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Taffeta

Gypsy

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
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What are your thoughts on Tafetta as a material for an evening gown?

I know it gets a bad name because of a million BM dress autrocities that have been made with it .Plus, a lot of uncomfortable little girl dresses have been made with it.

But the last two times I went to buy an evening down I've ended up with a simple dress made of tafetta. No beading, no rhinestones, nothing but a lovely cut and pretty irridescent fabric.

And yet when I tell someone my dress is tafetta I get a nose wrinkle.

What do you think of when you hear the words "taffeta dress"?
 
Like you, I love taffeta, especially silk taffeta. I think it can look beautiful in simple, understated cuts and in appropriate situations.
 
I love it because my wedding dress was silk taffeta and it was absolutely gorgeous if I do so say myself! So no negative connotations for me.

That said, my older sister had the most atrocious bridesmaid dress EVER in an iridescent purple/green taffeta. That was the late 80s though, so what are you gonna do?! :cheeky:
 
I think that it's lovely fabric, especially silk taffeta, but I also think "wrinkles"! Diana's wedding gown was made of silk taffeta, and the designers later admitted that it was a poor choice, because when Diana got out of the carriage, the dress was a mass of wrinkles.
 
YAY. Okay so non-tafetta haters exist!

I too have seen some REALLY awful dresses in tafetta from the 80's. But I've also seen really awful lace and satin and silk dresses too.

Some of it does wrinkle, I've noticed. But my last evening gown didn't at all, but then it wasn't real silk just high quality non-silk (who knows what it was made of, it looked great was in budget and I bought it!).

The only times I need evening gown is for weddings in New York/New Jersey (where OOT is okay) or for persian weddings (where OOT is okay too) so I'm not worried about it. But as I was REALLY short on patience dress shopping this time (I bought the first gown that looked good) -- I'd rather you shot me than to go dress shopping during prom season ever again-- I was wondering if I should have looked around a bit more. But honestly I love the dress, so it works.
 
Lula|1304121592|2908303 said:
I think that it's lovely fabric, especially silk taffeta, but I also think "wrinkles"! Diana's wedding gown was made of silk taffeta, and the designers later admitted that it was a poor choice, because when Diana got out of the car, the dress was a mass of wrinkles.

Interesting! Mine really wasn't wrinkly at all...it stayed pretty crisp. It wasn't fitted on the bottom at all though...was Diana's?
 
thing2of2|1304121952|2908312 said:
Lula|1304121592|2908303 said:
I think that it's lovely fabric, especially silk taffeta, but I also think "wrinkles"! Diana's wedding gown was made of silk taffeta, and the designers later admitted that it was a poor choice, because when Diana got out of the car, the dress was a mass of wrinkles.

Interesting! Mine really wasn't wrinkly at all...it stayed pretty crisp. It wasn't fitted on the bottom at all though...was Diana's?

Diana's dress was very full -- huge skirt, 25-foot train, all in silk taffeta. The problem wasn't the taffeta as much as the sheer volume of the dress stuffed into a small space (the carriage).
http://anglofilia.wordpress.com/2009/10/23/when-diana-married-her-prince-requiem-for-a-dress/
 
Gypsy|1304121102|2908298 said:
What do you think of when you hear the words "taffeta dress"?

Heaven!!! I loved the material from which Lady Diana Spencer's bridal gown was made, although I was not as wild about the cut. I think that taffeta can be magical.

Deb
:read:

Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

SilkTaffetaWeddingDress.jpg
 
Lula, I hated that dress. Since the first time I saw it.

AGBF =) Thank you!
 
It's a beautiful and luxurious fabrick--silk taffeta, anyway. Polyester, not so much. As stated above, princess diana's wedding dress did show the cons of it when everything is not properly thought out before hand--but was still an exquitely lovely dress.

I wouldn't pay attention to people's nose wrinkles. Most people don't understand fabric at all anymore and wrinkle their noses at anything that isn't easy care, pop in washer, pop in dryer and shake out without needing ironing (and probably knit). I have mentioned loving linen (nothing like it in summer) and gotten the same response and also have had people argue me to death when I say I prefer to wear 100% cotton, even if I have to iron it, because any polyester makes it less comfortable (to me, anyway).

But I'm a sewer so I have a different take on things.

Do you know I went in a consignment shop, supposed to be high end, the other day, and ended up bringing back a tropical wool pencil skirt, very beautifully made, tailored, lined, etc--because the store owner, who you would think would know fabric, kept insisting that the skirt could not be wool, it was too lightweight? She apparently thought that if it wasn't worsted or flannel, it wasn't wool. (she also could not recognize wool crepe).
How about that?
 
