Deteriorating Outfits

On 10/25/2020 at 11:59 AM, Singer Yuna said:

I saw last years’ Kaede casual set at Mandarake and sun ate the top colors! Sigh

The surface of those shoes look to have deterioration too. It may have been more than sunlight at work here.

I have the Volks Balloon dress and the pleather straps on it are also in very bad shape. I had a doll wearing it while posed, without moving it whatsoever, and I'd still find her covered in brown flakes every day. The lace is also starting to get a bit yellow. I bought it secondhand so I have no idea what the previous storage conditions were.

 

This sucks. One of my favourite Volks sets has pleather pants and a pleather skirt. Guess I need to have my dolls wear them often while they're still good.

This is why I avoid pleather anything like the plague. 😬

I can comment on this from a human fashion perspective.  Japan uses a lot of pleather on fashion items, due to cost and also the ability to produce very thin pleather in many different colors.  I love rehabilitating stuff, so I often buy old pieces and fix them.  Whether it’s shoes or bags, pleather simply doesn’t age very well, no matter how well you take care of it. Especially very thin pleather.  I generally patch pleather with custom mixed artist grade acrylic paint (Golden is the brand I’ve been using since art school).  For doll scale items, finding actual leather to the right scale and thinness can be super challenging, and ultimately cost prohibitive (I love watching miniature saddle makers work on Breyer tack, and they’ll often get a big piece of hide where only a small portion is good enough quality and thinness to make a piece.)

Actually, I can compare leather directly to pleather in doll clothes, since several years ago we commissioned an awesome seamstress to remake the “leather” parts of Excellen’s uniform to fit her new Dynamite body.  It took a super long time to find red leather that was thin enough to be used for the project, and even with the seamstress doing an amazing job, it’s still a lot stiffer than her actual fullset pieces (they’re in fine shape right now, but they haven’t been used much and don’t have a ton of folds, where pleather tends to deteriorate the most).

I do think Volks is heavily focused on aesthetics, and I can understand that.  It’s one of the reasons we’re drawn to Volks things in the first place.  And the same is true for me when it comes to Jfashion.  Even though I know that pleather items don’t wear well, I still buy the ones I like and plan to rehabilitate them over time.  I’m also not afraid to use them (my bags and shoes get heavy use because I am hella clumsy).  I think fashion items for humans or dolls that you’re afraid to use is a super sad thing.  Clothes want to be worn.  It makes them happy.

I wish the thin pleather items wore better.  I’m always hoping for more advances in materials engineering.  The stuff that has happened over the last fifteen years has been incredible for the hobby community.  I look forward to more and more advances, to find a leather like material that is thin, the correct specularity, producible in many colors, and sturdier than what we have now.  Hope springs eternal.

So the default Miku costume has this belt that connects from the front of her skirt to the back with a triangular pattern on it.

It's beginning to deteriorate with the layers separating. Both Mikus are showing this problem, including the one that never goes out or gets any direct sunlight. Must be the material aging. 

Is there a type of glue that I should use? Is there a type of glue I should avoid using?

Is anyone else seeing this?

I have had some pleather items from Volks and sadly they don't hold up too well - especially boots or jackets that are covered in the material. Sadly reminds me of some of the Takara Jenny outfits that would flake off - the darker colors can be worrisome because of staining. 

I have an early pair of (probably pleather) faux-leather shoes from volks. They have become completely friable and the bow has 'shattered' off. They are however, probably about ten years old now, or close to it.

Nothing more depressing than seeing this on a doll that is such a pain to find in any condition uggh

I've tracked down a really old DD outfit that I like, but the photo shows it being significantly yellowed (all parts, not just the skirt). How treatable is this?

Welp, I have a rare, non-pleather deterioration to report: the black fabric pieces on DDS version Marisa Kirisame's default.  Specifically the hat, skirt, and vest.

Now, maybe I'm just super unlucky, but on mine the black parts are straight up disintegrating: touching them causes them to shed lint like crazy, and after a bit of handling holes show up. It's not even fraying, the fiber is just GONE. I was going to try to go visible mending and repair the holes with some embroidery, but even with a ton of Fray Check I can't keep this stuff together. 

Thankfully the white parts are all a bog standard cotton, and that's held up pretty well. My plan now is to remake the black parts. . . and embellish them while i'm at it lol. I got my Marisa because she's cute, not because of the character, so I'm going to take this design to 11 with embroidery, trim, and a celestial aesthetic. I'm still salty that it's come to this though. 

On 8/31/2022 at 5:18 AM, chef_mai said:

I've tracked down a really old DD outfit that I like, but the photo shows it being significantly yellowed (all parts, not just the skirt). How treatable is this?

Sometimes the yellowing comes out with just a gentle handwashing in mild detergent but it's not guaranteed

On 8/31/2022 at 3:18 AM, chef_mai said:

I've tracked down a really old DD outfit that I like, but the photo shows it being significantly yellowed (all parts, not just the skirt). How treatable is this?

