Inside every piece of clothing you’ll find a label. Study it well before buying the item. It is very important to get quality stuff. The quality of the piece of clothing lies not in its style, colour or design, but in the material. Therefore, everyone has to have at least some idea of what different types of materials there are and what characteristics they have.
The important layer of clothing is underwear. It underlies the body, thus, we should pay attention as to what they are made of. Earlier women were forced to wear several layers of underwear – corsets, knickers, underskirts and stockings. Aristocratic women would literally spend half a day changing. However, they were not at all always comfortable, the moreso that these rules applied in winter as much as in summer.
The last century brought spectacular changes in the underwear fashion. Contemporary woman has no time to spend, but has a magnificent choice of underwear. It’s beautiful, sexy, seductive and on top of all that – comfortable. You have to know how to choose what you need. If you have sensitive skin that gets irritated by abundant lace, go for natural cotton or silk underwear. It is useless to think that simple underwear does not match elegant clothes and visa versa. You have to know what you want – comfort or being able to play with your femininity by unrevealing flashy underwear.
The mid layer constitutes is the main clothing category. Its main function is to provide the body with warmth. As most of these clothes are in direct contact with the body, natural textiles such as cotton, linen and silk are recommended.
Cotton resembles linen, except that it is less resistant. Cotton is light and soft, resistant to heat, thus cotton clothes can be washed and ironed in high temperatures. It is impossible to resist a light cotton top or tunic, very much in fashion this summer. Cotton is pervious to air. When it is close to the body, it absorbs body moisture, fat and fractions of epithelium. It is a perfectly hygienic textile.
A woman who would not have a single piece of clothing made of linen is hard to find. Linen is one of the oldest textiles. Its most valued characteristics are as follows:
- regulate body moisture by evaporating it;
- it is pervious to air, whereby it creates a perfect body microclimate;
- it does not electrify;
- neutralise body odour.
Some love linen clothes, some hate them, as they crease easily. However, to me, the creasing also looks natural and contributes to the originality and charm of linen. That is why, if in summer we see a woman wearing a creased, high quality linen article – a suit or a dress, will never think that she is lousy.
Few people know linen tricot. A different set of machines are used to produce it and actual linen as the threads are very resistant. Combining linen with linen tricot some very original clothes can be designed. Linen tricot shares all the qualities with linen. Light linen tricot tops highlight body lines and create an elegant as well as feminine look. Linen clothes do not requite any special care. They are washed at 30-40°C in a washing machine and do not loose shape. Dry linen clothes are hard to iron, thus, it is recommended to iron them whilst they are still damp.
Natural silk is a unique animal textile. That is why we complement good skin by saying “soft like silk”. Many types of clothes are made of silk – underwear, suits, dresses, skirts, tops, etc. It is also a highly hygienic material. Worn in hot weather, silk refreshes and cools the body, whereas in cold, it warms it up. This is due to its low warmth permeability. Silk, just like all the natural textiles, absorbs moisture and never looks damp.
Silk has disadvantage if one can call it so, requires special treatment. Do not dry silk clothes in the sun. It permeates ultraviolet rays and thus with time, the material might loose its resistance. Wash it in warm water by hands as it expands in water and can shrink. However, a bit of a nuisance will never discourage people from wearing silk clothes!
We often associate wool with warmth. Like silk, it is an animal product. This textile is usually used to produce clothes of the upper layer that do not have direct contact with body such as jackets, coats, suits, ponchos, etc. Many people find wool rough and irritating. That is why bed clothing is made of sheep, camel or lama wool that does not need to be covered in cotton covers these days. People who live in the mountains wear wool hats and cloaks, which protects them temperature contrasts. One of the characteristics of wool is that it shrinks. It is recommended to dry clean it or wash with special wool products. In this way, wool clothes will keep their softness and fluffy.
Contemporary textile industry cannot avoid synthetic materials. Most clothes are made of mixed materials, for example, combining synthetics with wool reduces wool’s disposition to shrinking. Clothes of mixed materials keep the shape better, but don’t forget that they loose their natural properties too. Thus, better look for natural textile combinations such as linen-wool, silk-linen, cotton-wool. In this way you will look good and treat your body well.
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