Black Jade|1304219837|2908875 said:
Do you know I went in a consignment shop, supposed to be high end, the other day, and ended up bringing back a tropical wool pencil skirt, very beautifully made, tailored, lined, etc--because the store owner, who you would think would know fabric, kept insisting that the skirt could not be wool, it was too lightweight? She apparently thought that if it wasn't worsted or flannel, it wasn't wool. (she also could not recognize wool crepe).
How about that?

Well, I think it's fantastic, besides answering the question posed to all of us in this thread, which you didn't deign to answer: do you buy used clothes?

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/do-you-buy-used-clothes.159731/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/do-you-buy-used-clothes.159731/[/URL] :wavey:

Deb/AGBF

Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend
 
I love it. Tell us what color, please, and a potential design. I'm all for it. :appl: (I was a Textile major, so obviously I'm keen.)
 
Black Jade|1304219837|2908875 said:
It's a beautiful and luxurious fabrick--silk taffeta, anyway. Polyester, not so much. As stated above, princess diana's wedding dress did show the cons of it when everything is not properly thought out before hand--but was still an exquitely lovely dress.

I wouldn't pay attention to people's nose wrinkles. Most people don't understand fabric at all anymore and wrinkle their noses at anything that isn't easy care, pop in washer, pop in dryer and shake out without needing ironing (and probably knit). I have mentioned loving linen (nothing like it in summer) and gotten the same response and also have had people argue me to death when I say I prefer to wear 100% cotton, even if I have to iron it, because any polyester makes it less comfortable (to me, anyway).

But I'm a sewer so I have a different take on things.

Do you know I went in a consignment shop, supposed to be high end, the other day, and ended up bringing back a tropical wool pencil skirt, very beautifully made, tailored, lined, etc--because the store owner, who you would think would know fabric, kept insisting that the skirt could not be wool, it was too lightweight? She apparently thought that if it wasn't worsted or flannel, it wasn't wool. (she also could not recognize wool crepe).
How about that?


I smiled when I read this. I don't sew (although I do a bit of fine needlework now in my old age), but my mother was a sempstress of surpassing skill, and yes, most people nowadays are ignorant of fabric. Heck, they pretty much were when I was growing up too. I on the other hand, was dragged, eyes rolling, into more fabric stores than I care to remember, and made to feel every.single.fabric.in.the.store while she told me the fiber content. (My mom used to lament that I must have been mixed up at the hospital: a true daughter of hers would WANT to learn to sew, but for me it just never took) The end result though, is that by feel alone I can identify with high accuracy, the fiber content of most fabrics. (I'm occasionally stumped by some of the newer fibers, which mimic the feel of older ones - I had to get used to Tencel). I never really thought of it much, but I've discovered that no one of my acquaintance has this skill. So I hear ya.

About taffeta, my mom made my wedding dress out of a pale blush colored moire taffeta, and it was just lovely - tea length, fitted appliqued lace bodice (hand-sewn on there by her), large puffed 3/4 length sleeves with pointed appliqued lace cuffs, and with lovely little hand-made taffeta roses on the shoulders, the back waist, and the hem. It didn't wrinkle much at all, but then I wasn't stuffed into a too-small space prior to the wedding either. ;)) Taffeta can be a really nice fabric - crisp and holds shape nicely. Bad design or color choice, well, that's a completely separate issue. Not the fabric's fault that so many rotten sempstresses/designers use it.
 
I was a textile major (minor in business) when I was an undergraduate. My mother, grandmother, and most of my aunts knew how to sew and do a variety of needle arts, which I learned, too.

There is often confusion between a fabric and the fiber used to make the fabric. Taffeta is a fabric, and it can be made of silk or polyester fibers (maybe others, but those two are the most common, at least in evening/bridal fashion).

Polyester taffeta does not wrinkle as much as silk taffeta. But silk taffeta is softer than polyester taffeta. Silk takes dyes extremely well, and I think the colors available in silk taffeta are amazing.

Moire taffeta is also known as "water-mark" taffeta for its tone-on-tone pattern. I can't remember if this effect is achieved through weaving or a surface treatment. Moire taffeta was popular about 20 years ago, and I believe it was popular during Victorian and Edwardian times, too.

The fiber/fabric confusion is common. Wool (a fiber) can be woven into amazingly light and airy fabrics (crepe, chiffon -- yes, wool chiffon!). I have a gorgeous shawl made of silk-wool chiffon -- it's great for travel (does not wrinkle!).
 
Lula|1304266069|2909169 said:
I was a textile major (minor in business) when I was an undergraduate. My mother, grandmother, and most of my aunts knew how to sew and do a variety of needle arts, which I learned, too.

