Womens Silk Clothing: Empress of Fabrics Spans the Seasons

Contemporary women's silk clothing makes this sought-after luxury fabric more affordable than ever.

The exotic Silk Road furnished the fabric for wealthy Romans and the kings and queens for Europe.Today, it is just a click away for you and me.

The quilted Chinese jacket gets a contemporary update in olive silk with a inset rainbow of colors. Vertical stitching adds more detail and slims the torso.

Note the handcrafted loop buttons in photo detail. Silk is warmer than one might think, especially when quilted and lined.

Smooth Facts about Silk

Womens silk clothing beguiles the eye and touch, shimmering yet soft. This fabric is so unique, the word silk has become a metaphor for other items that cannot approach its sensuous appeal.

Trendy Romans hailed silk as a luxury fabric for their latest fashions in the first century, according to John E. Lyndon (2004, Liquid Crystals Today). Womens silk clothing has lost none of its allure in two thousand years.

Wrap Yourself in Silk and Wool and the Colors of Sky and Sea

Learn more about the new fabric technologies that build fabric blends that combine the best features of both fibers.

Lyndon calls silk “the original liquid crystalline polymer,” meaning that modern technology has not fully replicated the amazing properties of this fabulous fabric.

From summer dress to winter parka, silk folds into your luggage compactly and shakes out the wrinkles. For example, only spitfire pilots in World War II has silk parachutes. RAF pilots had to make do with nylon, the chemically engineered substitute.

Silk, you see, could be more tightly folded into smaller packets for men in the tiny spitfire cockpits. Womens silk clothing is both wrinkle-resistant and durable.

Inverted Pleat with Button Closures
Is Unique Pant Style in Silk

These are a pull-on pant available only in black and espresso. Drawstring waist silk slacks come in a wider range of colors, as well as designs that are more tailored and even more flowing.

Most Soft Surroundings clothing comes in petite, tall, misses, and plus sizes. Shop New Arrivals at SoftSurroundings.com today!

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Chinese Clothes -- The Authentic Original Women's Silk Clothing

A cheongsam need not cling to be attractively. The mandarin collar conceals the neck and handmade details, such as elaborate whorls of frog buttons, add eye appeal.

Learn why an item of Chinese Clothes may be right for you.

How to Care for Women's Silk Clothing

I have, however, carefully washed silk garments by hand. I throw sturdier raw silk shirts and dresses – a highly underused variety of silk fabric -- in the washing machine -- cold water, delicate cycle, of course.

I am not recommending that you try this. I weigh the value of the shirt or dress against the cost of dry cleaning.

If the garment is old or purchased inexpensively, costly dry-cleaning may not be a good value for me. I also think about how sorry I will be if the hand washing does not work out. If I can afford to give up the garment, into the water it goes.

I usually add a tiny amount of dish soap (be careful -- these can fade colors) or liquid hand soap. Special soaps are sold by retailers for womens silk clothing, including Winter Silks.

Silk Can Last for Centuries

Archeologists found women's silk clothing from the middle ages woven from the cocoons of moths native to Europe. It has been thought that all European silk of that time originated in China or with domesticated mulberry worms imported from that region. Diana Pearsall (Science News, Dec. 11, 2004) sldo reports that some spiders’ webs show some of the same fiber qualities of silk.

What style is right for you? Take the fashion archetype quiz to discover your personal style.

According to Carl Jung, an archetype is a kind of energy vortex that has endured throughout history. The goddesses I use to describe fashion styles embody dimensions of femininity that have been common to women almost since time began.

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