/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

[Anonymous No.7008647]

Came home to discover the print on my BTSSB Marie Antoinette dress had bled quite badly all through the bodice :( Since the stains are still fresh, I'm hoping I can salvage the mess.

Any advice? Tide bleach pen has done nothing. I was going to run out & grab some Dylon Dye Run Colour Remover, but I don't know if it will work on the black.

[Anonymous No.7008748]

As the inner tag says- don't use water to clean this dress, because it will damage the print. Give it to dry cleans as fast as possible, I think they'll take care about it.

[Anonymous No.7008992]

>>7008647
Ouch, that's bad... I agree with other anon, get it to a drycleaner ASAP and see if they can do anything about it.

On this topic, does anyone know if Time of the Roses or Queens Coach bleed? Navy specifically, if it matters.

[Anonymous No.7009011]

>>7008992
Here's a post talking about cleaning Queens Coach
http://egl.livejournal.com/17700238.html

I'll dig a bit more though, one of the comments mentions a purse someone got wet.

[Anonymous No.7009063]

>>7009011
>http://egl.livejournal.com/17700238.html
Thanks! I knew there was a post for Queen's Coach.

Especially interested in Time of the Roses since I feel like I have heard of bad bleeding on that print in particular but I couldn't find anything...

[Anonymous No.7009104]

OP how did you get the dress wet?

I love that print but ugh, Baby, why do your prints always run? Sorry that happened to your dress :(

[Anonymous No.7009138]

Can this be a washing stuff thread?

[Anonymous No.7009169]

>>7009138
Pretty sure it already is.

[Anonymous No.7009397]

>>7009104
Honestly? I overheated :( Super embarrassing, I know. I was even wearing a blouse underneath... which is probably why I got so warm in the first place >.<

Taking it to an upscale dry cleaner first thing tomorrow, hope all goes well.

[Gloomy !S112HlAgNs No.7009600]

I don't know how risky you want to be with it but watered down bleach water and a q-tip? I notice that it was off-white so that's the risky bit. I've done that to the white parts of my dress before (also from Baby) and it worked pretty well.

[Anonymous No.7009626]

If the dry cleaner laughs at you like the place i took my color run skirt i say you should put it in a bucket or sink with very gentle detergent for a few hours. Get as much water out of it as you can and dry it flat.

The image is what it looked like before and the water it came out of.

[Anonymous No.7009647]

>>7009397
Not embarrassing at all. For some reason, I never imagined prints running due to sweat. I hope that you can get it fixed!

[Anonymous No.7009677]

I hope the stain comes out op! If it makes any difference I wouldn't say I'd notice the stain if you wore it, I'd have to look pretty close to notice.

Btw, does anyone have any tips for getting wrinkles out of Meta stuff? I'm wary about ironing. Would giving it a light steam work? Do the colors tend to run on Meta prints?

[Gloomy !S112HlAgNs No.7009737]

>>7009677
Meta runs like mad if you have dark and light colors. I recommend to do a colorfast treatment with vinegar (some say add salt too but I've not done it that way yet) and plenty of soak/rinses in cold water. Should help it from being super runny in the future.

If you're iffy about ironing print, you can always flip your skirt/dress inside out and iron with a piece of fabric like a bandanna between your dress and the iron itself. I have this dress where the print is printed on rather than dyed and I iron it inside out and quickly so I wouldn't melt it.

[Anonymous No.7009744]

>>7009737
>you can always flip your skirt/dress inside out and iron with a piece of fabric like a bandanna between your dress and the iron itself.
This sounds safe, I'll try this. Thank you.
For reference it's a white skirt with various pink and gold print on it.

[Anonymous No.7012198]

How do I get the red stains off the white parts of my Meta socks? I'm in Australia and I'm pretty sure we don't have tide pens.

[Anonymous No.7012234]

I wash everything with a sheet of Colour Catcher. I haven't had runs or colour bleeds in years. I think the few £ spend on a box is worth the peace of mind.

[Anonymous No.7012241]

>>7012198
>>7012198
Check your local Coles, I bought a spot removal pen from there and it's been OK for me. Mind you none of my loli dresses have run, it's worked on regular work clothes though.

It'll set you back somewhere between $4-7. Remember to spot check first!!

[Anonymous No.7012250]

>>7008647
OP i had this dress in this colorway and the same thing happened and i just ran it through the wash again and it was like new. it's just extra ink!

