How to Shop for Antique Clothing

September is the season we traditionally put away our white dresses and shoes, but I prefer to hang on to mine a few weeks more at least.  The summers often stretch well into October here with no relief from the heat until sometime between thinking of costumes and planning large turkey-centric meals.  And so it only makes sense to me to let my white cotton dresses linger on their hangers in easy reach a while yet.

This beautiful dress is the dress of my girlhood dreams and I bought it on a very difficult day about ten years ago.  I don't exactly know when I first fell in love with antique clothing, but I am starting to suspect that I was simply born just the way I am and haven't wavered much since birth.  At some point, around the age of nine or ten, I began to desperately pine for an antique white cotton eyelet gown of my own.  It was a blessing and a gift to find my perfect antique dress of my dreams on a birthday that I was celebrating far from home and anyone who cared.  I won't spend lots of time combing through that day so long ago, but since I spent my birthday this year going antiquing with my family, it has put me in mind of my dress and I want to give you a few tips for finding your perfect antique dress.

First things first, Condition Carefully examine the article of clothing. It's easier if it's on a mannequin, but if not, really give it a thorough looking over. Look for places that are thread bare, rust spots, and particularly for mold. Small areas may be patched if there are some rips or thread bare spots, but stains like rust aren't likely to come out. If there is mold, it will not come out. Mold doesn't usually come out of clothes that can withstand a thorough cleaning and a little bleach, so a dress that's over 80 years old, definitely is a lost cause if it has mold.

If your item needs a bleaching without the bleach, you may want to try a trick that women of my great-grandmother's generation used. I got this information from her first hand when she visited us and promptly informed us that we were doing our laundry all wrong. This salty old broad, and I use that term in the most admiring way possible, said to hang your whites up on the line early in the morning and the rising sun would bleach them as it evaporated the dew and moisture. It worked on our cotton sheets, but tread lightly on clothing you really love.

Wearability Ask yourself what your plans are for this dress. If you intend to wear it, it needs to be in really great shape or in lousy shape and you don't mind it ripping or snagging. If you want a show or display piece, consider the fabric and how to properly keep it away from sun damage and moisture. I would recommend only displaying it for special occasions. I've seen far too many historical garments in the hands of local “museums” run by staff who know little about garment preservation rotting on the mannequin. Fold your garment with pieces of acid free tissue between the folds and store it in a box with silica to prevent moisture.

Price In my experience, the price is based on three factors: age, condition, and frivolity. For a dress in excellent condition you'll pay more. For a dress with lots of details and frills, handwork, or made from materials like silk or velvet you'll pay more. You can expect to pay an average of a dollar to $1.50 per year of age. It's quite common that I see a hundred year old dress running at $100-$150. While dresses from the 70s and 80s typically run between $40-$70.

If you've been pining for an antique dress, do not despair, dear friend. Like mine, your dream dress is out there waiting to be discovered and perhaps, like one of my favorite movies lines says, it has “crossed oceans of time to find you.”