Cleaning, preservation, and restoration solve three different problems. The right one comes down to two questions: how old is your dress, and what do you plan to do with it? Here’s the quick rule.
The Quick Rule
- Cleaning (Clean Only) — you’ll wear or sell the dress within a year. You want it fresh and stored short-term, not tucked away.
- Preservation — the dress is under 20 years old and you want to keep it long-term (a keepsake, or for a future daughter). Cleaning plus archival storage and a 100-year guarantee.
- Restoration — the dress is 20 years or older, or already shows yellowing, staining, or fabric fatigue. A gentler, multi-cycle hand process built to bring aged textiles back to life.
If you’re still unsure after reading this, our 60-second Help Me Choose quiz will route you in a minute.
What Cleaning Does
Every service starts with the same museum-quality cleaning — gentle, solvent-based, and tuned to lift the invisible sugar and protein stains (champagne, cake, sweat) that oxidize and turn brown over time. Clean Only ($260) is that same high quality cleaning without the preservation chest. Your dress comes back on a premium hanger in a garment bag, ready to wear again or sell. It does not include long-term archival packaging or the anti-yellowing guarantee, because it isn’t meant for decades of storage.
What Preservation Adds
Preservation ($360 Traditional / $435 Celebrity) is cleaning plus the part that makes a dress last a century: the cleaned dress is placed in an acid-free preservation chest with a UV-protective viewing window, supported by acid-free tissue and a bust form, and backed by our 100-year anti-yellowing guarantee. The difference between Traditional and Celebrity is insurance ($2,000 vs $3,000), chest finish (white gloss vs silver-tone), and pressing (steam vs hand-or-steam) — the cleaning quality is identical.
When You Need Restoration Instead
If your dress is 20 years or older, or it’s already yellowed, stained, or fragile, standard cleaning isn’t enough — it needs restoration. This is a 100% delicate, hand-cleaned, multi-cycle process built specifically for aged textiles: it removes yellowing, halts deterioration, and brings the dress back to life. Minor repairs are included at no charge. Restoration can be paired with either preservation tier, or added to a clean-only order. See our full Restoration services for the process.
Side-by-Side
For a full comparison of what’s included at every tier — insurance, chest, pressing, accessories, guarantee — see Compare Preservation Services.
Planning to Wear the Dress Again Soon?
If you’re planning to wear your dress again soon — maybe it’s a sample-sale find, or a dress previously worn by a friend or family member — you don’t need the preservation chest just yet. Clean Only ($260) cleans a recently-worn dress and returns it ready to wear (might need additional steam pressing before the wedding). If the dress is older and shows yellowing or wear, Clean-Only with Restoration ($360) uses the same hand-restoration process as our full restoration service, then returns the dress on a hanger instead of in a preservation chest.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between cleaning and preserving a wedding dress?
Cleaning freshens the dress for short-term wear or sale. Preservation adds acid-free archival storage and a 100-year guarantee for long-term keeping.
Do I need restoration or preservation?
Under 20 years old and in good shape, choose preservation. 20+ years old, yellowed, or fragile, choose restoration.
Can a dress be cleaned without being preserved?
Yes — that’s our Clean Only service ($260), returned on a hanger in a garment bag.
Is restoration more expensive than preservation?
Restoration adds about $100 over the equivalent preservation tier because of the hand, multi-cycle process.
What’s the difference between Traditional and Celebrity Preservation?
Both include the same museum-quality cleaning. Traditional ($360) includes a white gloss chest and $2,000 of insurance; Celebrity ($435) includes a silver-tone chest, $3,000 of insurance, and hand-or-steam pressing suited to delicate fabrics. Celebrity is the better fit for silk, heavy beading, or dresses valued over $2,000.
Can I have my dress restored without the preservation chest?
Yes — Clean-Only with Restoration ($360) reverses yellowing the same way full restoration does, then returns your dress on a premium hanger instead of in a chest. It’s built for dresses you plan to wear again soon, rather than keep in the preservation chest.
Is it too late to preserve or restore my dress?
Almost never. A dress that’s sat for years can usually still be cleaned and preserved; if it’s yellowed or fragile, restoration is built specifically for that. The sooner you start, the better the results — but waiting doesn’t rule it out. See our full timing guide →