Shattering Silk
Today is Vintage Fashion Fun Fact Friday. YAY! And we will learn about Shattering Silk.
I came across a lovely 1910s silk dress. It was beautiful, light, breezy, and the lace detail is truly exquisite! However, there is one problem. On the bottom of the dress, it looks like someone took a razor and sliced up the dress. I really want to know why so I turned to Vintage Fashion Guild's experts!
I came across a lovely 1910s silk dress. It was beautiful, light, breezy, and the lace detail is truly exquisite! However, there is one problem. On the bottom of the dress, it looks like someone took a razor and sliced up the dress. I really want to know why so I turned to Vintage Fashion Guild's experts!
 |
| See the bottom of the 1910's dress ripping apart |
The damage on the dress is called, Shattering Silk. Apparently back in
the days, silk was sold by weight. The heavier the dress is, so is the quality
of the dress. Eventually some manufacturers decided to cheat the system by
adding metallic salts to make the silk clothing heavier. If the silk clothing
were heavy, people would pay higher price.
Over the time, the salt damage would slowly tear the
clothing. The shattering usually rip along the weave or where the fabric has
been folded.
Of course, there is no prevention the Shattering process. Nevertheless,
we still can admire the antique dress’s beauty and its history.
Source:
Jenny Lou, thank you for sharing this. I had no idea why the silk shattered. I have a 1900's wedding dress that looks very much like the one you have shown. It doesn't have the shattering silk issue though. You stopped by my blog and asked a question about Cascade in cleaning linens. I have only used powder Cascade, not liquid. I hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteThanks Betsy! :) I tried your method but one yellow spot will not come off! Stubborn stain!
ReplyDelete