The wedding gown presents one of the most important days of your life. It is often a costly and personal statement about yourself. You may also choose to pass it on to a family member someday. Other family heirlooms carry the same significance as a wedding dress. These precious garments can include christening gowns, military uniforms, graduation robes, sports uniforms, costumes, quilts and handmade items.

Hazards to textiles include light, humidity, poor air circulation, stains, fumes (off-gassing) from non-archival materials, mold and mildew spores, pollutants, insects and poor handling. Although some fabrics, such as silk and wool, naturally yellow with age, yellowing can be minimized by keeping the gown away from light, which is one of the most significant sources of yellowing. Fumes from poly bags are also harmful to clothes stored in them for more than a couple of weeks.

Treasury boxes are strong and sturdy, stabilize humidity levels, keep out light, dust, pollutants, mold, mildew and allow for air circulation. You will not find brown or white kraft paper (grocery bag paper) lining the insides of our boxes, unlike many storage boxes. Beware of boxes made of kraft paper or pH neutral paperboard. Brown kraft board is acidic and will break down and cause severe damage to your textiles, while pH neutral boxes may be buffered, which can damage protein-based cloth like silk and wool.

We preserve your garment in a completely archival textile storage box made of fluted polypropylene. A chemically co-inert polymer, this material is non-absorbent, provides more complete moisture protection than a cardboard box, and resists fluctuations in temperature and humidity. Our proprietary boxes are made of the same material as those used by The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to store historical costumes.

The best location is the living space of the home – a space that has good airflow, away from a heat source and light. Under the bed or the top shelf of a closet.Do NOT store the box in an unheated basement, attic or garage. The moisture and temperature fluctuations are not the optimum conditions for textile storage.

We recommend that the gown should be inspected every two to five years.

The box should be stored flat and level. The box should not be stored on the ends. Standing the box on the end will cause the gown to move and create an unsafe position for the gown.

The best way is to triple-fold the gown for smaller gowns and double-fold for larger gowns and measure the depth. For 2” to 3” select small For 4” to 5” select medium For 6” and above, select large.

For archivists and conservators, acid-free means that a material has a pH level of over seven but less than 9.5. If the tissue is too alkaline (over 10), the tissue could weaken natural protein fibers, such as silk and wool. If the tissue is acidic (less than 6.5), first, the paper will degrade, and that could damage the textiles stored within the garment box. Lignin is the fiber in a tree that allows it to stand up. It is the second-largest component of the wood part of a tree, with cellulose being the principal component. Lignin will decompose over time, releasing acidic and corrosive elements, making the paper yellow, brittle, and weak. The Kappa number measures lignin. A Kappa number of less than 5 (1% lignin) is the standard. Our paper tests to less than 5.

The unbuffered acid-free tissue paper acts as one of the filtration layers and will absorb acids that may be generated from components of the gown. The tissue is also a good pH indicator.

Natural unbleached muslin is stable and non-acidic. It is the same material used by museums worldwide, such as the Smithsonian. We have taken the perfect material and sewn it into bags for easy use with our boxes. This material is a great buffer against moisture and contaminants found in buildings.

We offer Free Exchanges on Preservation Kits. Our guarantee is that you will get the right size box every time. If there is an issue with your box, please call us at email us at sales@treasuryboxes.com for a Return Authorization Number. All items may be returned or exchanged within 15 days of purchase. A 20% restocking fee will apply for returns. Shipping charges are not refundable. Please email us at sales@treasuryboxes.com for a Return Authorization Number. Personalized items may NOT be returned or exchanged. If we have made an error on it, we will be happy to correct it. Please call us at 1-604-368-8849 or email us at sales@treasuryboxes.com. If your package was received damaged, please save all packaging materials and notify us immediately.

In the event the gown has to be handled, the gloves will prevent body oils and contaminants from coming in contact with the fabric. The body oils and contaminants will oxidize in time and cause brown stains.