Damaged dress, what should I do?

[MaryMary]

Hi Ladies,

I hope you can be my jury and tell me what I should do in this situation:

I purchased a silk 1950's wiggle dress from a shop here in the TO, and I love it to death, it is absolutely my favourite.

It was really smelly and grimy feeling so I took it to my dry cleaner who cleans all my vintage. She knows to be delicate with the garments and I have never had a problem before.

I have worn this dress 3 times - and each time something has happened to it. The first time seams on the bodice burst open, and I stitched it back up. The second time I wore it a seam burst on the side of the dress, and once again I restitched. I started assuming maybe the seams were weak, and never thought it might be the fabric as well. Well, the third time I wore it (I was just trying it on to see what shoes I should wear with it to a wedding next week) when I bent over and disaster struck - the material on the back skirt split....and no where near a seam. Needless to say I had a good long cry about it, and now I am just angry because my dress is damaged, I paid $160 for it at a local shop and have only worn it three times with constant problems.

So here is my question: is it reasonable to take this back to the shop and complain? Do I have any grounds at all, like would a good seller have been able to tell the integrity of silk material, or is this simply the horrible risks one takes of buying vintage? Or, is it my fault that I got a silk dress dry cleaned? I am just not sure. Has anyone else had this happen to them, and are there any ways to avoid the pitfalls of a weak garment? I thought I was relatively safe since this dress was made in the 50's not the 30's or 20's....but I guess not.

Also, has anyone repaired damage to a garment when the rip was not on the seam? I am so bummed about this...I love this dress

Thanks for your help ladies!

Mary

 

[Lily Powers]

Ouch. I feel your pain on this one. It's sometimes the sad reality that the fabrics of our beautiful vintage clothing just gives out.

It sounds like the dress was on it's last legs (well, last seams) when you got it. If it was grimy and smelly, it's likely natural body oils, perspiration or other issues may have long weakened the fabric. The time to discuss any concerns with the seller regarding the garment is before you purchase it, not after, and especially not after you've worn it and had it dry cleaned. But don't lose all hope - perhaps you could take it to a dressmaker who could fashion a pattern from it and create a new one for you.

 

[Miss 1940's]

If I were you, I would causally go into the store with the dress, and tell them the situation.Knowing shops, they'll probably say,"Sorry,no refunds". I would ask them if they can apply a percentage of the dress towards a store credit.If they wont budge, then they wont budge. Best thing, take it too a Seamstress and get the Dress copied.It seems the dress is too far gone to be fixed.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The biggest problem with silk is how it was processed before the dress was even sewn -- the dyes that were used, treatments to give it weight and sheen, all of those things can be ticking time bombs that can eventually cause the fabric to self-destruct. You can't really know if any given silk garment is prone to this or not -- unless you assume that *any* silk will eventually go bad, and act accordingly.

One of the things that can accelerate this damage is sunlight. When I go into a shop and see a silk dress on prominent display, where the sun can hit it, I flinch inside. That's a death warrant for the garment, whether it's sold and worn or not.

 

[Miss Golightly]

I bought a stunning 1950's dress (someone had worn it on their wedding day) and it was in mint condition when I received it - so I wore it on my Hen Night and I had only got in the taxi when under the arm went, during dinner seams popped left and right - luckily I had a sewing kit with me (I never leave home without it!) and kept tacking away at it (in an attempt to keep myself fully clothed!) but when I got home it was clear that it was for the bin - I held onto it for months for sentimental reasons and because it was beautiful.

I'm sorry to hear what happened to your lovely dress but I think it's just the chance we take with vintage - an item may appear to be perfect but can fall apart with wear (even one wear in my case) - particularly depending on the fabric and if it's a soft fabric I think the chances of it falling apart are higher.

 

[Miss Sis]

I'm afraid that it is buyer beware with vintage garments. Most shops sell items 'as is' - obviously they can't know what life the garment had before it came to them, and vintage silk is notorious for going 'bad'. I don't think you did anything wrong with dry cleaning the dress - after all, you would have to clean it eventually with normal wear. It is just bad luck it happened to you.

Also, don't think it just happens to silk. All natural fibres can go in some way or another. I've had the dreaded dry rot on cotton, silk velvet rip and wool break and start to unravel. Sometimes you might be able to salvage the garment, sometimes you just have to put it down to experience.

 

[Lady Day]

Dont throw it away. Graveyard items like this are ideal for fashion people to take apart and make patterns from.
Im sorry to hear about your dress but I do think its buyer beware. Years of a garment sitting in certain temperatures, hanging forever on end, and a host of other things all lead to stress on the fabric, and thats without even knowing the treatment of the fabric that the garment is made of.
I know it sucks but we have to realize that a lot of vintage garments cant hold up to modern wear.

