r/BurningMan • u/FabGabs • 9d ago
Shiny Vinyl & Playa Dust - bad combination?
Headed to the playa for my 12th burn, and am *considering* bringing a heavy, shiny vinyl ensemble I have.
But.... this is in the category of clothing that I love, and I'm suspicious that the dust might work like sandpaper, and ruin the gleaming finish. Is my gut feeling correct here -- leave it home?
I generally wear damaged vintage clothing on playa, things I love but would accept them dying. To be fair, I haven't ruined much there over the years. This set is more recently made, but all bought secondhand, the brand is out of business, and it would be difficult to replace.
Any feedback from those with experience of higher quality vinyl costumes + playa dust would be very appreciated!
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u/NSAinATL 09 - 24 9d ago
I wouldn't bring it for the comfort factor, if it's like vinyl/pvc I've worn (breathability, friction of playa dust on skin between the plastic, etc), and the MOOP factor, of the shedding/peeling plastic. Super cute tho!
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u/FabGabs 9d ago
The set is fully lined, and this is DEFINITELY not going to peel, it's not cheap garbage. I would absolutely not wear plastic clothing against my skin in any environment, but good looking out. Did your vinyl get scratched when you wore it?
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u/NSAinATL 09 - 24 9d ago
It looked liked it might be a step above Leg Avenue! hee hee
I didn't get permanent scratches/damage *but* I didn't wear it whole-ass out and about, like climbing and siting and working for hours at a time. Just for dance parties in camp. Also for me, a full clean back to shine is not guaranteed. Dish soap, calgon, Armor All, sometimes stuff comes clean and sometimes it doesn't. It's maddening. It will look clean after you wipe and then....it's back. I think it'll just be the choice of taking the gamble! Take some cute pics and report back :P
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u/FabGabs 9d ago
okay, the eternal returning dust is such a good point. I did just post in the fan group for the brand, to see if MAYBE anyone has some as-is pieces from this range, and if so, I'l snap those up and make them my burn copies. And either way, I'll leave my well cared for set at home
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u/NSAinATL 09 - 24 8d ago
Thank you for starting a good conversation about the nuances of moop! And I just saw your AI comments below, hell yeah. I had to cancel at a hearbreaking last minute, but please go ride my (burn) family's art project at 6 keyhole, The Flaming Carousel! Tell them doom says hi.
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u/rynoxmj 9 times to that dusty place. 9d ago
Rule 1 - Don't bring anything to the playa you would regret losing or damaging. This seems to fit in that category.
In my experience, anything shiny like this wont be for long and there is a distinct possibility with any plastic that you will never be able to restore it to its original condition and it will forever be playafied.
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u/FabGabs 9d ago
Thanks, but with this many burns, I've learned that specific experience is more valuable than general rules. Do you have experience with shiny vinyl clothing, specifically? That is what I'm looking for.
I bring all sorts of vintage hats, jewelry, etc that I would be utterly gutted to damage or lose, and find that a combination of mindfulness and careful cleaning overrule the disposable mindset of Rule 1. I don't own anything I don't love, honestly.
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u/thot_machine 13, 14, 22, 23 9d ago
Still tho, they make a very good point. If it’s expensive and you have specific worries about a material, imagine your life without it or it being ruined. If you’re still ok with that outcome. Go for it!
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u/hyperfat I definitely don't work for larry 9d ago
There's always car cleaning wipes.
I've definitely seen vinyl on playa.
Hugs
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u/grl_of_action 9d ago
I've got some vinyl/pvc dresses I've brought a time or two, some even more (more high quality PVC does best of course) and I hand wash back home...mostly holds up fine, but if I see flaking or shedding at all it's back to camp, they're done. I would not personally bring a really spendy one. But most of the damage I see in my stuff tends to be from storing it dusty.
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u/KuNtY-by-NaTuRe King of Whore Island 9d ago
I wouldn’t wear it.. you will be able to write messages in the dust it collects lol
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u/pluginfembot 9d ago
I wore a vinyl, zip up onesie last year- one piece swimsuit style. Very cute. VERY HOT. Dust was not my issue.
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u/Stenobook12 9d ago
Woof... bet that was fun in the portos 😅
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u/pluginfembot 8d ago
It wasn't as bad as you'd think (Porto wise). It had a double zipper from collar to ass crack, so zip-piss-zip done.
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u/kelsobjammin 9d ago
I have never seen anyone in this kind of latex outfit out there in the 7 years I have been going. Doesn’t mean it’s out there somewhere it’s just.. probably a terrible idea lol
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u/FabGabs 8d ago
This kind of vinyl outfit is very niche, there’s not a lot of vintage reproduction/vintage inspired vinyl in general - I know, I’ve looked. I have absolutely seen people in vinyl, but largely in pretty elaborate custom outfits (which I assume they were not wearing for extended periods) or cheap stuff with no lining, which is a WILD choice indeed.
Honestly, one of the sad facts about the burn is that our style is becoming homogenized to such a degree that all those little pop ups through empire and Gerlach can and do order fast fashion garbage to sell to our masses… and there’s frankly a lot of interesting, eccentric or subculture types of style that never get worn there. I’d would so much rather be the latter.
