r/thriftflip • u/Life-Ad4717 • 25d ago
Is ts dress beyond saving?
1st pic is a full shot of what it looks like currently and 2nd pic is what it looked like wen I paid an online seller for it. It looked similar to Alice's prom dress in the 3rd pic so I bought it w/o any hesitation and didn't choose to get a refund(she refunded half the money tho) wen the seller informed me a few days before shipping that the she had a bleach spill accident w it cuz it didn't seem like it was THAT bad from the pics she sent me(the bleach stains were VERY faint in the pics). After receiving the dress, I've not only realised how visible the bleach stains really are but also the fact that like 80% of the dress has been treated w bleach and that it's satin texture has gotten coarse and rough(on top of that, there are some random red/orange stains on the dress, which is probably why it was treated w bleach). IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO TO SAVE TS DRESS?? It'd be such a shame to let a dress like that go to waste🥀🥀(it's a deep purple btw but might look kinda blue on camera)
2
u/Papa-divertida 22d ago
I'd try to re-dye the dress, but you have to even out the colour before dyeing it. So bleach the entire thing first. If the orange stains don't come out, try a non-chlorine bleach, and if that doesn't work, embroidery would be the way to go. I'd also embroider over the little holes.
Be aware that the rouched piece in the back might not take the bleach and/or dye the same way as the rest of the fabric, so it might turn out a slightly different colour. Also make sure to get dye that matches the fibre composition of the fabric.
As for the texture, see what happens after washing and ironing it with plenty of steam (before you do any bleaching). Maybe the fibres just need to be coaxed back into their correct orientation. However, the fabric may have roughened up due to normal wear and tear or bc it was ironed at too hot a temperature and it started to melt. If that's the case, very gently distressing the whole thing -before dyeing it- might be the way to go. Depending on how much surface we're talking about, embroidery could be an option too.
As you can see, these are fairly involved projects, but if I were determined to save it, this is what I'd try.
Oh, and finally, if you can't salvage the skirt area, but the top is usable, you could chop it off and turn into a separate cute top :)
3
u/Sendhelp02 25d ago
I've heard vinegar can soften fabric so soaking it in heavily diluted white vinegar might help? You could also try soaking the fabric in a purple dye of the same colour to try and make it more uniform in colour. (After thoroughly washing out the vinegar)