Care Guide
Made to last
Velvet, hand embroidery, mirror and coin work all reward a little tenderness. Here is how to keep a Ziva dress as rich and luminous as the day you brought it home — and ready for the next celebration.
Ziva BoutiqueTraditional Afghan dresses & modestwear · Melbourne
The first rule
Treat it as the heirloom it is
A hand-embroidered Afghan dress is not a garment you throw in the wash — it is a piece you keep. Velvet, mirror-work and dense zari are never machined; marks are lifted by hand, with patience, and anything beyond a smudge is best left to a specialist dry cleaner rather than a high-street one.
Look after the cloth and the cloth looks after the moment. Treated gently, a Ziva dress outlives the night it was made for — ready to be worn again, or passed down through the family.
Storage & rest
Let it hang, let it breathe
Keep your dress on a padded hanger inside a breathable cotton garment bag, away from direct light. Where a bodice carries heavy coin-work or beading, let it rest folded flat between wears so the weight never drags against the embroidery beneath.
Steam, never iron. A little vapour from a distance — on the lining side only — relaxes a crease without flattening velvet pile, scorching zari or clouding a single mirror.
A dress embroidered by hand should be kept by hand — gently, in the dark, and ready for the next time the light finds it.
Care, by material
Mirror, velvet & embroidery
Mirror & coin work
A gentle hand, never moisture
Mirror-work and metal coins love a soft, dry touch and hate water trapped against their settings and threads. Lift a mark with a barely-damp cloth, then let the piece dry fully in the air before storing — a damp mirror or coin left in a bag is how the shine and the stitching are lost.
Velvet
Brushed dry, lifted with steam
Velvet should never be wetted or pressed flat. Brush the pile gently in one direction to keep it even, then pass steam at a distance to lift a crush or a crease. Treated this way, the pile stays as deep and as soft as the day you first wore it.
Zari, sequin & beading
Steamed from the reverse, folded with tissue
Zari thread, sequins and beadwork relax with steam worked from the inside of the cloth — touch the reverse and the face stays flawless. Never crush an embroidered panel to fit a fold; lay acid-free tissue between the layers and the work keeps its shape, and its shine.
On the road
Posting & travelling with embroidery
When a dress has to travel — or comes to you by post Australia-wide — the embroidery is folded to the inside, with acid-free tissue between every layer so no mirror or coin ever rests against another. A panel folded face-in arrives the way it left, and unpacks without a single snag or pulled thread.
Carry it flat where you can; hang it the moment you arrive. A few hours on a padded hanger and a pass of distant steam, and the journey simply disappears.
Around the occasion
A simple care rhythm
Before the event
Hang your dress a full day ahead so the creases relax under their own weight. Check hooks, ties and clasps, and run your hand over the mirror-work and tassels while the light is good.
On the day
Dress last, once hair and makeup are finished. Keep perfume, hairspray and lotion well away from the embroidery and sequins — scent and spray dull the shine of zari and mirror.
After the night
Air the dress on its hanger before it goes anywhere near a bag. Lift any mark gently while it is fresh, then return the piece to rest somewhere cool and dark.
Between occasions
Re-fold along a different line every few months so no crease becomes permanent. Keep it cool, dark and loosely hung — and message us if a piece needs a freshen-up before its next wear.
Kept well
Cared for once, luminous for every occasion after.
Need a freshen-up?
Ask us about reviving a piece
From loose mirror-work to a tired velvet pile, message us and we'll talk you through reviving your dress before its next occasion — or arrange it for you.