[Anonymous No.7012258]

>>7009626
Yikes!!!!! Did it come out looking OK as well?

That water colour is the stuff of nightmares

[Anonymous No.7012290]

>>7012250
Thanks for letting me know! I had two dry cleaners say "no way" and a third who took it for cleaning but said they're not sure if they can do anything - if that doesn't work, I will just try soaking it in cold water with a little detergent a couple of times to try and get the excess ink out.

>>7012234
Colour Catcher sounds awesome but I think it's a British thing? I've never been able to find something like that here in Canada :/

[Anonymous No.7012294]

I find this so disturbing, I only own a couple of non-print brand items but want to finally buy my first print after I get a paycheck or two.
But how can I throw $200 on a dress when it self destructs in rain?! It always rains here, and I don't want to have to dry clean every time I swear.

I can't believe we let the brands get away with this.

[Anonymous No.7012304]

>>7012290
Color catcher is easy enough to find on ebay,if you dont live in the UK, anon. Just did the quick search there

[Anonymous No.7012314]

>>7012294
Honestly, this and one other older (circa 2008) BtSSB dresses are the ONLY ones I've had a problem with. Every other brand dress I own has been fine with hand-washing and normal "nice clothing" care.

>>7012304
Thanks, don't know why I didn't think of that!

[Anonymous No.7012528]

>>7012294
It sucks, but haven't you ever had a red t shirt run all over your clothes? Cheap ass clothing does this shit too.

[Anonymous No.7012529]

>>7012294
Seconding that it's mostly older Baby dresses with bleeding issues, or darker colors with excess dye (which happens in most brands). I avoid the old ones for that reason.

On the other hand, if you like AP, to my knowledge most of their prints are washable.

[Anonymous No.7012544]

>>7012528
>but haven't you ever had a red t shirt run all over your clothes?
Not sure about that other anon but I definitely haven't. The only time clothes have ever bled on me is if they were ridiculously cheap. Like shopping at Dots and spending $12 on jeans and having the blue color stain my legs if it rained. I still don't think it makes it okay for brands to do that, it should be a major customer complaint but I've never heard of anyone contacting the brands over this.

[Anonymous No.7012565]

>>7009677
I iron my items form meta on medium tempereture, turned inside-out and with strach. It works pretty well.

>>7012198
I use reagular soap to remove stains on socks. Just rub the soap gently and then rise with cool water. I'd also reccomend nuts from "sapindus mukorossi" tree. They actually really work and I think they aren't that expensive.

>>7009626
I'd love to see that one after washing.

[Anonymous No.7012736]

People always say AP's prints are 'washable', but do they mean handwashing or putting them in a washing machine in a garment bag...?
Also, handwashing tips? I'm honestly terrified of washing my dresses myself, but the dry cleaning runs are bleeding me dry.

[Anonymous No.7012760]

>>7012736
I don't think you're meant to put ANY brand Lolita dresses in a washing machine, you have to dry clean them or handwash them.

[Anonymous No.7012794]

>>7012736
My friend owns an AP print and puts in the washing machine on delicate. However, handwashing or dry cleaning is much easier on the material and keeps the color vibrant longer.

If you worry about bleeding or fabric issues, test part of a waist tie or bow somewhere inconspicuous and let it dry. Looking through the EGL clothing care tag shows that some people like home dry cleaning kits as well.

[Anonymous No.7012823]

>>7012736
>>7012760

AP's care labels on an item will tell you if it can be machine washed. Chess Chocolate I know for sure can be machine washed.

[Anonymous No.7012827]

>>7012736
I own several AP prints, this is MOSTLY accurate >>7012794

Always read the care tags. Melty Chocolate and Daydream Carnival say dryclean only. I've put Melty Chocolate through the washing machine since someone spilled food sauce on my ivory dress, but I really would rather not do it again, and I can't say whether the brown colourways will run or fade.

Other prints that have gone through the washing machine: Happy Garden, Cinema Doll, Tiara Rose, Chess Chocolate. I usually handwash all my loli when I can

[Anonymous No.7012843]

According to the tag, Mozarabic Chant is meant to go in the wash at 30° C and air dried. However, it's a wool blend and wool doesn't always get along with the washer. Can anyone confirm if washing it like that goes ok?

