How to protect your bridal wear

With an impending wedding season in Pakistan, most of you must be snowed under with pre-shaadi preparation. Picking the right fabric and fit for a gharara and sherwani is no easy feat. What’s even harder for the bride and groom is to keep the apparel for their big day safe before and after the wedding. Since wedding attire is made of delicate fabrics, it is easy for it to disintegrate.

The pre-and-post desi wedding chores may consume time, but don’t ignore how you store your clothes. Wedding-day ensembles are worth a thousand memories, so they are worth protecting even if you don’t intend to wear them again.

As compiled from hitched.co.uk, here are our top tips for preserving your wedding outfits that you must try.

Don’t use a plastic bag:



Many boutiques will present your clothes to you in a plastic garment bag, which will protect them from damage and dirt on the drive home. However, this is not a long-term storage solution. Plastic will trap moisture in the dress, causing mildew and discolouration.

Use a box with tissue paper:



Remove your joras from the plastic garment bag and place your clothes in a box with tissue paper. The tissue paper will absorb the moisture, which can accumulate over time. Grooms, we insist, your sherwanis and turbans require such protection too.

Wash minor stains at home:



If there are a few stains on your clothes, you can wash them at home in a clean tub with lukewarm water and a little detergent. Leave it soaking in the detergent water. Next, give them a dip in more lukewarm water and let them dry flat over a rack. Don’t hang them up to dry, as that will stretch the fabric.

Don’t use a hanger:



We know how heavy sherwanis and lehengas can be. Hangers will cause a heavy dress to stretch in the shoulders and bodice. Make sure to store your dress in a cool, dry place in a special preservation paper box and not on a hanger.

Store clothes away from the sun:



Never store your wedding wear in direct sunlight. Why? Because sunlight will cause discolouration and bruising to your clothes. Don’t store your clothes in the attic, where moisture and inconsistent temperatures can threaten their condition.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25^th, 2014.

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