Does this look like authentic silk to you?

ladyjules

Hello everybody!
I was meaing to buy this skirt, the person who sells it said it's 100% silk. Do you think it looks like silk? I hate polyester fabrics, so I hope it isn't poly-anything, that's all. As long as it's viskose or anything else that does not begin with poly, it doesn't matter to me. I was hoping you could give me some opinions on what the fabric is?

This is a picture of the skirt: http://img36.olx.ro/images_mer.....grafii.jpg

And another one: http://img36.olx.ro/images_mer.....oradea.jpg

10 years ago

Shopping

7 replies

Latest reply was from chadya

April

Veteran

Gee, LJ, hard to tell without touching it -- and even touching might not help, since faux silks have gotten so convincing in recent years.

One thing I would look for is how well the colors seem to be "set into" the fabric. Silk takes dyes extremely well, so if it's silk then the color should seem to be part of the fabric and not just printed on top of it.

Also, if it's silk, the fabric care label should give some indication of that since it probably needs special care. Is this a handmade or vintage item that doesn't have a modern fabric care label?

10 years ago

ladyjules

Active Member

Thanks for the input, April!
It's a Zara skirt I buy second hand. It's pretty cheap, so that's where my concerns come from. On the other hand, the colors seem to look really set in, like you said.

10 years ago

Ginger

Veteran

Hi LJ, I agree with everything April said. Silk can be so hard to identify even when touching.

That said, I'll go out on a limb and venture that this is looking pretty good, like a silk gauze. (IIRC, gauze is woven with pre-crinkled fibers, and is often additionally crinkled.) I had a silk gauze printed dress once that looks VERY much like that. I've also worked with silk gauze. (NEVER AGAIN.) Gauze really looks/feels cobwebby, and catches on calluses or rough/dry skin. Poly chiffon is smoother and resists wrinkling, and cotton gauze is heavier and stiffer. The very fine, regular crinkles are a good sign. Not all silk is expensive - there are many grades of silk, and undyed gauze yardage is cheap even retailed.

10 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

If you could snip a tiny thread from a seam, you could light it on fire. If it turns to a powdery ash, it's all natural fiber. If there is a little hard bit left, it has a man made element.

10 years ago

Ooh is that silk

Active Member

I found another image of this skirt on Google from an expired ebay listing, which was titled 'New listing Zara Brand New multi colour 100% silk tiered floral summer skirt size S' so it looks good to me!

10 years ago

Gigi

Veteran

JAileen's suggestion is an interesting one. JAileen, do you have to be careful to snip the fabric itself and not the thread? The thread could be polyester but the material silk, yes?

10 years ago

chadya

Veteran

if it is an eBay purchase you are considering, ask the seller to photographic the label with fabric content, it is hard to tell from the picture exactly what it could be.

10 years ago

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