Hello, Lyocell? You’re pretty spiffy
I recently bought this nice little short sleeve jersey top at Jacob after a frustrating and bored bout of window shopping. I have been in desperate search for some knitwear for winter, but so far yielded extreme polarities: soft and cuddly= expensive. Anything of cheaper pricing left me with goosebumps as my skin grated the unruly texture of cheap knitwear.
Until I came upon an uber soft fabric while browsing through Jacob. I liked how the fabric draped so well but most of all, felt so soft to touch. I checked the label and it said 95% Lyocell, a fabric I wasn’t familiar with, and 5% spandex. It had a slight sheen to it and was very comfortable to wear. I bought it for $40.
I did some research on Lyocell to see what would pop up and shot an email to Fabrics.net to find out more. It’s a fabric closely associated to rayon, made of wood pulp (pictured above), and is said to be more expensive as the chemicals and solvents used to make the fabric are environmentally friendly. Best of all, it’s a fabric that doesn’t wrinkle as much and isn’t affected by washing (yay!).
How To Look For Quality Clothing
I stumbled upon a site while researching crease properties in fabrics and came across a brilliant article on how to spot quality clothing.
What determines quality clothing anyway? Mass consumers have never been taught this. Ever. We don’t learn this in school, you can’t learn from your parents unless they’re in the garment industry, and we don’t really trust sales associates in clothing stores for these important facts. Consumers have a general consensus that luxury goods are better in quality, but I would bet you the majority of them wouldn’t know what defines “better quality.”
You Don’t Always Get What You Pay For….Evaluating Quality in Apparel by Fabrics.net
As per my experience while shopping with my boyfriend who used to work in the garment industry, my crash course has led me to appreciate and look for high quality garments. Fabrics.net is a plethora of articles that helps consumers by unraveling the truth of what to look for in quality clothing.
Some important tips to remember excerpt from the website:
- Before you even go into the dressing room, read the fiber content label, tug at the seams, make sure the garment is free of puckering and hangs straight.
- The yarns per inch in a fabric are a direct indication of quality. Higher yarn count translates into a higher quality fabric. Higher twist yarns in a fabric are stronger, indicating higher quality fabrics.
- Supportive fabrics should be fastened securely, finished appropriately, and should not wrinkle or distort the fabric. Linings should be caught at shoulder seams to prevent slippage and pulling. Linings should have at least a ¾” deep center back pleat to release extra fullness for movement.
- Plaids must match both vertically and horizontally. Matching is costly and may be difficult to find in low cost garments.
- Thread color should match the fashion fabric. Transparent thread, which easily unravels, is often used to cut costs.
- Puckering is a result of poor sewing techniques
- Check buttons to make sure they are fastened securely. (My personal pet peeve)
The list goes on. So the next time you’re out there shopping and wondering what’s quality, just refer back to this list and you should be on the right path.
Image credit: Net-a-porter, Alberta Ferreti Tweed Jacket
