posted on August 30, 2000 12:11:37 PM new
Just got a beautiful floor length beaded dress. It must weigh 10 pounds. Most of it in the beading. The fabric itself is very light like chiffon.
Do I have it cleaned or is it best to leave that to the buyer? How much does it usually cost to clean an item like this?
Would it be better to hold on to it and put it up closer to the holidays? It would be great for New Years Eve.
I don't usually sell clothes but this is beautiful and I'm sure someone would love to have it.
posted on August 30, 2000 02:19:41 PM new
With something that delicate I would also have the buyer get it dry cleaned...
____________________________________
The only place you'll find success before work is in the dictionary.
posted on August 30, 2000 02:32:04 PM new
Yup, leave the cleaning to the bidder. (I'm assuming it doesn't reek of Jean Nate or cigars.) Some years back in Boston I had to go through the Yellow Pages to find a cleaner that would do beadwork; OTOH in New Orleans EVERY cleaner cleans EVERYthing, so I guess it's a regional thing
posted on August 30, 2000 07:29:02 PM new
I too would recommend that you let the buyer clean it. Is this a vintage item? Is the dress material fragile? Is the material discolored? These are issues of interest to the collector. Beaded dresses from the 20s, for instance, are very collectible and very fragile and need to be cleaned by a super-specialist due to their high likelihood of falling apart (particularly if they are made of weighted silk as so much of that great stuff was.)
Keep the item in a box or bag until you sell it so if any beads fall off, they will be in the box or bag. Never hang a beaded item---beading weighs a ton and the shoulders will tear or weaken if you hang the garment.
Also, go over the item with a fine tooth comb and state prominently in the description if there are *any* spots where the beads are coming off (or look as if they are about to). Beaded items are notorious for losing beads like crazy and there are few things as tedious and as insanity producing as re-attaching what looks like "just a few beads that are missing". Been there, done that. The worst time was when I once tried re-beading a 4" by 4" bare spot on a wonderful Great Gatsby style dress from a famous old Hollywood estate out here. Though I did finish it, it was a huge pain in the derriere. This would apply to a new dress as much as to a vintage ones. By the way, when I describe dresses like this I always use a word like "Dazzling" or "Remarkable" in my title, since it lets people know that this isn't a run of the mill dress. Also list it as both "beaded" and "beading"---people search on both. Like "Dazzling Vintage Beaded Dress, Intricate Black Beading!" or something like that. Who cares if it looks dorky, it lets people know it is something special and gets all the keywords in there without being obnoxious.