There is often confusion between a fabric and the fiber used to make the fabric. Taffeta is a fabric, and it can be made of silk or polyester fibers (maybe others, but those two are the most common, at least in evening/bridal fashion).

Polyester taffeta does not wrinkle as much as silk taffeta. But silk taffeta is softer than polyester taffeta. Silk takes dyes extremely well, and I think the colors available in silk taffeta are amazing.

Moire taffeta is also known as "water-mark" taffeta for its tone-on-tone pattern. I can't remember if this effect is achieved through weaving or a surface treatment. Moire taffeta was popular about 20 years ago, and I believe it was popular during Victorian and Edwardian times, too.
The fiber/fabric confusion is common. Wool (a fiber) can be woven into amazingly light and airy fabrics (crepe, chiffon -- yes, wool chiffon!). I have a gorgeous shawl made of silk-wool chiffon -- it's great for travel (does not wrinkle!).

Both ways can get the effect, as I recall.

My dress was the polyester version as I recall, which in general, my mother loathed with a great loathing, but for a one-time shot that wasn't going to be washed, she decided it'd work fine. I'm not sure, even now, if any place around here carries silk moire. Moot, since I couldn't have swung the cost. Anyway, my dress out of it was lovely, and my mom lined the bodice with batiste, hand-covered all the interior bodice seams so they'd be comfortable and not scratch, and sewed a tiny blue silk bow on the inside of the bodice. :wacko:
 
AGBF|1304226245|2908944 said:
Black Jade|1304219837|2908875 said:
Do you know I went in a consignment shop, supposed to be high end, the other day, and ended up bringing back a tropical wool pencil skirt, very beautifully made, tailored, lined, etc--because the store owner, who you would think would know fabric, kept insisting that the skirt could not be wool, it was too lightweight? She apparently thought that if it wasn't worsted or flannel, it wasn't wool. (she also could not recognize wool crepe).
How about that?

Well, I think it's fantastic, besides answering the question posed to all of us in this thread, which you didn't deign to answer: do you buy used clothes?

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/do-you-buy-used-clothes.159731/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/do-you-buy-used-clothes.159731/[/URL] :wavey:

Deb/AGBF

Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

Did I not answer the question, Deb? Sorry. I think taffeta is lovely in general and certainly lovely for an evening gown. I thought that was implied when I said it was a beautiful material, one of my favorites, actually.

I do buy used clothes but have not looked at or posted in the used clothes thread because this is such an obsession of mine. I think so many older clothes are so fabulously made and I try to scout them out regularly because I'm usually disappointed in newer clothes and the price doesn't seem to matter--the quality just seems awful totally unrelated to the price (which seems to have more to do with the label than the quality of clothes really). I fear that if I began posting in the used clothes thread, I would procrastinate even more than I do already by being in there incessantly (and probably pontificating boringly, which is the college prof's disease that I have, besides) so I am keeping out of there for the moment, and aksing a lot of advice about pearls, which I am less obsessed with and so can keep my posts in control. I teach and am at end of term with plenty to do, and I notice that at times like this, when I am AVOIDING, I spend way too much time ont he computer and not enough on my real life so am kind of restricting self--may seem odd to some, but I think it helps me keep balance with life, work, family, interests besides jewelry (I do have some), housework, voluntering, keeping up with face-to face friends adn with family--and all the things that I am sure all the rest of you all are trying to juggle too!
 
I don't like it in general, but it can be nice when done right and in certain settings. I ended up choosing a taffeta evening gown for our Chinese wedding reception in NYC. It's a long, full skirt with ruching at the waist and a fancy crumb catcher. Weddings in Chinatown are kind of opulent and extravagant, and this taffeta dress fits that to a T.
 
ksinger|1304268904|2909195 said:
Lula|1304266069|2909169 said:
I was a textile major (minor in business) when I was an undergraduate. My mother, grandmother, and most of my aunts knew how to sew and do a variety of needle arts, which I learned, too.

There is often confusion between a fabric and the fiber used to make the fabric. Taffeta is a fabric, and it can be made of silk or polyester fibers (maybe others, but those two are the most common, at least in evening/bridal fashion).

Polyester taffeta does not wrinkle as much as silk taffeta. But silk taffeta is softer than polyester taffeta. Silk takes dyes extremely well, and I think the colors available in silk taffeta are amazing.

