Most wedding dresses arrive at our Chelsea studio within a few weeks of the wedding, still carrying the day on them: a faint line of hem dirt, a little champagne, sometimes a fingerprint of make-up near the zip. None of this is unusual, and none of it needs to be a problem if the dress is looked at properly before it goes into storage.

01The first inspection

Every dress is checked in daylight before anything else happens: fabric, trim, beading and any repairs the dressmaker may have made on the day. Silk, lace, tulle and structured boning each behave differently under cleaning, so the method is chosen per garment, never applied by default.

02Cleaning and pressing

We use liquid CO₂ or gentle wet cleaning depending on the fabric, then hand press with padded forms built for the dress’s own shape, so boning and structure are not flattened.

03Boxing for preservation

The finished dress is folded with acid-free tissue at every crease point, placed in an acid-free box, and sealed with a viewing window so it can be checked without being unpacked.