Sorry I skipped this earlier! So, my first thought was Oxy-Clean, but that may be too strong. I did see someone on TikTok use this thing called Nellie's Wow Stick to remove stains from a vintage wedding dress with great results. I haven't tried it yet myself, but I sure want to lol. 

Thanks for the advice! I ended up finding the same outfit at Dollyteria without that staining, but I'll keep it in mind for the future.

I have lost so, so many precious Volks clothing and shoe items to crumbling deterioration. It’s such a tragedy and a huge waste of money. Just this morning I was lamenting that my tan Shirou’s boots have started to flake and my Yukinojo’s jacket has started to come apart in scales.  

At first, I used to store all my doll items in ziploc bags, but it seemed to accelerate the deterioration. So I bought a ton of Japanese desiccant packages and put them in the bags. It helped, and my pieces lasted longer, but still succumbed. About 3 years ago, I invested in 50 mesh zipper laundry bags and now store my outfits and shoes in them inside a dresser. I still throw desiccant packs in each drawer and change them when I can. It seems to be  helping better than my previous solutions because the vinyl doesn’t have the ziploc bag to stick to anymore and can breathe. But I am fighting a losing battle and know it is inevitable they will all crumble.
 

The desiccant packs I use are called Dry Pet and I buy the, here:

https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/Dehumidifier-Drawers-Clothes-Products-Moisture/dp/B0763NHFDY/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3GG5FPT4QOKK9&keywords=ドライペット+除湿剤&qid=1676254317&s=hpc&sprefix=dry+pet+dehumidifier%2Chpc%2C120&sr=1-2

 

 

 

 

On 12/22/2020 at 6:45 PM, Mega Negi said:

So the default Miku costume has this belt that connects from the front of her skirt to the back with a triangular pattern on it.

It's beginning to deteriorate with the layers separating. Both Mikus are showing this problem, including the one that never goes out or gets any direct sunlight. Must be the material aging. 

Is there a type of glue that I should use? Is there a type of glue I should avoid using?

Is anyone else seeing this?

Really late reply, but yes! I am having this exact problem on my standard Snow Miku's and OG Miku's outfits... It is getting really bad, and I am fighting the urge to just cut both of them off entirely. Currently trying to find a material I can use to replace/remake it, but am blanking on anything that would match. I don't think there is any repairing it honestly. At least for me, there isn't. 😓

Also just had my OG Miku's boot sole come off entirely lol. Super glue seemed to work... for now at least.

Both of my Road Warrior Miku's boot soles have detached. Fortunately, I have spares. The boots themselves have also worn down considerably. The texture is far grittier and cracked than the unused ones. then again, with the amount of usage over the years, I can't really complain.

I just wanted to add this as a word of warning: one of Yor Forger's outfits is definitely pleather, so watch out for deterioration on that one as well! If anyone has her, keep it secret, keep it safe!

I had a couch that was coated with pleather once; it was a disaster. I don't blame anyone who wants to stay away from it.

My V1 Sasara’s shoes are barely holding on. Makes me a little sad I can’t put her in them without either the heel almost peeling off or her bows immediately falling off. I also have some SD pleather boots about the same age that have been disintegrating on a shelf. I’ve tried a few different things but might have to let them go

 

On 10/24/2023 at 1:40 AM, Squid said:

I just wanted to add this as a word of warning: one of Yor Forger's outfits is definitely pleather, so watch out for deterioration on that one as well! If anyone has her, keep it secret, keep it safe!

I had a couch that was coated with pleather once; it was a disaster. I don't blame anyone who wants to stay away from it.

I have Yor Forger and I bought her cozy outfit (at great cost 🥵) in case her pleather outfit deteriorates. It may last a long time though. Iori and Yayoi's pleather outfits are still in great condition (I think they're from 2016?).

The stretchy transparent plastic strap that holds Kirika Towa Alma's clogs on has snapped. This was not unexpected as the same thing happened to Rin's Senbonzakura clogs.

Photo of Miku NT and Kirika. Kirika's outfit still looks great considering she was released back in 2015. But don't expect her to walk around in those impractical clogs.

Also photo of Miku to remind everybody that so many Miku outfits deteriorate. Here she's wearing the Ginger Tea Sweets Paradise outfit, which is made of sturdier materials. I noticed there's currently one on YJA if anyone wants it for their Miku (but it's more expensive than the one we bought).

On 12/18/2023 at 8:41 PM, DollyDaze said:

My V1 Sasara’s shoes are barely holding on. Makes me a little sad I can’t put her in them without either the heel almost peeling off or her bows immediately falling off. I also have some SD pleather boots about the same age that have been disintegrating on a shelf. I’ve tried a few different things but might have to let them go

That actually doesn't sound too bad with Sasara's shoes. It sounds like they would benefit from glue. Nothing major. I've glued a few heels. It's not hard to do.

This is likely more wear and tear from dozens (if not 100+) cycles of taking on/off, but the Volks school loafers that I got brand new almost 2 years ago have started to peel a bit around the side. They've still fared better than an Azone pair that's torn around the heel and has seen far less use.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy the same pair again, but I'd be open to a genuine leather (?) pair if a dealer version existed since it's the shoe that Mai lives in most of the year.