Silk. Pros and cons? It seems uncommon compared to other fabrics.
I realize that although I see Tommy Bahama silk shirts occasionally at resell/thrifts, silk shirts seem way less common than rayon. Why is that?
Does 100% silk not breathe as well as rayon or linen? Is it because it’s annoying to clean?
It’s hard to think of that many brands doing 100% silk shirts. There’s Casablanca, Tori Richard, Our Legacy, Lemaire. And after that I’d have to think about it.
10 Replies
I think it’s mostly because silk is really expensive to source because of the way it’s made
Silk is actually one of the most breathable fabrics, it‘s known to regulate the body temperature in hot temperatures
silk satin is delicate
rayon is more durable and cheaper, and in terms of breathability, performs a bit better
some weaves and some forms of silk, like raw silk, are hardier and easier to wash, but a lot of fine silk satins need to either be handwashed or dry cleaned or they get roughed up and lose their luster
i tend to prefer my rayon fabrics over my silk ones
silk is just expensive and cannot be machine washed, and these days those are two big limitations
I just got a 100% silk shirt from Wynona, a very small brand in Toronto. I wore it for the first time yesterday. It’s extremely soft and feels like it isn’t even on. No idea how it will hold up over time but right now it’s my favorite summer shirt.
https://wynonastudio.com/products/cary-shirt
That’s cool! Haven’t heard of that brand before
Thanks everyone!
I assume satin the most common and tradition weave? I know it’s used for the really sheeny lustrous clothing
I like buying 100% silk vintage/secondhand too
Honestly can find some nice ones dirt cheap, people generally aren't seeking after silk that often anymore
Cost is a big factor, but also most folks these days want things they can chuck in a hot wash cycle and then toss in the dryer
Makes sense! Come to think of it, it’s probably like tropical wool where it’s not common except by higher end brands
yup, lets most of the characteristics of silk shine, quite literally
raw silk doesn't have the luster but its cool in its own right. it's not as crazy as tech fabrics and blends but my Our Legacy raw silk shirt looks and feels mostly like cotton but performs better thermally in both hot and cold, is more color fast (cotton, linen, etc aren't very color fast vs silk/wool/synthetics, etc), has some fun slub/nep, and handles wrinkles better
Looks like more brands are using that raw silk now, so can look around
I’ve seen some of the silk OL shirts on TRR time to time. I might try it on somewhere out of curiosity.
Be careful silk shopping online, there are many types of worms and silk. Not all of them will have the rayon texture you expect. Many will be a bit crunchy and raw like Linen but they’ll all say x% silk online. So ask questions or have a return policy because it’s hard to tell.