Costumes can be quite costly these days. This means you should try to make them last as long as possible. Caring for your costume will help keep it looking like new for many years. I have a roman soldier costume and will refer to this item in the following paragraphs to teach you how to properly care for you own costume.
The first area you should look into after wearing your costume is cleaning your costume. Making sure you take off all sweat and dirt within 24 hours of use will help make the cleaning process easier and will prevent stains from moving in. Here are some general tips to use when cleaning the various types of costumes you might own.
Cloth cleaning should only be done after you read the tag and determine the best way to do this. Many costumes are dry clean only and cannot be placed in a washer. Some costumes should not be cleaned at home and others can, you just have to read the tag to find out.
Washing down a metallic costume will be more intense than placing a cloth costume in the washing machine. The roman armor I use for my medieval soldier costume has a large amount of metallic pieces to clean between wear. This metal is not stainless steel and will rust if it is not dried properly. I try to use a moist cloth to wipe down the metal pieces and only use polish when the shine is starting to get very dull. The reason I take these steps is to make sure that all metallic pieces stay in optimal condition.
Costumes are not invulnerable and do need to be mended from time to time. Cloth can be repaired using a good seamstress or a needle and thread for the skilled costume owner. I try to buy thread that exactly matches my costume before taking it to my local seamstress to use. I've found that she does not always use the exact same color thread when I do not do this.
Repairing parts of the costume that are not made of cloth can be much more difficult. You may want to contact your seller or manufacturer and explain to them which pieces are broken so they can sell you an exact replica of the damaged piece. My roman soldier armor was once dented and I tried to fix it myself with the use of a hammer, this did not work out well.Lastly, make sure you store your costume appropriately.
Cedar closets and hangers are great for keeping nefarious moths at bay. Remember that moisture can be just as bad as moths so be sure to keep your costume dry as well.