Ok, but what do you think of mixing ... - YouLookFab Forum

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About: The Pros and Cons of Technical Fabrics

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Ok, but what do you think of mixing ...

rachylou

Veteran

Natural and technical fabrics? My Angie bday outfit was polyester on top, cotton on the bottom. Seen thru the shop window, I thought the dress was possibly silk and the pants synthetic! I could tell by feel the dress was not silk but could not tell the pants were cotton. Sometimes I really dislike the look of cotton and a synthetic, esp a heavier cotton tee and my bakery leggings. Thoughts?

General

19 replies

Latest reply was from Style Fan

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

No rules for this at all. It depends on the individual pieces and how they look together, as it always does.

Joy

Veteran

What Shevia said...it all depends on the pieces. I am ok with polyester and linen or wool together. Less enthusiastic in general about cotton and tech fabrics except maybe jeans. Shine or lack of it makes a difference.

Anonymous

Well again - maybe a clarification of what you deem technical vs synthetic is in order . And this will be yet again a debate determined by personal preferences . I love throwing a leather jacket over my leggings and workout hoodie or tech tshirt . Or tech pants and a silk top : did that today in fact . IM talking true tech fabrics and styles and not just reg clothes made out of polyester and acrylic .

Sal

Veteran

I do it.

I will wear leggings with a cotton sweater for example, or my Lululemon pants with a leather jacket and tee. I wear a puffer over jeans and a shirt....

I do have some gym tops that are only suitable for the gym though.

Anonymous

I think it would depend on texture, matte fabrics would be easier to mix I'd think than shiny lycra. Though I do put my normal leather boots and wool coat over my gear when leaving the gym- or did, when gyms were a thing...

unfrumped

Veteran

Hoping no “ rules” as I would surely break them.
I think it is the fun part of fashion, and very related to all forms of “ juxtaposition “. Combining dressy and casual, print clashing, tech and natural fabrics , sporty and tailored, high and low, RATE and polished, even some types seasonal confusion ( which works for some climates and temperature- types).
Just taking my “ eye” aline, there are combinations I live, and others I think , no way, and it’s a strange alchemy based on the actual items, fit, silhouettes, body type, and then , IRL, how the wearer carries it off.

Flip around, and someone else will see the same thing and have a different reaction.

JAileen

Veteran

I have Columbia anytime pants and wear them with cotton tees. The tech shirts feel awful to me, but the pants are fine. In fact, I have a black pair that I wore when we rang hand bells. I dressed them up with booties and nice tops and sweaters. Once I wore them with a black cashmere sweater and pearls!

1

Peri

Veteran

Well, I do this all the time. I didn't really understand Angie's objections to tech fabric in the first place. I live in the hot and humid South and couldn't get through half the year without my Athleta "city" pants. Nothing else is as tolerable in my weather.

Uniform is those and some kind of cotton, linen or blend top or T. I have no problem with this mixing and think I look just fine. Which really, just fine is about all I aspire to!

Anonymous

Like styles, fabric choices are personal and it can be hard to tell if you're not the wearer what the composition is, so kind of a non issue for me observing someone else. We all have economic, practical and comfort reasons for our choices as well as aesthetic preferences. I have enough to judge in my own closet haha.

Side note, I kind of assumed that Angies recent blog piece was not about synthetics in general but meant truly technical fabrics created specifically for athletic wear and as presented in athletic styles.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I don't see this as an issue at all. I've worn tech fabric pants with silk tops. Fabric content is not determinant of style.

LaPed

Veteran

I mix pretty freely. I'm actually reaching a point where an outfit feels a bit staid without some disparate element. I'm really liking big oxford and linen shirts over gear leggings lately. Feels more intentionally juxtaposed than leggings with a t-shirt.

Mainelady

Veteran

I think the mix is a perfect way to DYOT. No rules. I often see types of fabrics mixed. I live in a recreational area and technical apparel is part of many outfits. Some people dress it up with other pieces. I complimented our Assistant Principal on a pair of her pants one day. She whipspered to me that they were yoga pants. They looked 100% professional, the way she wore them.

rachylou

Veteran

You remind me, Mainelady, of this woman I saw in Starbucks. She also was wearing yoga pants as work wear. The whole outfit was so fab I sketched it out on a napkin, lol! Long cardigan, long skinny feathery knitted scarf, round toe ankle boots.

...Yes, it does always depend. Weave, cut, construction, finishes. Sheen is a big factor for me, as Joy mentioned. And definitions make things tough too. So much sports wear is daily wear. My Angie bday dress, I plan to garden in actually even tho it can go pretty fancy.

Today I’m wearing plaid scuba capris, a workout quilted coat, nylon sneakers in lavender and cotton socks, lol. Oh and what’s probably a thin viscose tee judging by the micro shrinking. Sounds like I might be going to the gym, but I wore it for office day at work. It’s not as vigorous looking as it sounds.

I’ll have to think about leather coats and proper shirts. Most of my ‘leather‘ coats are fake because I’m afraid of PETA. My one real is suede. I’m not sure if I’d wear it with shiny bottoms. Proper shirts aren’t usually a good look for me, but I also wonder how they’d go with something like spandex-y boot cuts... the lack of belt loops may look funny.

I’m thinking I wouldn’t wear a wool polo sweater with spandex... but that is probably more a length thing than a materials thing...

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Rachy, I remix synthetic and natural fibers in one outfit all the time. Many of my items are blends. It's a non-issue - like the fab birthday outfit your wore recently!

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

I definitely do mix technical fabrics with natural ones. Often I wear my OSKA pieces in what they call "techno" fabric with cotton blouses, wool sweaters, denim jackets; I seldom wear head-to-toe techno fabric.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Leviticus has something to say about this.... lol.

Seeing as cotton was “the” workout fiber for generations before being replaced by tech fabrics, I think it’s natural to mix them, assuming, as noted above, you’re talking about tech fabrics and not just synthetics.

rachylou

Veteran

Ohmigosh. Brilliant point! I need a rabbi.

JAileen

Veteran

Fashintern, hahahaha!

Style Fan

Veteran

I do it all the time. I wear a cotton tee and Lululemon pants with a denim jacket. That is just one example. I don't wear a lot of technical fabric outside of Yoga and hiking but when I do why not mix it with 'regular' stuff.