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Rayon.
For true fabric aficionados, the
touch of substantial, closely-woven rayon conjures images of stylish film
legends. Stars like Carole Lombard, Bette Davis and Katherine Hepburn, who
wore well-cut clothing made of a difficult-to-define fabric which seemed
to flow with a smooth, liquid-like drape as they strode with authority,
glided down stairs... had all manner of close encounters. With its texture
so soft and sumptous, even they might have mistaken it for silk, rayon's
natural inspiration (and higher-priced rival).
Man-made, yet down-to-earth.
We've observed that even those
who shun all but the most natural of fibers are quite well disposed toward
rayon, despite it's man-made nature. Unlike cotton's puffball fruit and
the silkworm's fragile cocoon, rayon does not stem directly from any plant
or animal. But it is composed of once living sources — wood pulp
and cotton linters (the fibers that remain on cotton seeds after the first
ginning).
And through the creative engineering
of man, it's as close to natural as any manufactured fiber comes. Especially
when you consider it was invented over a century ago — way before
chemicals invaded the textile world.
A fashion godsend for mom's
generation.
Rayon became all the rage during
the war years as a less fragile and inexpensive substitute for silk. But
when more practical man-made fabrics like polyester and nylon made their
debut in the '50s, rayon took a back seat — but only for a while.
Today's rayon's improved.
But like all fabrics, there's
good rayon and not so good. Much of what you'll find is flimsy and fragile,
or so sheer it's strictly "summerweight."
Ours, on the other hand, is
sturdier, more, well... substantial. Gives you all rayon's natural, flowing
elegance. But the real beauty is how much better it moves from one season
to the next with the greatest of ease. Transcending time.
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