And has anyone ironed it? The tag says no ironing, but I would think that the lowest setting would be safe.

[Anonymous No.7012874]

>>7012843

I definitely wouldn't chance wool and a washing machine.

For my Mozarabic Chant I got a bucket of cold water sudsy with woolite and used a toothbrush to brush the sudsy water on the underarm area. Then I applied a damp paper towel several times to soak up the suds and then spritzed the area with vodka.

It worked really well for keeping the dress fresh. After 3 wears using this technique I then took it to the dry cleaners and it did fine.

[Anonymous No.7012914]

>>7012544
>it should be a major customer complaint but I've never heard of anyone contacting the brands over this.
It's generally not a good idea to contact Baby with a complaint...

[Anonymous No.7012940]

>>7012314
Assuming the anon looking for color catcher is in the US - they have it on Amazon and sell it in most larger stores like Target/some supermarkets. It's made by Shout. I use it a lot because I like to overdye things and it works like a charm and helps keep the rest of my laundry from getting ruined by my tie dye experiments.

[Anonymous No.7012954]

>>7012874
Awesome, thanks for the info! I only have the skirt (bought during the free for all for extras) so I should have an easier time keeping it clean thank the JSK. I'm glad you agree with my hesitation about putting the wool through the wash.

I'm tempted to try washing the bow as a test, but I'm rather fond of it.

[Anonymous No.7013256]

>>7012954
Off-topic but how do you use the bow personally? I love the bow but I love the lace on the waist of the skirt a lot more so I find I end up not using the bow. I've tried using it in my hair but it's so heavy and long that it's not quite appropriate.

[Anonymous No.7017179]

>>7012258
>>7012565

Yep, it came out amazingly. I honestly couldn't believe it.

[Anonymous No.7017883]

>>7017179
Wow, looks great! This gives me hope :)

Dry cleaners didn't really help much, sadly. I am testing one of the waist ties with soaking in cold water to see if that works instead. Fingers crossed, I'm a bit concerned that dry cleaning may have set the stains permanently >.<

My usual laundry techniques: machine-wash and hang-dry blouses, bloomers, cutsews, etc in cool water using a lingerie bag to protect the lace. OPs & JSKs get hand-washed or machine-washed depending on their fabric composition, with a few very delicate pieces I send to my dry cleaner. I have an Atelier Perriot OP with delicate screenprint on the bottom, so I mostly wash the bodice and keep the hem with the print out of the water, which is a bit weird but it seems to work.

[Anonymous No.7017886]

>>7017883
Pic of how the stains look post-dry-cleaning, which I forgot to attach to my previous comment.

[Anonymous No.7017915]

While on the topic of stains...
A little while ago I bought IW dollhouse SK and as soon as I took it out from the package I realized it had 2 stains on it. After washing it and inspecting in much closer detail, I realized it had a total of 12 stains. Album of all of them below.

http://imgur.com/OZ68R9o&G3wbDNn&6xXGF9s&EV88ocu&VmkFvVu&5iUVvAi&tMEx76f&5zd8ssU&PieCEea

I messaged the girl and she said she hadn't seen them.
I asked for a 20% refund and she told me she would pay but i would have to wait for her to receive a payment.

At least they ever so slightly faded after the wash.. but still very noticeable.

[Anonymous No.7019153]

>>7017886
Did they make it worse?

I had a dress run bad on me once and every drycleaner I called told me that they either didn't know if they could get the runs out, or they even sometimes have clothes run on them.
So I did a google search and found advice on a thread asking how to get red from a dress out of it's white collar. You use color catcher sheets and oxi-clean, and throw it in the wash a few times. It worked perfect for me. If your dress hasn't been heat dried yet, it should work for you too.

And color catcher sheets are amazing! I have a red Magical Etoile that I washed with like 6 color catcher sheets. Not a bit of red on the white collar and sleeve trim. The sheets came out a bright hot pink.

[Anonymous No.7019169]

>>7017915
Maybe scrubbing the stains with some strong stain remover (like some stronger oxi-clean stuff, or stronger Shout stuff), or a mixture paste of a few things, and leaving them on the stain (going back like every 15 minutes to scrub again and reapply) for a few hours then washing will get them out.

And there's so tips online about how to try to get out set in stains.

[Anonymous No.7019170]

>>7017886
Holy shit they made it worse....

