How to Store Vintage Clothing Long Term

Store vintage clothing clean, dry, dark and supported. Most garments are safest lying flat in a lidded box with as few folds as possible, each fold padded with acid-free tissue. Sound, sturdy garments can hang on padded hangers inside cotton covers, but heavy, beaded, bias-cut, knitted and fragile pieces should never hang. Keep the storage space away from damp, sunlight and heat, and check regularly for moths and carpet beetles.

Quick answer

• Clean first: dirt attracts insects and mould. Surface clean by vacuuming through a screen.
• Store flat in boxes or drawers when possible, padding every fold with crumpled or rolled acid-free, unbuffered tissue.
• Hang only structurally sound garments, on padded (never wire) hangers, inside breathable cotton dust covers, at least 10 cm apart.
• Never hang knits, bias cuts, heavy or beaded pieces, or anything with weak shoulders.
• Avoid damp above about 70% relative humidity, attics, basements, direct light and sealed plastic dry-cleaning bags.
• Inspect for pests a few times a year; freezing is the standard non-toxic treatment.

Before anything goes into storage

The Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) gives a short checklist for preparing textiles for storage. Adapted for home use:

1. Inspect for insects and mould. If you find either, seal the item in a clean polyethylene bag and keep it away from your other clothes until treated (see Pests below and stain and odour removal for mould).
2. Clean it. CCI warns that soil invites infestation. Surface clean by gentle brushing and vacuuming through a screen (how to clean vintage clothing).
3. Remove pins and staples. They stress fabric and almost always rust.
4. Isolate metal. Cover corroded fasteners with acid-free tissue or clean white cotton so rust does not stain the cloth.
5. Remove old wrappings other than acid-free tissue, especially coloured paper, whose dye can transfer. Keep any tags or labels with useful information, and store original boxes separately.

Flat storage: the default for most garments

CCI calls flat storage ideal for most textiles, because the whole garment is supported and the fibres do not carry their own weight.

Containers:

• Lidded boxes or drawers. Never leave textiles uncovered on open shelves.
• Boxes of moulded polypropylene or polyethylene (look for PP or PE in the recycling symbol) are acceptable, as are archival acid-free boxes (acid free archival garment box).
• Choose a box big enough to hold the garment with minimal folding.

Packing a box, step by step:

1. Line the box with prewashed cotton sheeting or unbuffered, acid-free (neutral pH) tissue. One large sheet is easier to manage than many small ones.
2. Cut the lining large enough to fold back over the garment; you can then lift the garment in and out by its lining instead of handling it.
3. Lay the garment in with as few folds as possible.
4. Pad every fold with accordion-pleated or rolled acid-free tissue (acid free unbuffered tissue paper) so it cannot set into a hard crease. Put crumpled tissue in sleeves and bodices to hold shape.
5. Avoid stacking garments. If you must layer, put the heaviest at the bottom and interleave with cotton sheeting or tissue.
6. Refold occasionally along different lines so creases do not become permanent breaks.

Buffered or unbuffered tissue? CCI specifies unbuffered, acid-free (neutral pH) tissue for costume and textiles. Replace tissue when it yellows or becomes acidic.

Hanging storage: only for sound garments

Hanging saves space but is not suitable for everything. CCI says costumes that are fragile, heavily decorated, or that already have weak shoulder seams from bad hanging should be stored flat, and that knits and bias-cut garments should not hang at all.

Padded hangers. CCI says never to use lightweight wire hangers, which do not support the garment. Start with a wooden or plastic hanger that fits the garment's shoulders, pad it with polyester or cotton batting into a broad, rounded shape, and cover it with prewashed cotton. A quick alternative CCI describes is to sleeve the hanger in polyethylene pipe insulation and add a cotton cover. Ready-made padded hangers are sold too, though the covering fabric should be plain and colourfast.

Extra support. For heavy skirts, bustles and full period dresses, CCI recommends sewing two cotton tapes inside the waistband and looping them over the hanger hook, so the skirt's weight hangs from the hanger rather than from the shoulders and bodice seams.

Skirts and trousers. Hang from the waist, using a clamp hanger whose jaws are lined with foam and soft fabric to avoid marks.

Dust covers. Cover each hanging garment with a breathable cover of prewashed cotton sheeting, washed periodically. Hang garments at least 10 cm (4 in) apart so they do not crush or rub.

The storage environment

Light

Light damage is cumulative and irreversible: fading and fibre weakening build up with every hour of exposure. Store in closed boxes, drawers or wardrobes with the lights off. Do not display a valuable garment in a sunny room; if you display at all, rotate pieces and keep them away from windows.

