How Fashion Boutique Owners Should Store Leather and Silk
For many people, making money out of a love of a fashion sounds like a dream come true. The truth is, however, that it takes more than passion to be the owner of a high end fashion boutique. In order to make a fashion boutique a success, you need advanced retail skills, and you need to know your garments inside out.
And it isn't all about selecting the garments – you have to know exactly how to take care of them as well. Shoving your stock on crowded racks in the back room for months at a time simply isn't going to cut it if you really want to offer your clientele a premium product. So when it comes to luxury materials like leather and silk, you really have to know how to store the garments properly in storage. Here are some tips.
When it comes to storing leather, one of the worst things that you can do is cause the leather to wrinkle and crease. This is a tell-tale sign that the leather hasn't been looked after, and your customers won't pay a premium for it. This means that you should never fold leather, but always hang it up. Hangers, however, are not one size fits all. Wire hangers do not offer adequate support for heavy leather garments, and will cause a strange weight distribution that could cause a leather jacket or skirt to become misshapen. Choose a hanger that is broad and robust enough to support a leather jacket's weight.
Before you place lather into storage, you should also wash and condition it. You need to wash down the leather with a damp sponge, so that any existing dirt doesn't cause discolouration along the road. You also need to invest in leather conditioner to encourage flexibility in the leather fibres. Without this, your leather garments could crack while they are in storage.
Last but not least, choose a storage unit carefully – your shop's back room probably isn't going to cut the mustard. First of all, the commercial storage unit should be dark, because exposure to sunlight will make leather fade. And you should also make sure that leather is kept in a temperature and humidity controlled room. Humidity above 40% could cause mould and mildew to grow on leather, and then your beautiful garments will be impossible to sell. Don't go too far below 40% however, because this will encourage your leather to crack.
When it comes to silk, you also need to think carefully about your storage strategy for this delicate, luxury fabric. Again, before silk is stored away, it needs to be washed so that dirt does not breed bacteria. But this is a job that you shouldn't do yourself – instead you should lean on the talents of a reputable dry cleaner.
Unlike leather, you should never use hangers with silk. First of all, silk is a far more delicate fabric, and the wire or plastic from the hanger could actually leave a permanent mark or stain on the material. Secondly, hanging silk will cause its shape to become distorted, and it could become creased too. At the same time, folding silk can make it creased as well. With silk, it's a much better idea to loosely roll the garments. Place a piece of acid free paper or a light piece of muslin on top of the garment and roll it gently, the paper or muslin offering a layer of protection.
You will need to place silk clothing and accessories inside a container so that dust doesn't settle on them. A wooden or acid free cardboard box should be fine, but don't choose plastic because this will cause moisture to build inside the container, potentially causing mould and mildew to grow.
And as with leather, you will need to choose a temperature controlled, humidity controlled storage unit that is dark enough to keep your silk in pristine condition until it's time for you bring it on to the shop floor.
Follow these tips and you'll have no problems maintaining high-end clothing in premium condition for customers that only want the best.