[jody]

Hi,

A week ago I wrote and said I was going to the International Gem & Jewerly show with my sister. After reading a few posts about what to expect, (commerical pearls, lighting, other issues) we decided not to go.

My sister, however, did give me her wedding dress. She does not have children and hopes perhaps one day one of my 3 girls might wear the dress our mother designed almost 20 years ago. It is quite a unique dress (ivory with pink) and I've been thinking about the PP February bracelet special for a week now since I knew I would be accquiring the dress.

I could enjoy the bracelet now and perhaps it might be used one day with the dress. I would welcome any thoughts....about the braclet or other pearl jewelry. Perhaps pink pearl earrings as well???

On a different note.....All the beads on the bodice and train were sown on by hand. There are 3 small stains on the front (white wine) that has turned dark. The most respected dry cleaners in our area would not touch the dress stating the beads produced during the late 80's would not hold up in the dry cleaning process. Any thoughts about what I might try??

The pictures are the back of the dress, hem for close up of beading, back bow near where it would bustle up and the worst of the white wine spill.

[jody]

Here is the front of dress...the sleeves would need to be steamed out and with the high neck, there wouldn't be any need for a necklace. Wouldn't pretty pink pearl earrings and a bracelet be a nice compliment to this dress?

[Caitlin]

What a wonderful dress. I think you are right in your thoughts about the pearls.

Maybe you could find a professional fabric restorer- like Antiques Road Show quality- to just spot clean that one area, though it is small and not really noticeable.

[Pearl_dreams]

Originally Posted by jody

Hi,

A week ago I wrote and said I was going to the International Gem & Jewerly show with my sister. After reading a few posts about what to expect, (commerical pearls, lighting, other issues) we decided not to go.

May I suggest you attend the Intergem show anyway, if you like gems and jewelry or like to bead? It is not a great source for temporarily strung pearls, (though there are a a few dealers who sell commercial grade pearls) but I have found some nice semi-precious stone beads there. We're going to one upcoming in a few weeks.

[jerin]

Hi Jody,

very lovely dress. If you could afford it, I would go for a necklace of matienee-length, a matching bracelet and suitable earrings.

The alternative would be if you can design your own brooch with som rose pearls and a bracelet + earrings, the brooch should not be too small as the neckline of the dess is so high and that would need a brooch that is not too tiny.

If you order everything the pearls would match for size, luster and shape.

[GemGeek]

That dress is just precious! I have found that dampening the area with a Woolite/water mixture applied sparingly with a washcloth and left for a few hours, then dabbing the top with a wet washcloth with a dry towel underneath, is enough to do the trick.

I agree with Pearl Dreams, you should go to the show. You might miss some fabulous pearls or something else and you'll never know what they have without going. Plus, shows are fun!

Good Luck!

[boo]

If the stains absolutely will not come out with any of the suggestions already mentioned, and if they are all like the one you showed (where it is primarily the raised embroidery that is stained), I might be tempted to just re-embroider on top of the stain. That wouldn't fix the problem, but it would at least disguise it to allow the dress to be worn.

[jody]

Yes, I do have extra material that could be done. I'm not a seamstress, but perhaps someone could do that. My mom always saved all scraps of fabric. The only thing I don't have is more beads. I'm trying the Woolite suggestion right now, so hopefully that will work, but so far, not much luck.

[knotty panda]

Before you try any cleaning on your own either remove the bead yourself or have it removed. Boo has a great idea. Perhaps the embroidery can be cut away and replaced. Maybe it might be a good idea to remove all the beads, clean the dress, replace the beads and have it preserved. Lot of interesting scenarios.

[jody]

Hmmm. That is an idea, but I would wait to make sure on of my girls uses the dress. There must be HUNDREDS of beads, quite a task since they were all hand sewn. But a good idea to remove them, then have it cleaned. Thanks.