Product detail

Fabric

What is the garment actually made of?

Compared

The fabric options

01
Cotton
Breathes well, takes hot washing and creases fast, which makes it the everyday default.
02
Jersey
Knits yarn into loops instead of a weave, so it stretches, drapes close and curls at cut edges.
03
Linen
Pulls heat off the skin faster than any common cloth, then creases the moment you sit down.
04
Denim
Weaves cotton into a stiff diagonal twill that fades exactly where your body bends it.
05
Wool
Traps air in crimped animal fiber, so it warms you even damp and springs back from creases.
06
Cashmere
Combs fine goat down into the warmest knit fiber for its weight, and the most delicate.
07
Silk
Reels one long protein filament into cloth that drapes like water and marks from a droplet.
08
Velvet
Stands cut threads upright as a dense pile that catches light and crushes under pressure.
09
Lace
Twists fine threads into a net of planned holes, so the pattern is decorative and fragile.

Measured: Fabric is judged by the label's fiber content percentages, listed heaviest fiber first, and by cloth weight in grams per square meter or ounces per square yard.

The basics

What to know about fabric

Fabric decides more of a garment's daily life than the cut does. The same shirt pattern in linen, jersey and silk gives you three different shirts. One creases by lunchtime, one stretches and clings, and one cannot go in the machine. Read the fiber before you judge the fit.

Two lines on the label do most of the work. Fiber content names what the cloth is made of, listed heaviest fiber first, so 60 percent cotton and 40 percent polyester behaves mostly like cotton. Construction tells you how the cloth was built. Woven fabric crosses two sets of yarn at right angles and holds its shape. Knitted fabric loops one yarn through itself and stretches on its own. No elastane, the stretch fiber also called spandex, is needed at all.

Compare the nine options on four questions. Ask how cool they wear and how fast they crease. Then ask what heat does to them and how much laundry care they demand each week. Cotton, linen and denim take machine washing and a hot iron. Wool and cashmere shrink permanently in hot water and never come back. Silk, velvet and lace fail through friction, sunlight and pressure rather than through washing. Decide the care you will really give, then choose the feel.

Used with

Products that use this detail

Product types using fabric
Women's Dresses	Cotton, Jersey, Linen, Silk, Velvet, Lace, Denim
Women's Tops & Blouses	Cotton, Jersey, Linen, Silk, Lace, Velvet
Women's Sweaters	Wool, Cashmere, Cotton, Jersey
Women's Jeans	Denim, Cotton
Women's Pants	Cotton, Linen, Wool, Jersey, Velvet
Women's Skirts	Denim, Cotton, Linen, Silk, Velvet, Lace, Jersey, Wool
Women's Coats & Jackets	Wool, Denim, Cotton, Velvet
Women's Shorts	Cotton, Linen, Denim, Jersey
Women's Jumpsuits & Rompers	Cotton, Linen
Women's Suits & Blazers	Wool, Cotton
Women's Sweatshirts & Hoodies	Cotton, Jersey
Women's Maternity Clothing	Cotton, Jersey
Men's Dress Shirts	Cotton, Linen
Men's Polos & T-Shirts	Cotton, Jersey, Linen
Men's Suits & Blazers	Wool, Linen, Cotton, Velvet
Men's Jeans	Denim, Cotton
Men's Pants	Cotton, Wool, Linen, Jersey
Men's Outerwear	Wool, Cotton, Denim
Men's Sweaters	Wool, Cashmere, Cotton, Linen
Men's Shorts	Cotton, Linen, Denim
Men's Underwear	Cotton, Jersey
Men's Socks	Cotton, Wool
Men's Casual Shirts	Cotton, Linen, Denim
Men's Sweatshirts & Hoodies	Cotton, Jersey
Men's Pajamas & Robes	Cotton, Jersey
Ties & Pocket Squares	Silk, Wool, Linen, Cotton
Women's Bras	Lace, Cotton, Jersey
Women's Panties	Cotton, Lace, Jersey
Women's Shapewear	Jersey, Lace
Women's Sleepwear & Robes	Cotton, Jersey, Silk, Lace
Women's Thermal Underwear & Base Layers	Wool, Jersey
Kid's Tops	Cotton, Jersey
Kid's Bottoms	Denim, Cotton, Jersey
Kid's Dresses	Cotton, Jersey, Velvet, Lace, Denim
Baby Clothing	Cotton, Jersey
Kid's Sleepwear	Cotton, Jersey
Kid's Outerwear	Cotton, Wool
Bedding	Cotton, Linen, Silk, Jersey
Bath Linens	Cotton, Linen

Categories: Women's Clothing, Men's Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Intimates & Sleepwear, Kids & Baby, Home & Kitchen

Comparison table

Which products use each option

Fabric	Women's Dresses	Women's Tops & Blouses	Women's Sweaters	Women's Jeans	Women's Pants	Women's Skirts	Women's Coats & Jackets	Women's Shorts	Women's Jumpsuits & Rompers	Women's Suits & Blazers	Women's Sweatshirts & Hoodies	Women's Maternity Clothing	Men's Dress Shirts	Men's Polos & T-Shirts	Men's Suits & Blazers	Men's Jeans	Men's Pants	Men's Outerwear	Men's Sweaters	Men's Shorts	Men's Underwear	Men's Socks	Men's Casual Shirts	Men's Sweatshirts & Hoodies	Men's Pajamas & Robes	Ties & Pocket Squares	Women's Bras	Women's Panties	Women's Shapewear	Women's Sleepwear & Robes	Women's Thermal Underwear & Base Layers	Kid's Tops	Kid's Bottoms	Kid's Dresses	Baby Clothing	Kid's Sleepwear	Kid's Outerwear	Bedding	Bath Linens
Cotton	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Jersey	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	no	yes	no	no	yes	yes	no	yes	no	no	yes	no	no	no	yes	no	no	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	no
Linen	yes	yes	no	no	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	no	no	no	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	no	yes	yes	no	no	yes	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	yes
Denim	yes	no	no	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	yes	no	yes	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	yes	no	no	no	no	no
Wool	no	no	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	no	no	yes	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no
Cashmere	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
Silk	yes	yes	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Velvet	yes	yes	no	no	yes	yes	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no
Lace	yes	yes	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no