How to Store Baptismal Dress for Daughters

H.

I brought my daughter's First Communion dress to the dry cleaners and had it cleaned and boxed by them. It is the same service they offer for wedding dresses to keep them safe through the years. I wanted to be sure my daughter's dress was taken care of properly since I had it made from my wedding dress. Check with your dry cleaners to see what they offer.

We baptized our daughter at age 13 and she had a real cute poofy,top of the knees dress with a matching bonnet,lace socks and white mary janes.I took the outfit to a dry cleaners and had it dry cleaned and boxed.I washed her cloth diaper and the rubber pants and under shirt and had them put in the box also.when she was 15 she made her first communion and i took her diaper and rubber pants out of her baptism outfit and she wore them under her communion dress also.

any reputable drycleaner will preserve the dresses for you. mine have been drycleaned and preserved in a beautiful decorator box.

Our family has a white dress that my grandmother wore when she was 3 years old. So it is close to 100 years old (and maybe even older since we don't know if any of her older sisters wore it). We have kept it wrapped in acid free tissue paper and an acid free cardboard box. (Don't use plastic of any kind!!) Store the dresses flat. Keep the box in a cool, dry place. Also be sure that the dresses are clean before you box them. Every year or so take them out and shake them loose so that you don't get permanent creases in them. You will probably also want to change the paper every 5 years or so. You can usually find the acid free paper and boxes at scrapbooking supply stores or at a drycleaners. It's a lot cheaper than having the dresses cleaned and boxed by a dry cleaner. Our dress looks great for being 100 years old. We now have the great granddaughters having their 3 year old pictures taken in the dress.

You can have then preserved like you have a wedding dress preserved. Wedding Shoppe on Grand Ave in St. Paul does this.