Fabric Opinions - Topic of the day 1/18/24
Fabrics are a crucial component to garments. Do you have any strong opinions about any types of fabric? Strong like, dislike, etc?
61 Replies
There seems to be a strong dislike of poly and poly mix fabrics in the mfa subreddit and in some ways here so curious as to why there's such a strong dislike!
Personally I'm fine with it if the fabric does look like it does need some synthetics to look the way it does, but generally I prefer all natural due to environmental and breathability reasons.
A lot of designers also started using viscose/rayon instead of silk but still charge the same price, which really annoys me
Poly can def be just as breathable as anything else no? So much activewear is all poly
It does depend on the weave but overall haven't had a good experience!
I find it less cozy and it shines in a way that makes it obvious its unnatural
See a lot of dudes in a lovely tailored jacket and nice shirt and wrangler wranchers
And the wranchers stand out so hard as plasticy against the wool and cotton
One of the reasons I got into thrifting/second-hand clothing was minimizing microplastic waste. So most poly is a hard no for me just from that front.
Poly mostly is disliked when approaching cheaper brands that are using a synthetic to emulate a more expensive natural fiber. When it's being used in a way that brings its unique feature (eg issey pleats), it can be a great fabric choice. Just like natural fibers, there are cheap synthetics and expensive synthetics.
But the biggest issue is it just stinks lol
You can weave polyester to breathe, but it still stinks to high heavens.
truuu
so stinky!
very much avoid my uniqlo airism inners now bc it gets so smelly so fast
one of my favourite pick ups of 2023 was a pair of dry-hand polyester hakama. i'll always go to bat for GOOD polyester
minor thing that irritates me in discussion on this topic when people is conflate fibers with fabrics, for example charmeuse and chiffon are both fabrics traditionally woven from silk but which are vastly different
in some cases it's contextually clear but a statement like "I don't like polyester" covers hundreds of different ways of turning fibers into textiles
fair point!
Microplastics is definitely a fair point, especially for clothing that isn't worn out so often. Wool baselayers don't last as long as poly baselayers, so I wonder how the microplastics vs consuming more overall works
on an entirely different note, wool corduroy is now my new fav pants fabric. Got a pair of samuelsohns from ebay in Loro Piana Zelander Wool and it's so lux and comfy (thank you mr hughes for being the same size as me)
Polyester is also great for fleece.
love me some herringbone twill. A lot of vintage us military hbt are grails for me. Favorite fabric in my wardrobe gotta be monitaly cotton vancloth. My b-15 is insulated and water treated, and has a very different hand feel and are heavier than my cargos also in vancloth. Both cool in different ways!
For sports clothes, polyester is actually pretty nice. But only when it's form fitting. Soggy swampy slushy running shorts suck. But spandex bike jersey and pants are good and comfy
I stated a few topics ago, but the specific care conditions for some of the best feeling fabrics like rayon just arent worth it. Im fine with air dry / tumble low but as soon as i have to monkey around with the washing machine I become the joker
Cotton forever…
I was tolerant of having some stretch in my jeans and leggings until they've started to fall apart and they can't really easily be repaired like my cotton and wool ones. The jeans especially lasted a really good amount of time but I can see the fibers coming out of the fabric and the whole jean stretched too much and no longer fit anymore
I've been really loving linen in the summer but also, mesh football jerseys.
now I'm a raw denim psycho again with a nearby tailor I like again
Love a hearty jean
gimme more hemp and linen canvas 
Hardy*
Always get myself w that one
I always love the donegal coats some of yall have.
