Mother Bride Gown

Mother Bride Gown
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What is the difference between satin shimmer and taffeta? Which is more expensive? And which is better looking?
Looking for an expensive couture mother of the bride gown?

There are a wide variety of evening fabrics that look expensive and luxurious, and those two are the ones everyone thinks of first, they are certainly the two most classic evening fabrics. Satin and taffeta are two different weaves of fabric. taffeta has a “corded” appearance as the warp and weft are made from different weights of thread. Taffeta is also rolled through heated rollers so it has that characteristic watered appearance. Taffetas moires bengalines, and other heavier corded heat rolled fabrics are often called “tabbies” because of their resemblance to the stripey fur of the tabby cat. Taffetas have more wight and texture than satin. Taffetas are stiff and stick out while you walk, they have the characteristic dance floor rustle sound. They have less drape and more body than satin.

Satin is a weave where the warp threads are very fine and “float” over the weft threads; allowing the warp threads to shimmer and catch the light. Satin is finer and more delicate than taffeta. satin has more drape and less body than taffeta, it hangs in graceful fold in full ball-gown skirts without sticking out from the body. It’s far quieter than taffeta.

The expensiveness of the fabric depends on the fiber content and the quality and appearance of the weave, One is an objective quality, the other is more subjective. Taffetas and satins made from silks are always more expensive, and taffetas and satins made of a fiber like acetate will be cheaper. fabrics made of silk will have a finer and more luxurious appearance, while acetates will look harsh and plastic, especially the taffeta. Polyester taffeta and satin is a compromise between the extremes, polyester has come a long way from the days of double knits and some micro denier polyesters look almost as good as silk.

There is a third option, one a couture level dressmaker might suggest, silk dupioni. It’s a silk weave with a soft and subtle sheen and a slight nubbly texture. It glows, rather than shines, and it has a more elegant drape than taffeta. It hold the shape of ball-gown skirts without the stiffness you can get with taffeta, and without the droop satin can sometimes have. It also holds beads and sequins better than the other fabrics. (I prefer to embellish on dupioni over the other fabrics, it needles well with less arm and wrist strain for me.) And I think it looks more sleek, sophisticated, elegant and mature than taffeta. Silk satin is the standard for evening and couture, nothing says luxury like silk satin, nothing looks better in evening light than silk satin.

Here’s some info from one of my suppliers:
Dupioni silk:http://www.denverfabrics.com/pages/static/Silk/dupioni-silk.htm
Satins(at least 12 kinds!):http://www.denverfabrics.com/pages/static/bridal/peau-de-soie.htm
And taffeta, I notice they don’t have silk taffeta any longer only cheap taffeta:http://www.denverfabrics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=001&Category_Code=BR-taf

I hope this explained a bit about evening fabrics.

Picking a Mother of the Bride’s Dress : Formal Mother-of-the-Bride’s Dresses