How to Take Care of Prom Dresses?

Choosing your prom dress was love at first sight and with just a little care and effort you can make sure that it's yours to have and to hold forever. By taking care of your prom dress before, during and after your prom you can ensure that it continues to be one of the most beautiful dresses you will ever wear.

Prom Dresses are delicate and often expensive items of clothing so once you've bought yours you'll want to do everything you can to take care of it. There are a number of tips and tricks to ensure that your prom gown is kept in the best possible condition. So with just a little forethought and effort you can take the best care of your prom dress before, during and after your prom.

Before you prom

Before you prom you need to take steps to prevent any creases or damage occurring to your gown. Most reputable prom dress retailers will provide complimentary garment bags with their prom dresses. Failing that you can purchase garment bags from supermarkets and many online retailers.

First, hang your dress inside a garment bag.  You will need to hang it somewhere high enough so that the skirt isn't touching the floor (or is only just touching). The place you hang it needs to ideally be a closed space such as a wardrobe. You should make sure that the place you choose to hang your prom dress isn’t damp and doesn’t get exposed to smells (e.g cooking smells).

You may be tempted to try your dress on a few times but try to resist for two reasons. Firstly, prom dresses are very delicate items and the more you take them on and off, the greater the risk that beading will become lose and even fall of. Secondly, the longer you have your dress out of its garment bag, the greater the chance is that it will become damaged by a tear or spill. By all means do a trial run with all your shoes and accessories, just don’t sit/walk around in your dress afterwards! Thirdly, if you've worn your dress too many times then by the time prom comes around it won't feel as special.

Should your prom dress become creased before your prom, you can always seek the advice of a professional dry cleaner.
When you're getting ready

When it comes to prom night, if you put your dress on first you risk accidentally marking your dress with product. Apply your make up and style your hair before you put your dress on. You should be especially careful with body lotions and temporary bronzers as these can transfer from your skin and cause marks to appear on prom dresses.

If you're wearing perfume then exercise caution. Many of the beads and crystals on prom dresses could be tarnished if they get perfume on them. As such, perfume should be applied when you're still in your underwear. Spray two squirts in front of you at chest height and then walk through it.

Put your prom dress on at the last possible moment (leaving enough time to have photos taken before you leave).  Princess style prom dresses take a little extra care to put on and you will need a helping hand. The best way to put this kind of gown on is to unzip or unlace it and then put it on from above. You should stand with your arms in the air while a friend lifts it over your arms and head.

Importantly, always wash your hands before touching your gown.

During your prom

It's worth bearing in mind that a prom dress is actually quite a delicate piece of clothing. There is an increasing trend to arrive at prom in the wackiest way possible, but you should be careful to consider whether your arrival method risks damaging your prom dress. Prom dresses are made for sitting, standing and talking and not much else! So be careful to not do anything to athletic in yours.

Should spill anything on your gown during prom then don’t panic! Remove any excess but don't try and remove/rub the stain as you will only make it worse. Dry cleaners have a much better chance of removing stains from prom dresses if no-one else has tried first. Most importantly don't worry about it, it's not worth letting a stain on your prom gown spoil your evening!

After your prom

You may wish to have your prom gown cleaned after your prom, in order to keep it in the best condition. You should approach a professional and reputable dry cleaner who has experience dry-cleaning prom dresses.  They will then be able to advise on which process to use.

If any damage has been caused to your dress (e.g. loose beading) you may wish to have this repaired before you store your dress. Search online and check your yellow pages for details of local seamstresses who is able to mend prom dresses

Once your dress has been dry-cleaned you should store it back in its garment bag. As prom dresses tend to take up quite a lot of space, you may not wish to keep it in your wardrobe. You can line a large box with a bin line and place your dress inside (the bin liner will help keep moisture away from your dress). Carefully package your dress up into a large box and store it under your bed, in the spare room or in the loft.

Prom dresses hold such previous memories and with a little care you can make sure that yours will last forever.