I would love to be better able to tell when a poly mix is needed, beyond like issey
Saw an entirely JUTE long coat the other day
Ramie is also interesting
I’m imagining a burlap sack haha
phewww
Colbo
Jute Jacket
The summer-fall version of our mac jacket made from a Belgian upholstery jute-like linen. Features 2 large welt pockets, a back vent, natural horn buttons for closure and contrast cotton piping throughout.
theyre not the most comfortable on skin but love the feeling of strength it has if that makes sense lol
Had occasion to touch the James coward stuff that ostensibly used Yohji’s wool gabardine and wow baby
That stuff
oh wow that looks great
I think Bode kinda kicked in the door for upholstery fabrics coming into the mainstream
I want biomaterials to go mainstream so bad
Mycelium leather is slowly making progress but I want more
I love the work spiber does so much but I’m priced out of it
This + waterless dyes game changer
generally i agree with this but the only fabric i'll shit on is acrylic. I can't think of a single garment that I've come across where acrylic served a benefit besides cheaper cost.
heritage burlap sacks by Visvim. $3.5k
what about the paint on @artvandelayimporting 's overalls?
Not fabric 😛
since discovering mfa I've been obsessed with linen everything in the summer and corduroy in the winter
big big big fan of how Rosen utilizes and mixes materials
Is that one piece wow
yeah, "hera coat dress", 3L Membrane upper with a silk mesh dress underneath(:
“Membrane upper”?
3 layer membrane on a cotton base, v water resistant
Damn that rocks. And it seems pretty wearable for something that conceptual!
What’s the price point like just out of curiosity
Rosen is made to order, mind, im p sure this one is ~$1.2k
Yeah that tracks. Not in this lifetime for my wallet but thanks for putting me on. Rlly beautiful
Polyester and the lile has a place, and its in my running gear.
On a more serious note, pure wool jumpers are so lovely and smell amazing
Since we're all here, like, what is gabardine?
its like gabagool
I get it confused with grosgrain and sometimes I’m like “wtf why would you make a jacket from that…oh yeah.”
And apparently grosgrain is pronounced french like Groh-Grahn
Grazgrainn
The fr*nch 
Les incompétents
je blague
I got to teach some pre-k kids about weaving and now I finally know the difference between warp and weft
I wore my gauzy wax london knit shirt but made sure to correct them. “This ACKSHUALLY is knit, NOT woven.”
Most cheap donegals I think just look awful. Oh you have a navy sportcoat with white flecks? Looks like you have horrific dandruff.
I also hate most neppy and slubby denims. It looks so weird. Looks like your denim glitched
Outside of performance clothing... I.e clothes I'm taking into the mountains, I'm not sold on synthetics too much. All things being equal I prefer natural fibres.
This is because... I really dislike how polyester shines. It's also not as comfortable as a next to skin layer as cotton or merino.
Polyester does shine, however, in tasks where quick drying holding less water, and or being cheap, are good. Which is why I love my poly fleece for hiking. Also being lightweight. Wool... Can be heavy for the insulation it provides.
But for everyday clothes, I try and stick to cotton because that is the cheap natural fibre. I also really like wool-but wool is quite dear. I do have some wool cotton blend trousers that I really like and am excited to try in the cold weather I am used to.
I will say though. That merino briefs are some of the most comfortable and nice underwear I have ever worn.
I kind of just really like wool as a fibre. Maybe it's because the people I know who have the money to spend on nice clothes irl wear a lot of it.
I feel that jacket would look great in a decade, when its really had the shit beat out of it
Loll that's why I got my sport jacket in the expensive donegal ig
Was thinking of the spier & Mackay Italian donegal but realized I didn't like the pattern as much (and it's not as heavy)
Spier one
Huddersfield one
Do feel that's a good example of a pattern being much better than the other
Btw the way I'm thinking about fabrics RN is in terms of weight. Looking for heavier fabrics that drape nicely
What are the best applications for lighter fabrics with pants for example?
Summer
I’ve fallen in love with merino wool for tshirts. They just feel so nice and lux.
this is very good
I’ve found that I pretty much always like herringbone
I really love the look of those silk pants that pool at the bottom@too
For the summer, I really like incotex’s chinolino fabric for pants.
One of my new faves is linen herringbone, got a pair of vintage PRL trousers with that fabric and the drape is just 🔥
I hate poliester, it's like my skin burns in flames when I wear something with poliester in it