LD

 

[dandelion-vint]

When you bought the dress it was smelly and grimy? It doesn't help for me to say it now, but I think that was a bad sign to begin with. I doubt that you'll get much sympathy from the seller, if they didn't care enough to have it cleaned before asking $160 for it as-is.
If the shop owner had cleaned the dress, they might have been better able to tell the condition of the dress. But like others have mentioned, you cannot predict the wearability of a vintage item without knowing it's past life and how it's been stored.
Just this week, I was wearing a rayon gab skirt that I've worn at least 6 times in the past 2 years that I've had it. Never had a problem with it before, but this time the back seam split when I sat down. It wasn't a tight skirt either. The thread in the seam had just dried out. Probably because the air in my house is dryer than wherever it had been stored before.

I'm sorry that your dress was damaged, and I agree with the others who mention saving the dress and getting a copy made of it.

 

[LolitaHaze]

That really sucks, but vintage is vintage and it is as is. It is a risk you take when you agree to pay that price. The store has no control over the manufacturing of the garment therefore shouldn't be held responsible. Same with the cleaners. Unfortunately I think you need to bite this one.

 

[MaryMary]

Thanks so much ladies for all of your help, suggestions and your sympathies....I know now that a lot of you have been there done that! I now see it is just the risk you run of buying vintage...this is the first time this has ever happened to me so I just wasn't sure if this was a common occurance.

I will be more cautious though next time - probably will try to purchase items in better condition, cleanliness wise anyway.

I also like the idea of seeing if someone can make a pattern of my dress! I love it so much that it would be good to see if I can at least have a replica of it

 

[I Adore Film Noir]

Thanks so much ladies for all of your help, suggestions and your sympathies....I know now that a lot of you have been there done that! I now see it is just the risk you run of buying vintage...this is the first time this has ever happened to me so I just wasn't sure if this was a common occurance.

I will be more cautious though next time - probably will try to purchase items in better condition, cleanliness wise anyway.

I also like the idea of seeing if someone can make a pattern of my dress! I love it so much that it would be good to see if I can at least have a replica of it

All good ideas to have your dress used as a pattern. It is heartbreaking to have a beautiful, vintage silk garment shatter like that.

 

[Miss sofia]

I'm so sorry to hear about your dress. Great advice from all the other ladies. I would definately keep the dress and use it to take a pattern from and have it copied. As the ladies have said silk is a nightmare for disintegrating over time. You're not alone, i have had a vintage silk dress fall to bits on me literally over the course of a couple of wears, first the net skirt just completely came away from the dress and then the back split on both sides of the zipper (thank goodness i had some safety pins in my handbag)!

 

[sheeplady]

I like the idea of using the dress as a pattern.

Now I don't know the weight of the fabric or the general condition, but, you might be able to repair the area using fusible interfacing (lay the two sides of the rip together over the interfacing and fuse). With lightweight fabric, it probably will show through (both in color and as a big old stiff part). I'm not sure if you can use interfacing on silk- I believe you can, but you would want to check the instructions. The problem is if the fabric is giving away, it is only a matter of time until it all goes. But, you might get one more wearing out of it before it goes to a pattern, and could stabilize it for pattern making. I've done this with lots of clothes, but mainly small holes- I've gotten lots of miles out after doing this on a few skirts.

If you love it on you, take a picture of you in it.

I'd be wary of that seller. It's hard to tell sometimes that fabric is about to go (and it is a risk that a buyer takes and the seller might not be able to tell) but you paid a lot of money for a dirty dress. If they are going to ask that price, they should have cleaned it.

 

[MaryMary]

Miss Sofia - how awful! Yes good thing you had safety pins! I am slowly learning to always be prepared!

Sheeplady: yes you are right...I actually am beginning to hesitate to shop from this store anymore - it is known to be very overpriced to begin with - I was mentioning on another post that they were selling a knit dress from the late 30's or early 40's, but its crocheted buttons were completely stained (and the buttons run down the front, about 6 of them, so very noticeable) and there were significant snags in the knit, and it was selling for over $140...I find some of the items are overpriced and are in bad condition. She is pretty rude too, one time my friend asked for a discount because there was a stain on a dress, and the woman got annoyed with her and snapped, "What do you expect? It's vintage, you are not going to get it in pristine condition!!!" Well, no one is asking for pristine condition, it's just that no one wants to spend $200 on a cotton dress with stains on it!!! Of course, I discovered all these things after the original sale of my silk dress. Live and learn!!

