Guide on How to Take Care of Your Prom Dress

A prom dress is quite an investment, and you want to treat it as such! Whether you buy your dress from a store that you take home that day or you order it online, there are many precautions you need to take to ensure your dress is being cared for adequately. We give you advice on how to take care of your prom dress before, during, and after prom night. Follow along to learn how to extend the life of your beautiful prom dress!

Treating Wrinkles

No matter if your dress arrived in a box or you took it out of the store in a bag, chances are there will be wrinkles! Getting those wrinkles out is key to achieving that formal prom night look. Every dress should have its special care instructions on the tag, and this will give you some insight on how to handle and care for it. There are a few options when it comes to treating wrinkles on a prom dress:

Professional press & steam

Taking your dress to a dry cleaner or tailor is a great way to keep those wrinkles out of sight, out of mind! They will most of the time use an industrial steamer to tackle those wrinkles, and you won't have to worry about them again!

Steam at home with a handheld steamer

Using a steamer at home is an excellent tool for touch-ups. While you may not get all of the wrinkles out, it will do the trick.

Bathroom Steam Session

Hang the dress in the bathroom at a height where the skirt flows freely, turn the shower to hot, close the door, and let the room fill with steam. Keep the dress in the steamy bathroom for about 30 minutes, then inspect and smooth the wrinkled areas! Using the shower is a great cost-effective way to get that professional steamed look. While you may not get all of the deep wrinkles out, it helps a significant amount.

Removing Stains

Stains can be such a pain! We've got a quick solution and some at-home solutions. If you've dropped something on yourself and become victim to a stubborn stain, follow these steps:

At Prom

Use a flat, smooth object to remove the top layer of the liquid or solid. Doing this will get most of the mess up with ease.
After you've got the top layer off, you will want to take a napkin or cloth and begin to dab the stain. Make sure it is white, so no color bleeds further into the stained area, creating an even bigger spot.
To take it a step further, baby powder or salt can help bring the stain out further when used in small amounts! If you apply either of these, let sit for a minute or so and gently dust away.
You can also carry a stain remover pen or wipe to work on the stain. If you focus on the outside and work your way in, the spot should start to fade! Repeat as necessary and use warm water if you don't have stain removal products.

At-Home Treatment

Avoiding Snags

Snags can be just as damaging to a prom dress as stains if not addressed appropriately. Your best-case scenario would be to avoid snags altogether, and you can do this by carefully selecting your jewelry, choosing a dress made of a sturdy fabric, and avoiding too much close contact with others. If the unthinkable does happen, we suggest carrying a small emergency sewing kit or double-sided tape to keep things held together throughout the night!

Storage

Storing your gown before or after prom is essential to keeping its quality. Not only is it necessary to take care of it while it's on your body, how you take care of it before and after the fact matters as well:

You want to give your dress room to breathe, so avoid storing it in a tight and small area.
Hang your dress where it won't touch the ground because this can cause wrinkles. (You can also store it flat in a box, but you want to be sure there are minimal folds to avoid or lessen wrinkles with this method)
Make sure you are using an appropriate hanger that won't leave indents or stretch the straps--be sure to use the hanger straps!
Cover your dress in a plastic zip-up bag to protect it from getting any unwanted dirt, dust, stains, pet dander, etc., on it.
Keep it away from areas with intense sunlight because this can cause fading and damage to the dress.

After prom

Caring for your prom dress after prom is just as essential as preparing it for prom to restore and preserve its life. Chances are you probably spilled at least something on your dress, and you want to take care of that ASAP! You can try to get minor stains out at home using our stain guide, but you may opt to take your dress to the dry cleaner! Doing this will ensure your dress is nice and clean, and ready to go back into storage. You want to clean it before storing it, rather than when it's ready to wear again. If you wait to clean it, it may be too late to get the stains out.

Prom dress care can be intimidating because you don't want to mess up your pretty dress! But, if you follow the tips in this guide, your dress should live a long and beautiful life!