Dozens of Long Sleeved Evening Dresses and Gowns in Your Closet? 

Care for Your Special Occasion Dress

Most women have an assortment (sometimes dozens) of short and long sleeved dresses and gowns stashed somewhere in their closet, even if they do not wear them very often. Most save their wedding dress, though that may be preserved and out of the way.

Others have dresses from events and parties they have attended, or they may have been a bridesmaid a time or two for friends and family. Those that live solely in skin tight jeans and T-shirts still have a few formal gowns in the back of the closet for things like funerals and job interviews because they know they are going to need them from time to time. No matter how often you wear these items, you need to know how to care for them so they are there when you need them again in the future.

Care and Feeding of Your Outfits

Dresses and gowns can often go neglected because they are not worn as often as other items in the closet and are pushed back and forgotten until they are needed. That evening out is rare in some women's lives. This means that when someone pulls out a formal from the back of the closet, it has a distinct smell that tells you that it has indeed been hibernating inside of a small space with little to no ventilation.

You may have to take your dress out to be dry cleaned if this is the case. That smell will ruin your look for sure. If your closet is easily accessible and aired out often, you may not have this problem.

Dry Cleaning Tip

Next, never put a formal dress or gown away until it has been cleaned. Some need a special trip to the dry cleaner to be cleaned, and some people put this off until later. Though it may look clean to the eye, there are still things that get into the fabric that will stain or cause odors that no dry cleaner will be able to remove if left dirty for a long period of time.

All women perspire, from petite to plus size, and other oils from the body are also released all of the time. No matter how briefly you wore an item, it has bodily fluids on it that will ruin your special occasion dress. Do not put something in the closet to clean later. Leave it out until you get it done, and then stash your dresses and gowns safely away in good shape. You don't normally find designer clothing such as these at a discount store so treat them accordingly.

Repairing Your Formal Gown or Dress

If something happens, you should always mend or repair your dresses right away, just as you should have it cleaned after each use. You may think that you would fix it later, or that the small tear or missing button is no big deal, but you may not think that the next time you get it out to wear.

As with the cleaning detail, do not stash the gowns away until you have fixed them. And, in many cases, you may pull your item out expecting to wear it right away only to discover that you forgot to fix it and it is un-wearable. That is not a pleasant discovery when you are in a hurry for an event or party.

Storing Your Clothes

You may be tempted to throw out old evening wear when cleaning out your closet, but that is not always the best idea. Your wedding dress should stay with you as long as you are still married, and though it may not seem like it, it may be something your daughter will want to wear, even if she turns her nose up at it when she is younger.

Older or vintage dresses in short or long sleeved versions can be hemmed or altered in other ways to make them into more modern, absolutely stunning dresses, and many things come back into style every so often. If a dress was worn to a special occasion such as a wedding, don't let anyone tell you that you have to get rid of it.

If you must, you can part ways with your dresses and formal gowns that are now out of date and have no particular sentimental value to them. That is the way to keep your closet clean and in order. Now, what event have you been invited to lately? Better RSVP!

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