Therefore, our website must serve as our only source and used as an online catalog. This is an excellent question that all buyers must ask before they make their purchase. We have been collecting vintage clothing for more than 25 years, studying fabrics, styles and their connection to history. Proper care of your vintage garment will preserve your investment. Educating yourself on what your textile is made of is the first step to understanding its limitations.
All fabric boils down to two classifications.
Each category has a distinct shelf-life before it begins to decompose and break down. Silk, spun from the silkworm can begin to shatter and fall apart after 50 years. The problem is especially severe at the shoulders, if the garment was hung for an extended period of time. Weighting involved the addition of metallic salts to the silk to add weight and body to the fabric. Silk that has been treated with metallic salts containing iron and tin are particularly susceptible to accelerated degradation and the result is silk that is brittle and frayed.