Originally Posted by Debbie C
This is beautiful fabric. I believe the black spots are mold, though. I'd take the fabric to a reputable cleaners and get their take on it. Once I purchased a brand new all silk dress to wear to a family wedding. During the party, the dress literally shredded up the side seams leaving me quite exposed. Turns out, the fabric was found to be old and I was fully refunded. (I ended up wearing my husbands suit jacket for the remainder of the night) Silks can be funny....
Silk can be fragile (new or old) or it can be incredibly durable. In one Scandinavian grave find, dated about 1100 ce, the decorative bands sewn on the garment front and sleeves were silk. Further investigation revealed that the weaving pattern of the silk bands was popular in China about 1200 bce. That silk garment had travelled thousands of miles and lasted a couple thousand years until someone finally cut it up and used it to decorate their own best garment.
It had probably worn to the point where there were only bands of useable fabric left but after approximately 2000 years, wow!
It all depends on quality of the silk, the weave and the care it receives over the years.