| The care label inside your wedding gown is the best | | | | English play, and bluing comes from indigo, a naturally |
| way to clean it. Not true. The instructions for care on | | | | alkaline substance that can neutralize any acidic |
| the label may not be the only way-or even the best | | | | content that might cause yellowing. Bluing also adds a |
| way-to clean your wedding gown. The care label | | | | trace of blue dye to fabric, which, again, offsets any |
| simply means that if you follow the instructions, and the | | | | yellowish cast in white fabric. In the 1920s and 1930s, |
| gown is damaged by the cleaning process, then the | | | | wedding gowns were often wrapped in a deep blue |
| manufacturer and not the cleaner is liable for the | | | | paper, but the paper was waxed, and the wax |
| damage. That is why you will sometimes see | | | | prevented the acidic content of the paper from |
| instructions such as "Do not dry-clean. Do not | | | | damaging the bridal gown. |
| wet-clean. Spot clean only." This language absolutely | | | | Whatever the history behind this idea, blue tissue is |
| protects the manufacturer from any liability because | | | | absolutely the wrong thing for preserving your heirloom |
| the manufacturer is essentially telling you not to clean | | | | gown. Blue tissue is not acid-free and, worse yet, the |
| your wedding gown. However, an experienced cleaner | | | | paper will, if it gets wet, dye your gown blue. Then |
| who specializes in caring for gowns can very probably | | | | your gown will need to be restored to the true color. |
| clean your gown without a problem. Just be sure the | | | | Only white, completely acid-free tissue and completely |
| cleaner is a specialist who is willing to take responsibility | | | | acid-free wedding chests should be used for heirloom |
| for your wedding gown if he or she chooses to do | | | | gown preservation because ordinary boxes and tissue |
| something other than the instructions on the care label | | | | contain acid that scorches bridal gowns. Some will tell |
| of your gown. | | | | you pH neutral materials are good enough for gown |
| Blue tissue should be used to package your wedding | | | | preservation, but they are not. The neutralizer is water |
| gown. Not true. There is usually a little truth in an old | | | | soluble. A damp environment will dissolve the |
| wives' tale, and we know, for example, that an apple a | | | | neutralizer, and pH neutral paper and paperboard will |
| day really is good for us. But blue tissue paper is NOT | | | | then re-acidify. Acid-free means that all acidic content |
| good for your gown, and no one really knows why it | | | | is removed when the paper and paperboard are |
| was supposed to be good for wrapping heirloom | | | | made, and therefore, by definition acid-free materials |
| gowns. It may have something to do with bluing. There | | | | cannot re-acidify. Only acid-free materials are good |
| is a reference to bluing in an early seventeenth-century | | | | enough for Gown Preservation. |