How to Store Formal Attire Long-Term

The full-service storage experts at All My Sons Moving & Storage offer tips for packing your formal wear clothing like dresses, suits, and tuxedoes for long-term storage.

From proms to weddings, the occasions where you wear formal attire are nights to remember. After the evening is over, you’re left with a polished and sophisticated outfit that you likely won’t wear on a routine trip to the grocery store. When more black-tie events lie in the future, it’s quite sensible to pack the formal attire away for long-term storage. Even if you’re never going to wear that dress again, you might want to hang onto it for sentimental purposes or keep it to gift to someone else one day. A long-term stay in a storage unit could keep that suit, dress, or tuxedo in pristine shape, if you take certain measures to ensure it stays in great condition.

When searching for a space to store your formal wear clothing long-term, there are a few factors you should consider. Whether you are searching for a unit in a self-storage facility, putting your formal clothing into full-service storage, or looking for a good back-closet space, these four items can cause significant damage to your clothing over time when your clothing is out of sight.

• Temperature: Extreme shifts in temperature could wreak havoc on items not stored in a temperature-controlled environment. The more delicate fibers of your clothing might shrink, wrinkle, or break down. Be very careful storing items in unregulated units or in garages.

• Moisture: A little bit of moisture in your storage space could cause mold or mildew growth in your formal clothing. Packing with desiccants and making sure items are totally dry before storing can help cut down on moisture levels.

• Gravity: Packing your items in boxes could lead to permanent wrinkles in your delicate formal items as they sit compacted in storage. Heavy or beaded dresses might not hold up on a hanger in a wardrobe box. You should organize and pack your clothing items according to their type to avoid wrinkles or tears in your clothing.

• Pests: Clothes moths, carpet beetles, and silverfish are attracted to the natural fibers in your formal clothing. They can chew holes in your precious formal outfits and leave webbing, fecal matter, and other stains.

Before you store anything, you should take some time to adequately prepare those items for storage. Your formal clothing has better odds of coming out of storage in pristine shape if you take this extra step.

• Ensure all clothing items are clean and dry: Body oil, food particles, moisture, and dirt on your formal clothing will fester in storage. To avoid attracting pests or getting a mildew infestation, you should ensure items are clean and dry. If your formal outfits require special dry cleaning, take them in for cleaning before you pack them for storage.

• Store clothing in airtight containers: If choosing to store some clothing in plastic bins, make sure the bins are airtight so that no pests can make their way in.

• Vacuum-seal formal clothing: A good way to save space and keep pesky pests off your formal clothing is to store items in vacuum-sealed bags. Keep in mind that long-term storage in vacuum-sealed bags might cause permanent wrinkles in silk, cashmere, or wool.

• Pack with pest repellents: Classic moth balls, fresh cedar chips, and dried lavender can all act as repellents for clothing-loving pests like moths, carpet beetles, and silverfish. These repellents do need to be replaced every few years to maintain their effectiveness.

• Label all boxes and bins: Don’t lose your favorite yellow dress in a maze of wardrobe boxes and plastic bins. Label all boxes with their contents so you never forget what’s inside.

Avoid these common mistakes people make when packing their storage unit and take a little extra time when choosing, maintaining, and checking on your unit. Your formal attire in storage has better odds of being in pristine shape for your next gala if you take these extra steps. 

• Choose the right size unit: Pick a space too large and you’re essentially throwing extra money away every month. Get a space too small and it will be too cramped for you to search through it. When you choose your storage unit, make sure it can comfortably accommodate all you intend to store and leave a small amount of space to navigate the unit. 

• Consider your access needs: If you need to visit your unit to fetch clothing items often, you should pick a facility that has ground-access units that are easily reached. Find out your facility’s gate access hours ahead of time so you’re not locked out when you need to get into your unit. In the event you do not need to access your formal clothing at all during their time in storage, consider opting for full-service storage. 

• Organize your unit well: Disorganization leads to lost items and wasted time searching. Organize your storage unit by designing a layout based on ease of access, labeling all your boxes and bins clearly, and keeping an inventory of your items in storage. 

• Periodically check on your unit: Every six months to a year, look through all your formal clothing for signs of pests, mold, or mildew. Replace your pest repellants, air your clothing out, and then pack everything back up. Checking on your unit gives you the opportunity to catch problems as early as possible.

Your next big event in your beautiful yellow evening gown will be a smash success when all your formal attire comes out of storage in great condition.

If you’re considering full-service storage to keep your formal attire safe for a move then consider getting a quote from All My Sons Moving & Storage. Our well-kept storage facilities are protected by controlled access and state-of-the-art surveillance systems so your tuxedos and ball gowns can stay safeguarded until the time comes for you to request them back. 

Making a relocation soon? Ask All My Sons Moving & Storage to handle all the packing, loading, and lifting. Click the quote button below to get started on your move.