What's the best way to pack my wedding dress for shipping?

So you've just sold your wedding dress on Stillwhite, now it's time to package up and ship your dress safely.

1. Use a small sturdy box

Cardboard boxes of various sizes can be purchased from your nearest office supply store or post office for a few dollars. Make sure the box is just big enough to fit the dress but not too small to damage any fine detail or crush it beyond recognition. The box you used to store your wedding dress may be far too large to post economically. A typical wedding dress would fit in a 43x30x14 cm / 18x16x9 inch box.

2. Wrap with acid-free tissue paper

Lay a sheet of tissue paper down on a table and place the dress on top. White acid-free tissue paper or unbleached muslin is the ideal packaging material. Ordinary tissue paper contains acid which can damage the dress.

3. Fold the dress carefully

Fold the dress carefully, placing tissue paper between each layer. This is especially important if the dress contains embellishments such as jewels. The tissue paper will also help stop the dress from catching on any tulle.

4. Place in a clear plastic bag

Place the entire folded gown with tissue paper inside a clear plastic bag and fold down the opening. This will help in the unlikely event the box gets wet or rain damaged. Although plastic is not recommended for long-term preservation, it is safe during shipment.

5. Seal with adhesive tape

Use thick adhesive tape to seal the box shut. You may need to go over the opening several times. If you have a printed shipping label, tape it to the box, avoiding any seams, and cover the whole label with tape. Be sure to remove any existing labels that may be on the box - you don't want the dress going to the wrong destination!

Finally, mark the box with the words "WEDDING GOWN" so that delivery people know to treat it with respect.