How to Make Your Antique Clothes Last for Another Century(ish) | Home Clothing Conservation

Sometimes, we get lucky and find a "buried treasure" (at least that's how I like to think of cool antique clothing because I'll never actually be a pirate) hidden away in someone's trunk at an estate sale, or mislabeled at a flea market or antique mall. It's those moments that make you feel all-powerful and giddy, while you go to buy the garment manically giggling to yourself about how you are *quite literally* another Indiana Jones (or maybe that's just me...🤔) But...what do you do when you get home with your new Victorian bodice? Do you hang your 1920s flapper dress in your closet? Do you keep that Edwardian dress in a plastic storage container? Shove the Regency spencer in a pillowcase? Fold up that vintage clothing haul and put it in your suitcase? How do you make sure that you can keep enjoying your new-to-you antique and vintage clothes for years to come? While I'm not an expert in antique clothing conservation, I have learned some basic curatorial practices over the years, on how to store, handle and protect historic clothing as best as you can, given a variety of circumstances. Storing antique clothing at home will never surpass quality museum care, but there are things that you can easily do at home to help protect great-grandmother's wedding dress and keep it for years to come. Curatorial practices change over time, with new developments and new standards being implemented in institutions and museums. So, I just really want to stress, down here in the descripti