The 8 Best Ways to Care for Your Vintage Clothing, According to an Expert

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Brynn Jones is a Who What Wear editor in residence and the founder/curator of Aralda Vintage, a boutique and archive based in Los Angeles.

I’ve been working in the vintage world for over a decade now, and I’m still learning every day. It’s a niche world, but it’s so incredibly vast. There are endless nooks and crannies filled with ornate details waiting to be unearthed, from how to date a garment to how to authenticate it to how to care for it. Over time, something shifts: Your eye begins to train itself, and the need for endless research fades as your brain starts to retain more and more information.

A lot of this knowledge is instrumental and deeply valuable to how a vintage business operates. Knowing the provenance and the backstory adds meaning and worth, especially for collectors around the world who count on you to roll up your sleeves and do the gritty work so you can present them with a beautiful garment tied with the metaphorical bow of its origin story.

This is where quality comes in. Most of the pieces I find have already lived many lives, but every so often, there’s a magical exception—like the time I bought a Halston dress from a woman who custom-ordered it in the ’70s and kept it perfectly wrapped in acid-free tissue inside its original garment box or the day a retired Parsons professor walked into my store with a plastic blue bodice from Issey Miyake fall/winter 1980–1981 and told me the piece had only ever lived in a classroom or his apartment and that he was finally ready to find it a new home. Those moments are rare, but nearly every piece comes with a story (or 10) stitched into its seams.

At my shop, we frequently get comments about the condition and quality of our garments. While I’m meticulous about trying to only buy pieces that are close to impeccable, I can’t take the credit for their pristine state. Credit belongs to the long lineage of previous owners. I often imagine the closets that once held these treasures and the quiet measures taken to keep them safe.

I’ll admit that I’ve had my fair share of trial and error when it comes to caring for my own vintage. Even with the best intentions, I’ve snagged, shrunk, and slightly suffered through learning the hard way.

Whether you’re a vintage lover, collector, or aspiring seller, I thought sharing a few preservation tips for your pretty old things might be fashionably nutritious for us all—a fountain of wellness for your aging clothes. As I sat reflecting on the lessons I’ve learned and the wisdom passed down to me, I thought, Wait a minute. What if we heard from a top-of-the-line archivist?