[Anonymous No.7019206]

>>7017886
I always think it's bad advice to tell someone to take something to the dry cleaners in order to fix a color run. Has anyone ever had any success in them actually get the ran color off the garment? I know I haven't heard of a successful one yet. But I have heard of them messing up dresses and make the run worse.

Dry cleaners are best for if the color would run in the wash, then you take it to the dry cleaners to hopefully keep the colors from running.

[Anonymous No.7019233]

>>7017883
Good luck! I really hope that works out for you.

[Anonymous No.7019257]

Time to share this again!

[Anonymous No.7019262]

>>7019257

[chiibi No.7019282]

what brand detergent would you recommend for washing dresses? i usually use Dawn since my mom swears by it. i'll be handwashing my Sugary Carnival JSK tomorrow and i'm nervous!

[Anonymous No.7019736]

Dear anons: you are awesome and your advice has totally saved one of my favorite dresses from ruin!! Thank you!!!

After a successful test run on a waist tie, I would up soaking the dress in a bathtub full of cold water and a small amount of Woolite, which is the detergent I usually use for hand-washing lolita clothes. The water turned a deep lavender-grey but none of the excess dye stuck to the dress. The color-run stains did not come out initially, so I applied some Oxy-clean (the gel stick kind) and let that sit for fifteen minutes, then soaked again for another fifteen and rinsed the whole thing out with cold water. Success!

>>7019153
>>7019170
>>7019206
The dry cleaner didn't make it worse but it's wasn't any better, either. Given how much I paid (I had to sign a waver before they'd take the dress, indicating that I'd pay whether or not they got the stains out >.<) I would definitely recommend using home removal techniques first, especially for color-run stains. It seems like the trick is mostly to give the dye enough water to disperse into, so it doesn't just stick to the fabric.

[Anonymous No.7019738]

>>7019736
I'm so pleased to see you got it all out and sorted! That's great news, anon.

[Anonymous No.7019746]

This isn't related to cleaning, more to general clothing care.

Is it bad to store my lolita clothes in the far left side of my wardrobe where they're squished to the side? The wardrobe is wide but just has one door that folds back on itself and doesn't open all the way, the lolita stuff is on the side that doesn't open fully. I'm scared they could get moldy as I don't wear them much and they don't get much exposure to the light outside of the wardrobe. I'm limited on storage space right now and I don't really know where else I can put them.

[Anonymous No.7019753]

Does anyone else have an extreme fear of plunging your dress that says "do not apply water: into a bathtub filled with 100 color catchers only to find out that you ruined the entire thing while trying to remove a small color run?

pic related: color runs in my attempt to do a test swatch with a color catcher

[Anonymous No.7019759]

>>7019746
Not getting exposed to light isn't a problem, in fact it's good because it will keep the colors from getting lightened by the sun. Mold should only be a problem if the items are in a damp environment, which is why stuff stored in a basement tends to have more problems with mold (underground = damp). If you're in a basement room or live in a humid climate, you might want to look into a dehumidifier or other means of keeping the air in your room a bit more dry.

I try and go through my closets once a month or two anyway, just to remind myself what I have and make sure there's no problems with clothing moths, etc.

[Anonymous No.7019911]

>>7019753
Absolutely. I probably would not have gotten up the guts to dunk my dress in water were it not for anon >>7012250 reassuring me it would all work out in the end.

[Anonymous No.7020335]

>>7019736
I'm so happy things worked out for you in the end! I'm the skirt anon and i know how scary dealing with color runs can be!

>>7019753
I was scared to death when i did it -- but i figured i'd never wear my skirt in the condition it was in. So after like a month of not doing it one day i finally did -- I made myself go on a long walk so i wouldn't check on it every 5 seconds and freak out at the water color. I didn't use a color catcher, i just used a small amount of all (unscented and no dye). It did the trick though.

[Anonymous No.7020423]

Hey Seagulls, can anyone tell me if it's safe to wash this print? I know black colorways sometimes fare better than light ones, but I'm still nervous about the reds running into the pink and white areas. It's BABY strawberry and cherry print, I think from 2010. I got the skirt and bow recently, and I'm a little afraid to chuck in the wash like I normally do. I usually machine wash my Lolita clothes on a gentle cold water setting, usually with woolite or a free & clear detergent, and then lay flat or drip dry, but then again, most of my brand Lolita up to this point has been solid, unprinted pieces. I have one Meta berry print that I wash like that, but I've always heard far more BABY washing horror stories than Meta washing horror stories.

