Wedding Dresses: Choosing Fabrics
There are many fabrics to consider when shopping for a wedding dress. A number of factors should be taken into consideration when deciding upon the right fabric or combination of. These factors include time of year, your wedding theme and even age. The fabrics most commonly used in bridal fashion include chiffon, lace, polyester, and silk.
Common Wedding Dress Fabrics
Sheer Fabrics – Chiffon
Chiffon is a lightweight fabric which comes from the French word for “cloth” or “rag”. Chiffon is made from either natural silk fibers, or synthetic rayon fibers such as polyester. It creates a light texture when layered, giving a soft or floating appearance. Chiffon is a very popular fabric to hide areas as well, and natural chiffon can be dyed to almost any shade. One can tell if the fabric is natural or not by how it feels against the skin. Natural, silk chiffon feels very soft and silky with a natural brightness and glow to (when it has not been dyed yet). Synthetic chiffon is rougher to the touch, and moves more stiffly, with a slightly heavier texture in comparison.
There are a variety of fabrics used in bridal fashion similar to chiffon such as tulle or organza. Tulle is more of a netting while organza, like chiffon, is made from silk. Tulle and organza both have the same general appearance as chiffon although they do have differences in stiffness and how the fabric is weaved.
Benefits of a Chiffon Wedding Dress: easy to dye, light
Recommended for: summer brides
Drawbacks: fabric frays easily, needs to be hand washed very gently
Lace
Lace is a patterned, open fabric, made commonly from cotton thread. Lace comes in a variety of patterns and types including needle lace, crocheted lace, guipure and more. Historically, it has been made from linen, gold, silver or silk thread but now it is most commonly available in cotton.
There are a wide variety of lace types available, distinguishable by the method in which they are made and by appearance. Guipure lace is commonly used for wedding dresses as it generally offers the most coverage (less holes). Other lace types include but not limited to needle lace (oldest form of lace), bobbin lace (Chantilly lace-mostly made from silk), crocheted lace and machine-made lace.
To help ensure you are receiving good quality lace, ask the maker what the lace is made from. Silk lace or polyester lace will be the most durable. Check the stitching as well to ensure everything is secured in place and so that there are no loose threads to catch on your jewelry or other accessories.
Benefits of a Lace Wedding Dress: wrinkle free, breathable, comes in a variety of patterns
Season: spring/summer
Drawbacks: snagging, holes/easily torn, can be expensive
Polyester
Polyester is an inexpensive and synthetic fabric. It is very versatile, and is more durable in comparison to fabrics such as silk satin. It does not have quite the same look or feel as silk satin, and is quite heavy.
Benefits of a Polyester Wedding Dress: wrinkle free, durable, cheap, won’t shrink, cleans easily, cheap
Season: all but summer
Drawbacks: made from chemicals, doesn’t breathe well
Silk
Silk is often referred to as the queen of fabrics, luxurious, high end, and gorgeous. The smoothness of the fabric not only feels amazing on the skin but also flows beautifully. The individual fibers of silk are approximately a half a mile long, which is what gives the fabric its luster and a smooth surface. Silk has been used for centuries to make the most exquisite gowns for royalty and high society women and is often used for haute couture garments. Haute couture, literally translated as “high dressmaking”, refers to creating one of a kind, custom fit gowns using the highest quality fabrics.
Benefits of a Silk Wedding Dress: lightweight, ideal for all climates, absorbs water, dye-able
Season: all season
Drawbacks: snags, not always a forgiving fabric
Why La Novia Carries Silk & Lace Wedding Dresses
Benefits of a Silk Wedding Gown
Silk is a great choice for wedding dresses not just because of its luxury and smoothness but also because it is comfortable. As most weddings are in the summer, many brides struggle to find a wedding dress that will be comfortable in the heat. Silk is very lightweight and easy to move around in and is also an all-climate fabric meaning that it has the unique ability to cool and warm simultaneously. Therefore silk is warm and cozy in winter and comfortably cool when temperatures rise thus making it an appropriate choice of fabric for a wedding dresses, no matter what time of year.
Another benefit of silk is that it can absorb up to 30% of its weight in moisture helping to control perspiration so that brides feel comfortable throughout the day. Its smooth surface resists soil and odor, is wrinkle and tear resistant and dries quickly. Silk is also a 100% natural fabric and the most hypoallergenic of all fabrics. Besides providing comfort, silk is also very durable. Many people mistakenly believe that because silk is lightweight that it is flimsy. However silk is the strongest natural fiber and it is believed that a fiber of silk that is of the same diameter as a fiber of steel is stronger than the steel.
If being both luxurious and practical isn’t enough, the most fun benefit of silk is that it takes to color well. Therefore daring brides who choose to alter their dress after the wedding can also dye it to create a gorgeous evening gown!
As Vancouver’s haute couture wedding dress store, La Novia Bridal uses various types of silks and laces exclusively to create our wedding dresses.