Hello everyone.  This is my first attempt at posting so please excuse any problems.  I am writing to request any suggestions regarding possible storage methods for a lot of World War II clothing.  This includes shirts, pants and coats (quite heavy).  I have put together shelving and storage systems for smaller amounts of clothing, but when it comes to thousands of items I would like some suggestions.  I have read about various methods of storage units for clothing, but these typically address only small numbers of items.  For smaller numbers I have utilized large acid free boxes to store the items;  however, I do not know if I will be able to convince my superiors to purchase a thousand or so acid free containers (I can see University Products frowning with this statement).  For obvious reasons I would like to avoid hanging the articles of clothing, although this would be a space efficient manner of storing them.  I would be more than happy to build some shelving to support and protect them (utilizing metald shelving, mylar, muslin, etc...) but I would first like to gain some insight into possible alternatives.  If anyone has some experience or plans that address this issue could you please throw them to my email or to the list.  Thanks a lot.

Jeffrey Bilderback
Collections Manager
Mighty Eighth Museum