| It's an easy choice, or so most people think. Cotton is | | | | secret. |
| cheap, practical and every day. Silk is for special | | | | But this does not answer the question. Which is |
| occasions, it's delicate, sensuous and definitely | | | | better? As usual the answer depends. Silk and cotton |
| dangerous. Almost opposites. So you'd probably be | | | | absorb dyes differently. Silk accepts color well and can |
| surprised if I told you that cotton is often the more | | | | give great vivid colors which gleam in the light. Cotton |
| expensive of the two, and when it comes to strength, | | | | on the other hand is matte and and although it dyes |
| silk usually wins hands down. | | | | fairly well, never seems to become as vibrant. Printed |
| Of course there are many kinds of cotton, some | | | | cotton can be stunning, but hand painted silk may once |
| combined with polyester and some just left relatively | | | | again have the edge, since it manages to achieve a |
| course. I'm betting you've had the experience of | | | | degree of subtlety and shading cotton lacks. |
| owning something crisp and cotton only to find the | | | | Both are 'natural' fibers which allow the body to breath, |
| crispness gone when the fabric was washed. That's | | | | an important point when choosing nightwear or lingerie |
| because left to it's own devices cotton is, or at least | | | | and both can feel wonderful next to the skin, |
| can be, very very soft. When it's crisp it's often | | | | depending on the type of fabric chosen. Cotton mixed |
| because it has been sprayed with chemicals in | | | | with polyester for example can be very crisp, while |
| manufacture. Washing removes the chemicals. | | | | cotton voile or cotton lawn are luxuriously soft. The |
| Cotton is derived from the fiber boll of the cotton plant | | | | same can be said for silk, where silk dupioni has a |
| and it the most common natural fiber in use in the | | | | crisp texture while silk charmeuse is wonderfully soft |
| fashion industry. It has been spun into thread, woven | | | | and light. |
| into cloth and dyed since before records began, but | | | | But in the 21st century women are all about practicality |
| the Greeks only learned about it around the time of | | | | and for that reason silk will always be reserved for |
| Alexander the Great and cotton didn't become | | | | special occasions because as we all know, only cotton |
| common in the UK until the 15th Century. In contrast | | | | is a practical fabric. |
| the plant was cultivated in the Americas and has been | | | | But is that really true? There is a popular conception |
| found in Peruvian tombs. | | | | that silk is not washable. It is true that silk can shrink |
| Silk on the other hand is not grown, but farmed, as it | | | | when washed, but actually so can cotton, and the |
| comes from the cocoon of the silk moth. Legend has it | | | | shrinkage is usually very small. In fact most silks wash |
| that the fabric was discovered by the Empress of | | | | well even in a washing machine as long as they are |
| China when the cocoon of a moth feel into her tea as | | | | treated fairly gently, the water temperature is low and |
| she sat below a mulberry tree. When she went to | | | | no harsh chemicals are applied. Even silk dupioni can |
| remove the cocoon she found that it unraveled and | | | | be washed, though it may loose some of it's luster. Silk |
| asked her servants to pull the thread out. They were | | | | is actually a stronger fiber than cotton, and since it |
| amazed at the length of it and experimented with the | | | | absorbs dye you can wash silk without seeing the |
| creation of fiber and cloth. The fiber the cocoon is | | | | same level of color fade as from printed cotton. |
| made from has a very odd triangular cross section, | | | | So choose you priority and choose your fabric. If you |
| and this results in the wonderful sheen which has | | | | love silk but have always chosen cotton because it's |
| made silk fabric so famous and sought after that for | | | | more practical, you might like to think again. |
| centuries it's production was regarded as a state | | | | |