Evening star., 1939-03-30

tell you BIT about what a professio
Merchandise is judged on three
points-quality, workmanship and
style.
The first rule Of quality is that
merchandise must be real and not
imitation. OF course you can rely
on any reputable store to be hon.
est and tell you what is what. If
q fabric is advertised by such store
as linen or if the stores clerk says
it is linen, you may take the stores
word for 1t, thanks to the Better
Business Bureau.
However, you ought to know
how to detect limitations and how
to distinguish between bona fide
fabrics or feathers that are con-
fusingly similar in appearance. You
ought to know what you're getting
in order to know not only what to
pay for it but also what to expect
of it. Then if you pass on this in
formation to good laundry or
good cleaner they will know how
best to handle your garments. So
we shall discuss various materials
briefly and then give you tests for
recognizing them.
Fabrics
Silk may be pure or weighted.
Weighted silk means silk liter
ally weighted down with certain
mineral salts which are in many
dyes. Pure silk or pure dye silk
(the terms are Interchangeable is
preferable to weighted silk because
the weighing makes the fabric de-
teriorate. Actually pure dye silks,
so called, are not quite pure because
silk is so soft it has to have some
weighing or it would be too flimsy
to work with. But the legal def
milton of pure dye silk limits the
weighing to a negligible percent
age.
The silk fabrics are too numerous
to mention. But take care not to
confuse the following:
Velvet and velveteen.
Velveteen, of course, is entirely
cotton. Velvet is generally a COM
bination of cotton and silk. ALL
silk velvet is expensive. And trans
parent velvet is made with a silk
back and a rayon pile.
Satin and sateen. Satin is silk
or rayon. Sateen is cotton.
Chiffon and mousseline. Chiffon
| is silk or rayon. Mousseline is cot
| ton.
Rayon is fabric made from cel-
lulose by machine. Nowadays ray
on is so versatile it can duplicate
the finish of almost any fabric
| silk, linen, cotton or woodland also
achieve beautiful chalky finishes
| and lovely clor effects that cannot
be made in silk. For this reason
| and because it handles SO well, the
| couturiers are using it extensively.
Because rayon is essentially a
firm fabric, it needs no weighting
at all, which means it wears better
than silk. And as silk is the strong
est of the natural fabrics, rayon is
obviously the best wearing fabric
in existence.
Linen finished rayons do not
! wrinkle as easily as real linen On
the other hand, wool-fnished ray
ons are not as warm as real wool
Linen: The commonest types of
linen are sheer handkerchief linen
for handkerchiefs and blouses, fine
Irish linen for summer dresses,
strong peasant linen for sports
clothes. and rough-teXtured linen
crash for suits and coats. Always
make sure linens are washable, fast
colors and pre-shrunk. You will
have to rely on the shop for this
information.
Cotton may be natural or mer-
cerized. Mercerized cotton has a
shiny finish desirable in such fab
RIGS as poplin. Lisle is fine grade
of cotton. 1t is usually knitted
rather than woven-into jerseys,
sweaters and socks.
Again, always check on the wash
ability, shrinkage and fast color.
Wool includes tweeds, hard-sur-
faced fabrics, like broadcloth or
serge, fannels and hairy fabrics,
like camels hair, cashmere and
angora.
Harris tWeeds are always recogniz-
! able by their smoky smell, a SOU
venir of the peat fires over which
the wool is dried. However, this