 

[Lady Day]

Are they on Yelp? You could write a review.

LD

 

[Lauren]

I'm afraid that it is buyer beware with vintage garments. Most shops sell items 'as is' - obviously they can't know what life the garment had before it came to them, and vintage silk is notorious for going 'bad'. I don't think you did anything wrong with dry cleaning the dress - after all, you would have to clean it eventually with normal wear. It is just bad luck it happened to you.

Also, don't think it just happens to silk. All natural fibres can go in some way or another. I've had the dreaded dry rot on cotton, silk velvet rip and wool break and start to unravel. Sometimes you might be able to salvage the garment, sometimes you just have to put it down to experience.

^ditto this.
I've had similar things happen to vintage garments I've worn, too A lot of times these days I opt for making my own or repro to wear on a more common basis because of the unknown lives of dresses before they get into my hands. Silk, especially. But I've had pretty good luck with vintage dresses made of cotton, linen, and wool, and sometimes rayon- it seems sometimes the thread goes before the fabric on those (if moths or bad storage haven't gotten to them). Unfortunately a lot of times a garment will look in ok or even good condition, but fabric is so unpredictable in terms of how it will handle stress from movement.
Luckily when you buy at a store you can examine all the inside and outside of the dress yourself, which is something you can't do online.
I'm so sorry to hear about what happened to your dress

 

[Lily Powers]

My standard operating procedure for vintage clothing shops is to hold the garment up to the light so that I can find any and all little pin holes that might otherwise be unnoticed on a print fabric or one with lots of gathers. For online shops I always look at the seller's feedback and their feedback as a buyer, too. And I make good use of the zoom feature whenever it's offered.

Even though it's a buyer beware world, there's no reason for a shop owner to be rude. Attitude can really make or break a sale to someone who might become a good customer and who might share her experiences in that shop with her friends.

 

[ferula98]

Im so sorry to hear about your dress, its heartbreaking when a one of a kind item that you love falls apart. I have had my heart broken a few times this way unfortunatly.
I would say the same as has been said before really... be really careful when buying silk. I find crepe tends to hold up rather well and hangs beautifully and is a good alternative.
Also I am always super careful when buying vintage to check that its not tight around the backs of the armpits when you move your arms, as this is where delicate vintage dress's tend to go first especially if they are a little too small on you.

 

[RodeoRose]

MaryMary, I feel your agony! I bought a 1920s silk dress on eBay for my birthday, and though it was advertised as being completely wearable with just one tear in the sleeve, it arrived in incredibly fragile condition with lots of little holes and is much too delicate to wear. It was really cheap, so I should have suspected something.. I mean, I doubt there's such a thing as a wearable 1920s silk dress anymore, but still- it's sad! It's on a padded hanger in my room (far from sunlight, don't fret!) where I'm using it as art for now .

Slightly fftopic:, but can anyone recommend any dressmakers that can do nice copies? When I get the money, I'd love to have that 20s dress remade, but we don't have many commercial seamstresses around here.

 

[sheeplady]

Sheeplady: yes you are right...I actually am beginning to hesitate to shop from this store anymore - it is known to be very overpriced to begin with - I was mentioning on another post that they were selling a knit dress from the late 30's or early 40's, but its crocheted buttons were completely stained (and the buttons run down the front, about 6 of them, so very noticeable) and there were significant snags in the knit, and it was selling for over $140...I find some of the items are overpriced and are in bad condition. She is pretty rude too, one time my friend asked for a discount because there was a stain on a dress, and the woman got annoyed with her and snapped, "What do you expect? It's vintage, you are not going to get it in pristine condition!!!" Well, no one is asking for pristine condition, it's just that no one wants to spend $200 on a cotton dress with stains on it!!! Of course, I discovered all these things after the original sale of my silk dress. Live and learn!!

I have no patience to shop in places that do not treat customers well. I expect people to treat me with a certain level of respect when I shop at their establishment, particularly if they are asking a premium price. I have bad days too- but this doesn't sound like the occasional bad day. It strikes me as a lack of professionalism, esp for a owner.

The other thing that grates me about this is that she probably buys these things for next to nothing, puts no work into them, and runs away making a good amount of money (even after paying her rent, etc.). I bet she paid less than $10-20 for that $200 cotton dress. People like her give other re-sellers and vintage shops a bad name.

Maybe I am just cheap, but I've only paid $200 for a single dress in my life- and that was my wedding dress (with my veil and undergarments and tax). I wouldn't pay that for a used dress, unless there is massive inflation.