Ugh! Polyester everything especially blouses/tops

[orangeandlemons]

What is it with polyester at the moment? I want a top with buttons. Everything is polyester. EVERYTHING! The static!

Now, I teach textile science, the only good things about it, are it is cheap and easycare. I hate it. I know there is lots of sheer stuff around at the moment, but you can have sheer cotton.

HandM, Zara, Next, all are full of it. Or viscose which just looks tacky and cheap. Are natural fibres ever going to be used again?

Try Aubin&Wills for decently priced silk and cotton, or even Uniqlo and Massimo Dutti? (Aubin&Wills have proved to be higher quality for me, so this explains the higher price tag I guess)
I feel pretty much the same as you, and have gone almost entirely over to natural fibers since last year. Pain in the ass to wash though!

Cotton very very expensive at the moment hence the viscose everywhere - especially in Zara.

I loathe polyester and seriously places want near on £50 for a polyester blouse - I don't think so.

But if you look around there is some silk and cotton around but its not terribly cheap.

also Polyester makes you feel sweaty and yucky. is viscose a bit better.

i wouldn't buy it now i dont think

Polyester is the devil's fabric. You can tell that someone is a lost soul if they wear polyester. They probably shop at...shudder....HM.

I am a charity shop convert. Cotton clothes to good prices. Might come with unpleasant surprises like tears and stains and smells however.

Have a look at Adini....google it (sorry no link) which sells beautiful, soft ethically traded cotton and has a summer sale at the moment, not seen the winter ragne. I have a couple of tunic tops and dresses which have washed and washed - totally agree re synthetics!

One of the answers is that there has been a huge investment in polyester production infrastructure in China. It's basically plastic, cheap and durable. We'll see a lot more of it unless we as consumers refuse to buy it and demand natural fibers (and are prepared to pay more).

I'm not going to zealously purge things from my wardrobe any more. I repair, alter and dye - and browse thrift shops. Even higher end clothes are often made of nasty synthetics these days.

I was looking at Viscoise tunics from The White Company. Not worth the cash ?

I have a few bamboo items . Drapes lovely.

this is why I am glad I can sew

The Uniqlo range of silk tshirts and vests this summer was good quality and reasonably priced.

It is the polyester/viscose knitwear that drives me crazy. There is a lot of it in kids' clothes too.

Yes, bamboo is lovely and a natural fibre.

Viscose is made from wood pulp and treated with chemicals. So it is sort of natural, but the chemicals make it sweaty to wear. It only looks OK IMO if very heavy, thin stuff looks cheap and nasty.

I'm glad it's not just me, and I totally agree with the cost thing. It is outrageously cheap to produce so there is no reason to sell it expensively. And kid's clothes...ugh. Sleeveless polyester blouses=yuk. What's the point in having something sleeveless if the thing makes you sweat in the first place.

TBH I hate Zara, Next and Hand M, but I go in sometimes to make sure I'm not missing anything, but the acres of polyester scare me away. However there was a thread on here about frumpiness, and Zara and H and M were THE places to go to be non frumpy. So I went and they were horrific. Miles of static and sheen . Ugh!

I am also allergic to it, and so is someone else I know

Zara has quite a bit of nice stuff and H&M but you need to persevere and check the labels.

Charity shop finds keep me (mostly) free from the horrible viscose and polyester though I am wearing it at the moment as I really like the pattern Toast White Company and dare I say it Boden have a lot of natural fibres

I hate polyester too. I always check labels and even 20% tops feel horrible after a few washes. I don't get why other people dont hate it as much as me. I'm shocked on here too sometimes when I click on links for expensive dresses that are 100% polyester. Why would you pay for something that's so so cheap and it doesn't really wear well IMO

Also all those knitted hats and cardies for babies that I would LOVE to dress my baby in ( if they were wool / cotton) but no way is acrylic going anywhere near her skin.

Interesting about viscose. I end up buying a lot of it but it is defo more sweaty. Now I know why.

Yes, why would they make acrylic for babies? It's itchy and horrible

But what really annoys me is how much they charge for acrylic stuff. It's just polyester by another name, so cheap to produce, but can be so expensive. Why?!

I really like viscose! It find it hangs well, and tshirts made from it tend to keep their colour much longer - especially black. Black cotton tshirts go that horrid faded colour in no time

most of the knitwear is acrylic now and i don't like it. I noticed this starting to happen a while back. shops like Dorothy Perkins used wool in their jumpers but it is now acrylic which isn't as warm.

i don't mind it too much if i can wear a cotton top underneath but not next to my skin.

no polyester blouses for me though

My gripe with viscose is that it creases like crazy. And often feel flimsy and cheap (lyocell and tencel and bamboo are much nicer).

I tolerate some polyester - if you live in a wet climate, it's a good material for coats. It's also crease resistant and hangs well - hence I can see why it can sometimes be a very tempting alternative.
Designer's secondary labels are often made of horrible fabrics. Athé Vanessa Bruno is worse than H&M. Zara used to be all silk and cotton...

Dona yes I've noticed that about Vanessa Bruno. Surprises me, possibly in the main line too can't remember.

And I have a Paul&Joe dress that sadly feels too claustrophobic due to polyester. Colour is good but it feels different.

I avoid it these days.

Avoid the fabric that is.

DonaAna, I find exactly the opposite with viscose (or perhaps it is modal?) I can get away, at a pinch, with not ironing a tshirt if it's viscose, which I certainly couldn't do with 100% cotton.

I think the cheap looking shininess comes from too much added lycra

Can't bear polyester, and yes ,when I visit Zara, it all looks nice from a distance, but close up an awful lot looks cheap and nasty

Or maybe stuff like acetate in mainline Bruno rather than polyester.

I find the online version of Zara (ordered, well lit and shot) very different to the rl shopping experience. Covent Garden looks a bit of a mess.

Faustina - I like modal and agree it washes and wears well.

Polyester and acrylic though [shudders] its like those cashmilian jumpers or whatever they're called that m&s do -you'd have to be very careful around naked flames in them.

My son has eczema and trying to find cotton hoodies is a nightmare, and don't get me started on cotton school trousers!