Plastic bags are the worst possible choice for your wedding dress because plastic emits fumes that can yellow your bridal gown. If you have a bag made from muslin or tyvek, there will be no harmful fumes, but bags are not a particularly good choice for long-term storage. Hanging for long periods of time can distort the shape of your bridal gown even if it is hanging from the ribbon loops attached to inside seams. All fabric, especially lace, will stretch if you hang it for any length of time, and who needs a big bubble where the bustle should be or a saggy-looking bodice?
hiring a specialist
Having a Specialist clean and pack your bridal gown in an acid-free wedding chest is a much better option. A Specialist will pack your wedding gown so that it maintains its shape perfectly with a minimum of folds and creases, and the wedding chest takes up a lot less room in your closet than a big puffy wedding gown bag.
Wedding chests also protect your bridal gown from sharp objects that can slice into your wedding dress. Plus they are a much more effective barrier against insects and mice than bags. A bride came to us in tears because mice got into her bag before the wedding, shredded her train to make a nest, and left her a present of lots of little black bits!
We have even talked with brides whose wedding gowns survived fire; the wedding chest was scorched and ashy, but the gown was fine. In a bag in a fire, no chance!
Museums rarely use bags to store textiles, and that, too, should tell you something–an acid-free wedding chest is a better choice than any bag.