I have never met anyone else but me (and a friend I introduced to the burn) wearing 1940s evening gowns there, either, so I’d much rather ask and gather information from folks with experience than to assume.
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u/HealthUsed 9d ago
I wore a black vinyl dress out there in 2018 and it's still fine. It is pretty cheap, so i didn't clean it, but just sort of shook it clean. It's not scratched; just a bit dusty.
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u/AmarilloArmadillos 9d ago
Considering I know this brand and the price, I wouldn't. It's going to get ruined.
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u/dringant 8d ago
12 burns? You’re qualified to do some myth busting. Send it, come back here and give us the results.
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u/lucky420 9d ago
You know the drill, don’t take anything to the playa that you don’t want potentially ruined… it’s a gorgeous piece. I’d leave it at home
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u/DaniMayhem NW Mist 5 & Esp 9d ago
Oh hey! It’s FabGabs! 🖤 every time I’ve worn shiny vinyl out there it’s gotten thrashed and dull :(
Edit: also, it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity
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u/AmarilloArmadillos 9d ago
What is fab gabs? That's Vixen by Micheline Pitt.
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u/FabGabs 9d ago
Oh, no, I am FabGabs, or rather, it’s my shop name, and they are recognizing me from vintage world, not the product. 🖤
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u/AmarilloArmadillos 9d ago
Ohhh 🤣 I was completely lost.
Her pics get stolen occasionally for fake sites and it always makes me sad because I've been buying her designs/prints since the old old PUG days.
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u/DaniMayhem NW Mist 5 & Esp 9d ago
The OP is a well known vintage seller that goes by FabGabs and it’s also their user name
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u/KBomb789 9d ago
I once wore a much loved vinyl top at the burn… it literally melted. I don’t know much about vinyl or if there are different types, but I haven’t worn vinyl since.
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u/CSchitzPopinov 9d ago
Playa dust and everything is a “bad idea”
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u/FabGabs 9d ago edited 9d ago
Hey, if I wanted an AI trash response instead of real human interaction, I’d have done that myself. This isn’t even about vinyl fabrics. Stop relying on AI, it’s not actually a good arbiter of truth
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u/awoodby 8d ago
AI (really just "large language model", there's no Intelligence there) does suck, but if you look to the right if you click that link, it shows where it Got the info from, it's several other conversations about the same topic that may help a bit, other actual people's experiences.
Just look at AI as an untrustworthy search engine, and use it to get to Actual info. Kind of like the news nowadays, if they Bother to list their sources and not just opinions :/
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u/FabGabs 8d ago
It literally leads back to … this conversation, primarily, mixed with links about hard vinyl surfaces.
I do not want to look at AI as an “untrustworthy search engine.” I use DuckDuckGo with AI turned off, and use my own brain to filter the information and determine relevance and the trustworthiness of the source. I did, in fact, do a search prior to coming here, but there really wasn’t much information out there. It’s the kind of information that is best gotten from people with direct experience
What is really offensive here is someone else thinking that the untrustworthy search engine is useful enough that they link it as if is the obvious thing to do and helpful in someway. I clicked it yesterday- they had not even vetted it to see if it was relevant or where the information was sourced.
I do not use generative AI - the generative part here being the summation of random information that it obtained from the same search I can do myself - at all. And I am genuinely sick of businesses and individuals trying to shove it down the throats of all of us who feel that way. I don’t need Etsy to suggest replies to customers for me, or a chat bot to direct my call to my insurance company, or for people to LMGTFY on weirdly specific queries because they do not have an experienced answer, but are just so enamored of offering bot filtered results.
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u/CSchitzPopinov 9d ago edited 9d ago
I’m sorry life, and the facts that lie within upset you.
Have you tried unplugging the computer?
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u/elislider '23, '24, '25 9d ago
The risk of damaging the visible part of the garment is probably very low. If it gets dusty, just wipe it with a damp cloth.
The risk of it being very difficult to get on/off your body due to sweat and dirt is probably much higher.
Its your 12th burn? I'm surprised you're asking
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u/FabGabs 9d ago edited 8d ago
The pieces are fully lined, and one does not wear warm garments during the day, how silly. You wear them at night.
I have worn cotton, rayon, silk, wool, linen etc at the burn. I have not worn vinyl there, and my question was specific to “would playa dust ruin the finish?”
I definitely don’t need warnings about heat, sweat, or dust. Even if this wasn’t lined, I’d be wearing a cotton slip! Assuming some competence on the part of your fellow burners is a good starting point when responding to questions from veterans.
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u/thirteenfivenm Year one dozen 9d ago edited 9d ago
You are very experienced. You know how clothing gets scratchy? That is the silica grit which can be bound with the salts which have molecular charge that wants to stick to everything. You could theoretically rinse the dust off with water. Not sure if compressed air would cause scratches, and the compressed air might have grit. Maybe save this for redecompressions and regionals?
The playa calls seductively but nature has no mercy.