Moire taffeta is also known as "water-mark" taffeta for its tone-on-tone pattern. I can't remember if this effect is achieved through weaving or a surface treatment. Moire taffeta was popular about 20 years ago, and I believe it was popular during Victorian and Edwardian times, too.
The fiber/fabric confusion is common. Wool (a fiber) can be woven into amazingly light and airy fabrics (crepe, chiffon -- yes, wool chiffon!). I have a gorgeous shawl made of silk-wool chiffon -- it's great for travel (does not wrinkle!).

Both ways can get the effect, as I recall.

My dress was the polyester version as I recall, which in general, my mother loathed with a great loathing, but for a one-time shot that wasn't going to be washed, she decided it'd work fine. I'm not sure, even now, if any place around here carries silk moire. Moot, since I couldn't have swung the cost. Anyway, my dress out of it was lovely, and my mom lined the bodice with batiste, hand-covered all the interior bodice seams so they'd be comfortable and not scratch, and sewed a tiny blue silk bow on the inside of the bodice. :wacko:

From your description, ksinger, I can imagine it perfectly! It sounds gorgeous -- I love that she lined it in batiste and made the flowers by hand. If you have photos, please post them!
 
Lula|1304281302|2909355 said:
ksinger|1304268904|2909195 said:
Lula|1304266069|2909169 said:
I was a textile major (minor in business) when I was an undergraduate. My mother, grandmother, and most of my aunts knew how to sew and do a variety of needle arts, which I learned, too.

There is often confusion between a fabric and the fiber used to make the fabric. Taffeta is a fabric, and it can be made of silk or polyester fibers (maybe others, but those two are the most common, at least in evening/bridal fashion).

Polyester taffeta does not wrinkle as much as silk taffeta. But silk taffeta is softer than polyester taffeta. Silk takes dyes extremely well, and I think the colors available in silk taffeta are amazing.

Moire taffeta is also known as "water-mark" taffeta for its tone-on-tone pattern. I can't remember if this effect is achieved through weaving or a surface treatment. Moire taffeta was popular about 20 years ago, and I believe it was popular during Victorian and Edwardian times, too.
The fiber/fabric confusion is common. Wool (a fiber) can be woven into amazingly light and airy fabrics (crepe, chiffon -- yes, wool chiffon!). I have a gorgeous shawl made of silk-wool chiffon -- it's great for travel (does not wrinkle!).

Both ways can get the effect, as I recall.

My dress was the polyester version as I recall, which in general, my mother loathed with a great loathing, but for a one-time shot that wasn't going to be washed, she decided it'd work fine. I'm not sure, even now, if any place around here carries silk moire. Moot, since I couldn't have swung the cost. Anyway, my dress out of it was lovely, and my mom lined the bodice with batiste, hand-covered all the interior bodice seams so they'd be comfortable and not scratch, and sewed a tiny blue silk bow on the inside of the bodice. :wacko:

From your description, ksinger, I can imagine it perfectly! It sounds gorgeous -- I love that she lined it in batiste and made the flowers by hand. If you have photos, please post them!

I certainly would if I could, but alas, that was well over 20 years ago now - WAY before the digital camera - and I don't have any scanned in. :(sad My scanner isn't currently hooked up either. I know, I'm a right mess...

I AM looking at a picture right now though, and am forced to recant part of what I said - it is NOT moire, it is plain taffeta with a beautiful sheen. I'm not sure why I remembered it as such, but ...over 20 years, etc etc. ;)) Additional - princess neckline, dropped waist with a point in the front, and a full (but not pouffy) skirt with netting underneath to give volume and shape.

I remember my mom standing (standing!) over the table with the bodice - padded to give it shape as she sewed - appliqueing the medallions of lace that she'd cut and arranged. She wanted it beaded too, but since she'd already done her time doing extensive hand-beading in the past, she opted to use fabric glue for the sequins and beads on the bodice. It was the only "shortcut" she took, and wasn't going to complain - she did that with as much precision and finesse as she did everything. :wacko: No one ever knew.
 
Great discussion. The women in my family sew as well. And I was often seen caressing the fabrics in the fabric stores when I was younger. All the possibilities! I can sew, but just don't anymore, though I am considering getting back to it.

I'll post pics of the dress when I have them. It's being altered (a little too long) right now. It's a very popular design... I tried on 30 wedding gowns with the same design and almost ended up with that style as my wedding gown, but went in a completely different direction (V next Lace A line) for my wedding gown. So when I saw this dress, it was nice cause I get to wear the (very flattering) style I loved but in a solid purple taffeta with blue undertones. No beading, rhinestones, sequins, etc. Just a nice cut and a rich color with a lovely sheen.

http://www.maggiesottero.com/dress.aspx?page=14&style=A3330 This is the style, kinda. But without the giant skirt and in tafetta.
 
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