[Anonymous No.7020521]

As far as washing garments of extra ink; I don't have access to a tub (only shower stall) and laundromat. Our sink is really small, too. With this setup how could I best use the colorcatcher sheets? Will it stain the laundromat washers if I try it there?

[Anonymous No.7021004]

>>7020521
I don't think it should stain the washers as long as you use enough color catcher sheets to catch all the color.
I'd play it safe and throw at least 5 in there. More if it's a color that's known to bleed bad like red.

[Anonymous No.7021171]

>>7019736
Dear Anon, do you believe the size of the tub had anything to do with it? I don't have a tub so I'm planning on purchasing a large storage bin, but I'm afraid it won't give the dress and dyes enough room to move around. Also, did you agitate the water at all or just dunk the dress and let it sit before applying the Oxy clean. (sorry for all the questions, I'm just nervous about really destroying the first dress my boyfriend purchased for me)

[Anonymous No.7021823]

>>7021171
I think you should be okay with a large storage bin; if there's no enough water to disperse all the dye with the first soaking, you can always dump the water and fill it up again, as many times as you need to get all the dye out! I mostly let the dress sit, though I did swish it around a bit when I first put it in, and again before taking it out of the water. Good luck!

[Anonymous No.7024235]

does anyone have any suggestions on getting smoke out of things you can't wash? I got an angelic pretty purse for like $20 and it's in awesome condition but it just reeeeks like smoke. I put a cotton candy car freshener in it but I'm pretty sure it won't do much. thanks in advance

[Anonymous No.7024247]

>>7024235
As someone who lived with heavy smokers, I usually just leave stuff out to air out for a few weeks and it's fine. Just make sure it's unzipped and let it sit undisturbed for awhile. I had a bunch of silk from china that my aunt sent to my parent's house. When I got it, it reaked to high heaven. I just draped it over something and let it sit for a few weeks and the smell is gone.

[Anonymous No.7024685]

>>7024235
>>7024247
Wow so I was completely wrong. I pulled the car freshener out and stuck my nose in and the smell is 100% gone, just overnight. supa sugoi.

[Anonymous No.7024714]

>>7019282

Use Woolite. Dawn will be too harsh.

[Anonymous No.7027346]

Thank you for all your advice lovely lolita anons. I summoned up the courage today to attempt to fix my dress and it was a huge success!

It took two soakings in Woolite & two applications of Oxi Clean to get all the excess color and stains out.

Thank you

[Anonymous No.7027689]

>>7027346
Congratulations! It's amazing how well that worked, so glad you were able to save the dress :D

[Anonymous No.7027701]

>>7027346
Thanks for making that image, I've saved it for if I ever have the same problem.

Woolite is amazing, though. A while back I was home visiting and I brought a lot of my lolita things to wear. Unfortunately I did not close my door completely, and my sister's dog nosed his way into my room and pissed on one of my bags. Almost everything in the bag was fine except for my Innocent World fawn fur style collar. I was livid, my sister was mortified, she drove me to every dry cleaners in the town with the intention of paying to have it cleaned. No one would take it, though. Apparently they have this policy where stuff like that has to be "sent off" (where to, I'm still not sure). After hemming and hawing and a lot of internet research, I cleaned it very carefully with Woolite and now it's as good as new.

Now the door to my room ALWAYS stays shut. I don't really hold it against the dog, though, because I'm pretty sure he has some sort of mental issues that don't involve being spoiled.

[Anonymous No.7027722]

This is amazing! I am so glad all of you guys fixed your dresses up. I saved all the advice here in case something similar happens.

[Anonymous No.7028032]

How do Meta prints stand up to washing, handwashing, dry cleaning etc? I got Fancy Egg recently, and I'm kinda scared to do anything more than steam it and spritz it with vodka/febreeze. And IW cotton blouses are okay in the washing machine provided I put them in a pillow case or something to protect the lace, right?

[Anonymous No.7028056]

>>7028032
I've only ever had my Meta dry cleaned, print and non-print, and it held up fine.

[Anonymous No.7028087]

>>7028056
Thanks, I'll probably stick with dry-cleaning, then. Steaming means I don't need to do it too often, at least.