Long Term Screen-Used Costume Care?

[Castor Dioscuri]

I've spent quite a while researching how to preserve costumes, however have come up empty handed. Does anyone have any suggestions how to go about preserving a screen-worn costume? My main interest is in cotton/textiles, but opinions on leather/fur/etc are welcome too.

The only advice I've come up so far is to:

a) Quarantine new additions to your collection to make sure they don't have pests
b) Routinely check them at least once a year for damage and pests
c) Never wet-wash, only vacuum
d) Avoid hangers and mannequins for long term display
e) Package them in archival, acid-free paper and store them in a box, preferably flat
f) Handle them with gloves or clean hands, and never wear them

Interestingly, I've read that curators state that for every year a costume is put on display, it takes ten years off the life span of the costume. I'd imagine this has to be due to stress being placed on seams and possibly sunlight. If that's the case though, storing a costume in a display case on a mannequin would be bad then, and the best place for it would be boxed out of sight? Kind of an unfortunate catch 22 there.

With that said, I never could find if there was any other things we should do to preserve our costumes. I have a few screen-worn dress shirts and ties that I'd love to preserve, and so far the best thing I imagine I can do is keep them in my closet, maybe checking on them once in a while. Outside of that though, it doesn't look like I can do anything to help them along, and yet I feel like there's something more I *should* be doing... Yet it seems like the experts say the best thing you can do is to do nothing at all...

Anyone else in the same boat?

 

[SpaceMind]

I would be interested in any of this information too. I am disheartened about mannequin display information if it is true. The whole point of me getting costumes is to display.

 

[Mike J.]

I dunno... I'd talk with your local historical society / museum, if you have one.

 

[Art Andrews]

I have been to a number of prop and costume archives where professional archivists house the pieces. MOST are on hangers with a few being in boxes. Some at the LFL archives have been on hangers for 20-30+ years. Surprisingly, they are in great shape and do not show hanger marks (their hangers are insanely well padded).

I certainly appreciate your dedication to preservation, but this brings up a point that I find often broached in the Screen-Used community, which is just how much true historical value is there in a prop or costume and whether you should be enjoying it or simply preserving it. A LOT of people in this community feel a strong obligation to preservation for generations to come... but here is my issue... I don't believe generations to come will care about the VAST majority of what we collect. Why? I look at Debbie Reynolds and the AMAZING collection she amassed of unquestionably important movie memorabilia from her time. She clearly felt the same way many collectors feel today, but about pieces which were much older. When she finally gave up on her idea for a museum and finally sold her collection... it really didn't bring that much... why? Because we, the current buying generation, don't place a lot of value on props and costumes from the past, just as our kids and their kids won't place a lot of value on the props and costumes we hold dear. The movies we hold so dear will seem antiquated to them and silly.

Why do I say all of this and possibly take the topic off-track?

ENJOY YOUR COLLECTION! Don't hide it in a box that you investigate once a year for pest damage. Display it. Love it every day and enjoy it while you are here. Chances are good, those who come after us won't care about these things the way we do, so enjoy them now!

 

[SpaceMind]

ENJOY YOUR COLLECTION! Don't hide it in a box that you investigate once a year for pest damage. Display it. Love it every day and enjoy it while you are here. Chances are good, those who come after us won't care about these things the way we do, so enjoy them now!

That's how I feel as well. It's for me to enjoy so I display my props, costumes and memorabilia.

 

[ZeroSum]

I certainly appreciate your dedication to preservation, but this brings up a point that I find often broached in the Screen-Used community, which is just how much true historical value is there in a prop or costume and whether you should be enjoying it or simply preserving it. A LOT of people in this community feel a strong obligation to preservation for generations to come... but here is my issue... I don't believe generations to come will care about the VAST majority of what we collect. Why? I look at Debbie Reynolds and the AMAZING collection she amassed of unquestionably important movie memorabilia from her time. She clearly felt the same way many collectors feel today, but about pieces which were much older. When she finally gave up on her idea for a museum and finally sold her collection... it really didn't bring that much... why? Because we, the current buying generation, don't place a lot of value on props and costumes from the past, just as our kids and their kids won't place a lot of value on the props and costumes we hold dear. The movies we hold so dear will seem antiquated to them and silly.

That's a fair point you raise. However, should historical value be determined be resale value? Or is historical value something much more intrinsic?

