Dry cleaners lose woman's 147-year-old wedding dress — she then turned to the internet for help

Wearing a family heirloom wedding dress is like wearing a piece of history. The feeling is unmatched, especially when you get to know that the love and legacy of generations before you are now a part of the special day is beyond comprehension. As a bride-to-be, Tess Newall had the fortune of wearing her great-great-grandmother's 147-year-old handmade dress, but what happened later with the dress shook the woman to the core. Newall shared on Facebook that she decided to dry clean the dress and brought it to Kleen Cleaners in Edinburgh, Scotland. This is where the mishap began.

"I have just found out that the dry cleaners have lost my much-loved wedding dress. It was made by my Great Great Granny in 1870," she wrote in a heartbroken post accompanied by a photo of her happily posing in the dress. As per Newall, Kleen Cleaners was once a trusted business, but since there was a change of owners, the company was no longer running ethically. While in possession of the dress, the shop went into liquidation and claimed that it was simply lost. This hit her like a bolt from the blue and she turned to the internet in hopes of being reunited with the dress. 

People in the comment section were taken aback upon hearing that she had lost the dress in the first place and talked about ways in which she could get it back. "I have shared this, Tess! This is such a shame. Joanna told me all about the history of the dress and it's such a special item for you to keep and hand on! I hope you find it and also hope you're keeping well. Much love," wrote Catriona Joyce. "I can't believe this, absolute crooks! I'm heartbroken for you. I need to all get on it to get this beautiful piece of history back to you," added Olivia Young.

"It seems that the dress was taken to be sold. So, it could be winging its way anywhere. Please share this far and wide in case anyone stumbles across it!" she wrote on the post, which reached many people who again shared it to spread the word. Fortunately, one of the thousands of people who saw the post was the landlord who owned the now-closed shop. As he went through the abandoned items on the property, he found what looked like a crumpled heap of laces on the floor. 

Newall, who was filled with joy upon hearing the news, took to Facebook this time to thank everybody for their efforts. "The dress has been found!" she wrote in the post. "On Saturday afternoon, we received a phone call from the very kind landlord of the shop property, who read about it through this amazing response. He checked what was left by the administrators 'Wylie & Bisset' and found a crumpled heap of antique lace on the floor of the derelict basement. My mum and dad were finally let into the shop and to their amazement and joy, it is our dress! (Despite W&B repeatedly stating in letters that it 'was not inside' and had been 'disposed of' or 'auctioned off),'" she wrote in the post.

She added that after being ignored by the shop for weeks, it was finally delivered home safely to her. She further shared, "We have since helped 2 other girls in exactly the same situation. One was also stuck in the shop, one had been sent to a random Edinburgh cleaner. My family can't thank you all enough for creating this frenzy, which allowed us in before it was too late, and are over the moon to be reunited with Dora's dress," she concluded her post.

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