Your Dream Wedding Dress and Why You Should Opt for Silk Over Synthetic

TJW
Jan 15, 2017
2 min read

Before you can decide on the right fabric for your wedding dress, I will give a little education on fabric terminology.

When most people think of silk, they think back to the first pair of nice pajamas they owned. You know the ones silky, shiny and most likely with a Disney Princess print. What you are thinking of is not silk but in fact most likely a satin polyester. Most people will refer to a fabric by it's construction or weave e.g. satin, rather than the fiber composition e.g. silk. You can have a silk satin but you can also have a polyester satin.

Fabrics have two main components, their composition and their weave. Generally speaking most people confuse these, but it's in the combination of these two components that allows for many varying differences in fabrics. So remember when we talk about a fabric there are two main components to consider:

1. The fabrics composition i.e. the fiber that the fabric is made out of e.g. silk, cotton, polyester

2. The weave the fabric is constructed in which often determines the name of the fabric

So those silky pajamas you are thinking of are made from a fiber called polyester which is essentially plastic, in a weave called a satin weave which makes it smooth, shiny and gives it that silky feel. You can also have silk satin which means the fiber is silk, which legitimately comes out of tiny worms bums, and the weave is also a satin weave, which gives it the feel and texture.

So what's the difference?

Silk as a fiber has many amazing qualities that polyester and other synthetic man made fibers don't.

Silk is expensive (OK not an amazing quality!), generally four times or greater in price compared to it's synthetic counterparts.
Silk has a beautiful handle i.e. the way it feels, like luxury, like gold, synthetics feel like plastic
Silk has a beautiful drape i.e. the way it hangs and falls around the body, an extremely important factor for your wedding dress
Silk is breathable, keeps you cool when it's hot and keeps you warm when it's cold. Polyester keeps you hot when it's hot and makes you sweat, things you do not need on the biggest day of your life.

So as you can probably tell I am a silk snob, my advice is if you can afford it always go silk. It's the difference between your dress looking cheap and made in china, to looking catwalk and designer!

Would you spend the money on silk?