Humidity and temperature

CCI's guidance is reassuring on most counts: textiles tolerate a wide range of relative humidity (RH). The one condition to avoid is damp. Above about 70% RH, mould can grow (CCI notes that at 70% it takes three months or more, while at 90% mould develops within days), woven fabrics shrink, and metal fasteners corrode quickly. Very dry air (below 40% RH) makes textiles more brittle to handle, but also slows light fading and discourages insects.

Heat speeds chemical decay; CCI uses the rule of thumb that the rate doubles for every 5°C rise. That matters most for chemically unstable textiles such as weighted silks, many synthetics and unwashed fibres with a long history of pollution exposure. Cool is good; cold is fine as long as it does not create condensation.

In practice:

• Choose an interior closet or under-bed space in the living area of the home.
• Avoid attics (heat), basements and garages (damp and pests), exterior walls (condensation), and spaces near heating vents, radiators or laundry.
• A cheap digital hygrometer (digital hygrometer) tells you if a closet runs damp.

Air and pollutants

CCI lists wood, some coatings and acidic tissue paper among household materials that can emit harmful gases, and dust as abrasive: sharp silica particles can cut fibres. Line wooden drawers and shelves with cotton sheeting or acid-free board, keep boxes closed, and keep storage clean.

Textiles should not be sealed airtight in plastic for storage. The thin plastic bags from dry cleaners trap moisture and offer no support; remove garments from them as soon as you get home.

Pests: moths and carpet beetles

The larvae of clothes moths and carpet beetles eat keratin fibres, which means wool, silk, fur and feathers, and they thrive in undisturbed dark places. Signs include small irregular holes, silky webbing or casings, fine sand-like frass, and shed larval skins.

Prevention:

• Store only clean garments.
• Inspect stored clothing a few times a year, especially wool.
• Quarantine newly acquired vintage in a sealed bag until you have inspected (or frozen) it.
• Keep food and drink away from storage areas.

Treatment by freezing. Freezing is the standard non-toxic method in museums. CCI's protocol:

1. Seal the garment in a clear polyethylene bag, removing excess air without crushing the piece, so moisture condenses on the bag rather than the fabric.
2. Lay it flat (thin items cool faster) in a chest freezer at about -20°C or colder; CCI cites -20°C for one week as a practical treatment.
3. Remove it and leave it sealed in the bag until it is fully back to room temperature.
4. Vacuum it through a screen to remove dead insects and frass.

CCI notes that textiles, furs, feathers and leather are generally not harmed by freezing, but some materials such as rubber, some plastics and painted surfaces become brittle when cold, so check what a garment is made of before freezing. Garments that came in from the cold may need a few weeks at room temperature first, because cold-adapted insects survive freezing better.

Mothballs. Avoid them. Older mothballs are naphthalene and many newer ones are para-dichlorobenzene. US health authorities regard para-dichlorobenzene as reasonably anticipated to be a carcinogen, naphthalene is listed under California's Proposition 65 as known to cause cancer, and both leave a persistent smell in fabric. Cedar blocks and hangers are sold as gentler deterrents, but no deterrent replaces clean storage and regular inspection.

Not sure what you have? Appraise a photo

Accessories, hats and shoes

CCI suggests most accessory materials are happiest at 45 to 55% RH and no warmer than 21°C.

• Hats and bonnets: support the whole hat, crown and brim. A correctly sized foam head form is best, raising the hat slightly off the shelf; a short cardboard tube with a barrier layer, topped with crumpled acid-free tissue, is the home alternative. Pad brimless hats with tissue to hold their shape.
• Handbags: fill loosely with crumpled acid-free tissue, store flat with handles straightened and supported, and carry the bag from underneath, not by fragile handles.
• Shoes: pad the interior with acid-free tissue to keep the original shape, and keep them in a closed box or under a dust cover.
• Gloves and small items: flat in tissue-lined boxes.
• Fur and leather: cool, dry, dark and breathable; never in sealed plastic. See vintage coat and fur values for what makes these worth keeping.

A simple storage routine

Sources

• Canadian Conservation Institute — Flat Storage for Textiles (CCI Notes 13/2)
• Canadian Conservation Institute — Hanging Storage for Costumes (CCI Notes 13/5)
• Canadian Conservation Institute — Textiles and the Environment (CCI Notes 13/1)
• Canadian Conservation Institute — Controlling Insect Pests with Low Temperature (CCI Notes 3/3)
• Canadian Conservation Institute — Storage for Costume Accessories (CCI Notes 13/12)
• Wikipedia — Conservation and restoration of textiles
• Wikipedia — Mothball