 

[Castor Dioscuri]

Resale value aside, Andrews brings up a good point. After all, Debbie Reynolds broached the academy about donating her collection to their museum and was rejected... not once, not twice, but five times.

To be fair though, considering the history of many of the pieces in her collection, it does make one wonder if the rejection was motivated by politics or the cost of maintaining that many costumes. And similarly, while it is a shame that Reynolds was never able to provide a permanent archival home for her collection, even if we are measuring the intrinsic value of costumes by financial value, then I'm not sure I'd count Reynold's sale as a loss. Didn't she make several million off the pieces in total? Granted, I don't know what she paid for them to begin with, but that seems like quite a good sign of their worth...

 

[MaulWalker]

A few more tips -

- A substitute for acid free paper is PFD muslin. PFD stands for prepared for dyeing. It does not have any finishes on it that would be detrimental to the piece. One place you can get it is from Dharma Trading.
- For natural fibers, if you must fold the garment, every six months or so refold it in a different manner. Folding stresses the fibers and causes them to break along the fold lines.
- If you are using cardboard boxes, make certain they are made of archival material as well.
- If you are using plastic storage boxes - only use Sterilite boxes. Never use Rubbermaid boxes as they contain plastics that are detrimental to natural fibers.
- When you bring a new piece in, the best way to quarantine it is to put it in the freezer for 48 hours. Take it out for 24 hours and then back into the freezer for 48 hours. Repeat until the garment has been through the freeze/thaw cycle five times. This will kill insects/larvae/eggs.
- Do not use mothballs or cedar to keep bugs away. Both are detrimental to the fabric.
- Lightly stuff the sleeves, pant legs, and torso with acid free paper or PFD muslin to maintain the shape.
- Store the boxes/garments in a temperature controlled (ideally also humidity controlled) environment. The attic and basement are out.
- If you do display your costumes, rotate them.
- Display your costumes out of direct sunlight and away from bright lights. The stage lights used during production will fade a costume made of silk.

Lynn - historical costumer and collector of vintage hats.

 

[Castor Dioscuri]

Excellent points, and exactly the kind of advice I was looking for! Thank you so much Lynn, however I do have a question about the following

A few more tips -

- For natural fibers, if you must fold the garment, every six months or so refold it in a different manner. Folding stresses the fibers and causes them to break along the fold lines.

Lynn - historical costumer and collector of vintage hats.

My question is what would be the purpose of refolding the garment, especially if folding would be stressing the fibers? Wouldn't this simply cause the garment to break along all those folded lines? Or are you saying that this would alleviate the breaking from being stuck in a folded position for an extended amount of time? Or would this simply just even out the wear? Just was curious, thanks again!

 

[MaulWalker]

Castor - re: folding.

Let me use an example to illustrate. You know how clothing stores fold shirts? The sides are folded to the back, the sleeves are folded over on themselves, then the whole shirt is folded into halves or thirds depending on the length of the torso. If this is a vintage shirt and you fold it the same way and store it, the fabric fibers will start to break where the shirt is folded. The first place will be the sleeves and the back as those are the most acute folds.

Every six months or so, you would fold the shirt sides to the front, fold the sleeves, then the torso. Or fold the shirt in half lengthwise (shoulder to shoulder), then the sleeves, then horizontally. You always want to fold the garment in a different direction than it was folded most recently.

Another way you can protect the garment while it is folded is to pad it with muslin or acid-free tissue. Using the retail folding model, place the shirt face down and lay a sheet of tissue paper or a piece of muslin on the garment. Fold the sides in. Lay another piece of tissue or muslin down and fold the sleeves in. Lay another sheet of tissue or muslin on the garment and fold the torso. Hint: if you are traveling to a con with a costume piece that tends to wrinkle, padding the folds with tissue paper will many times save you from having to iron the piece when you get to the con.

I just remembered something else which may or may not apply. If you have a piece professionally laundered, ask for no starch. You know how you see antique tablecloths, napkins, handkerchiefs, dresses, etc. that are all yellowed when they should be white. The yellowing is caused by the starch. It is possible to remove the yellowing, but the removal can cause additional damage.

If you have a piece dry-cleaned, take it out of the plastic bag the dry cleaner uses and allow the garment to air out a couple of days. Dry cleaners now use better solvents that in years past, but for something you treasure, better safe than sorry.

Lynn