dress!! I love the bold floral designs and the lines and psychedelicness of it even in its faded state. Young grasshopper, if you treat it like a sad sack, it will BE a sad sack. Ohmm. But your Before photos are pretty incredible!
Your paint job is outstanding! Only a few more months to go. The lengths we go to to get compliments from young men, right? I dunno – I think if you stop right now it will still look awesome, but that’s by my standards. Stay. Away. From. The. Water – it’s the tagline for a new horror movie.
You know I need COLOUR to make me climax Mel! TMI?
Now since I’m using mostly acrylic paints it’ll be fine to wash. The only bits I’m worried about is where I used those fabric markers.
Hahaha! Do not wash!
OMG, you must have been so upset!
Yeah, I had my fair share of washer misses: shrinking, coming out with holes, colour fading, etc. Bummer.
But gal, you crazy! Hand-re-painting that whole, f***ing MAXI dress! Unbelievable! Hope the result in the end is satisfactory and that you will wear it a lot;-).
Damn…you KNOW I’m gonna wear this lots. After all this work. The dress has become a project unto itself.
wouuu, so sad that the dress lost its bright colors!, I would wash it too, as it’s polyester and looks absolutely safe to wash it!. And obviously, you’re making a great job recovering all the fabulousness!
I can understand very well that feeling when you buy some bargain and then use a lot of time and expensive products on it. Yes, that happens!. I tend to think it’s part of the experience of buying vintage and revamping clothes. Sometimes it’s a time/money consuming activity!
Anyway, it’s a beautiful dress and you look gorgeous wearing it. Love all that hippietastic vibe, and fabulous layering!
besos
You are right, the lengths we will go to have a truly unique piece of vintage clothing is a bit crazy sometimes. Crazy is always better than boring in my book though : )
Bravo to you for attempting this. I don’t have the patience to even begin.
I’m using the painting time as “reflection” time. Ha ha.
Are you kidding me? This is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard of. Both the color fade and the fact that you are actually hand painting it back to the original state. I would have either lived with the fade or given it away because I would have been so mad and out-of-sight=out-of-mind. Although it is worth saving especially the way it fits you like a glove. Dang it! So sorry this happened.
Here’s my recent story disastrous washing story; last month my son ordered three new golf shirts and a new pair of golf pants, he kindly asked if I would wash them that day so he could wear one that evening while golfing. I stuck them in with a load of all the light colors and i just about fainted when I pulled everything out of the washer. He had left a pall point pen in one of his pockets and the ink had splattered like pain all over every item. Yep, every single new shirt and shorts. I spent the entire rest of my day dabbing rubbing alcohol on every spot. I was able to save 2 shirts and the shorts.
Bravo to you for it out of everything but one shirt! You deserve a medal for stain removal!
I know…I’m insane when it comes to one-of-a-kind vintage pieces.
That’s a bummer about the colours fading as that truly is a stunner of a dress especially with the awesome hat and boots. I don’t think I’ve had any washing disasters or if I’ve had I’ve bleached them from my mind.
You have the patience of a saint to be painstakingly re-painting the dress.
I’m not a patient person really, just very stubborn. I refuse to let the dress that I loved so be ruined.
This got us talking….!! Terrible Suzanne. Such a lovely piece. As Sue said: I would have cried so much. And cursed. And been desperate. Your solution is gold. Although time consuming and expensive. It is such a terrific dress on you. Will the paint stay on though? How are you going to wash it now? Or bring it to the dry cleaner?
You look so fabulous in the dress. (Did I just say that the second time?)
It has never happened to me as I don’t buy vintage much. But I did have an orange velvet jacket (gorgeous and expensive) and one night out, Ron spilled a bottle of red wine all over it. It was beyond rescueing. My dry cleaner is very good, but couldn’t get it out. He paid for another jacket, but I never could find an orange one anymore. So two weeks ago I saw a similar one in a beautiful colour red … in a vintage store. I had it dry cleaned to restore its structure…. bummer… it is obviously at the end of its lifecycle. Lost money.
Greetje
So did the dry cleaner ruin the vintage piece? Real shame if it did.
Such a shame about the red wine too.
You know I love my orange velvet jacket. I just bought another deep green velvet jacket from Mod Cloth yesterday…and they have it in red velvet too. It looks quite lovely. I’m going to have some Polyvore sets with it that you can see on my Pinterest now. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/30891947422224088/
Acrylic paint is permanent on fabric. I can wash it as many times as I like and it’ll stay. I used to paint jeans and jean jackets and sell them before. I have one pair of shorts that are 25 years old that I painted that are still almost 100% perfect. But, since it is permanent once you get it on there it isn’t coming off, so no mistakes.
Careful then. Easy does it. And no the dry cleaner didn’t do anything wrong. Red wine on some things is just the end. If it is a carpet you can put kilos of salt on it and it will be rescued. But a velvet jacket….
I saw the green velvet jacket, what a lovely shade of green. My kinda green. But the shape of the jacket is totally wrong for me. It would make me even more an inverted triangle.
What a nightmare!
Have you tested the colorfastness of the fabric markers yet? Maybe apply the markers to a studio rag and test vs wetting The Dress?
You’re three for three on this week’s linkup theme “Topaz / Enlightenment / Courage” and I do thank you for linking.
Oh Suzanne, I just cringed when I read what happened to the dress – that is soooo strange!! I’ve washed a couple of polyester dresses that are at least 40 years old in the washing machine on gentle and they’ve come out fine. I’ve never had anything lose colour like that. Good on you for your determination to restore it to it’s glorious self – I don’t think I would have had the patience. Mind you, it looks so frickin’ amazing on you with the fuschia hat and sheepskin vest, it is worth trying to save. You’ll have to post a photo when you’re done painting it.
I hope your dress is rockin’! I found this thread because last night I washed a gorgeous, 1940’s 100% rayon dress in the wash and it shrank. I’m so sad about it, I was really excited to wear it. I didn’t know rayon was that delicate. I love vintage items and have always washed mine in the washing machine on delicate with no problems until now. Now I’ll never forget and if I find another rayon item I love I won’t put it in the washer or get it wet. What did women in the 40s do if they got caught in the rain? Doesn’t seem like a very practical fabric. Ruined dress. If certain rayon weaves (like the one on my dress from last night) so much as gets wet, the fabric puckers. Disappointed.
That’s too bad : (
I’ve also found this out the hard way. Rayon is funny, sometimes it’ll wash great, other times it’ll ruin the piece. You’ve got a 60/40 chance.
Also you can sometimes stretch the fabric back out. Try wetting the piece again and then gently stretching it with your hands. I’ve fixed pieces like this before.
I find the same thing with silk chiffon. Be prepared to re-stretch it back when it is still wet…a dangerous game since chiffon is extra delicate, especially when wet and will often tear easily.
I have fixed and worn my painted dress often. You can see it here http://suzannecarillo.com/blogger-meet-up-why-i-continue-to-blog/
Thanks for stopping by!