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fabric advice for womens clothing

sonaria

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Hi everyone

Really sorry to bug you. I know this isn't the right forum or subforum but I just don't know where else to go. I'm a girl, 26, and I really don't know anything about fashion or style but I am trying to learn the kind of very basic stuff. What I have found is that there are lots of really great articles, guides and forums for mens style but they seem to be of a fundamentally different nature than the stuff aimed toward women. The style that I want to develop is the one I see advocated for men in principle - classic, timeless, long-lasting garments, more about quality than quantity.

I read this article and the updated version here, and I followed it like gospel. I made a spreadsheet of every clothing item that I own, and identified some things from those lists that I was missing. Armed with my list, I then bought most of the things I was missing (5 basic shirts in cotton-lycra blends with vneck or scoop neck; a vneck merino wool sweater; a merino blend cardigan; a plain 2ply cashmere sweater dress with scoop neck; a cashmere pashmina; plain 14k yellow gold hoop earrings).

But that article only addressed the very basics, and it wasn't clear on some of them (what fabrics could my 'signature blazer' be?), and the rest leaves me floundering. The clothes I am looking for should be dressy or dressy-casual in nature, stuff that you would wear to a nice restaurant, out exploring city sidewalks, or being a tourist in an unfamiliar city of moderate climate. The clothes could be pretty or sexy but I don't want anything too scandalous. I -don't- need work clothes.

I am not a careful person, I frequently spill things on my clothes, and I hate the idea of ironing something all the time. I'm ok with handwashing or hang-to-dry. I'm NEUTRAL about drycleaning; it's not optimal but whatever.

My questions, now, are mainly about fabrics. I learned that in terms of feel vs maintenance, merino wool has no serious drawbacks such that it seems like 100% of my sweaters and cardigans should be merino. My basic shirts (tshirts and tanks), it seems, should never be pure cotton, but should be cotton-spandex blend, rayon, or rayon-spandex.

what about skirts? I like to wear loose, flowing skirts, either mid-length or short. The ones that I currently own turned out to be polyester, rayon or rayon blend. Are the polyester ones "bad"? I also have a couple flowing dressy-casual shirts which have polyester shells. Is this 'bad'? If I don't want to go polyester, what are my alternatives? Pure silk seems like a very bad option for me: I don't want too much stuff that is very high maintenance. I do have one pure silk ruffled dress tank in a royal blue, but I don't think I want a whole bunch of them. A great example of a polyester shirt that I would buy is this. Actually I did buy it, in the off white colour, and it's a perfect fit for me. But then I learned about these fabrics, and when I saw that the shirt was polyester, I am not sure if I should return it and get something in a different fabric. But I am not sure what that fabric should be if I don't want silk. A silk blend?

what about dresses? summer dresses should be made of ... cotton? cotton blends (blended with what?)? what about cocktail dresses?

I think for skirts, I could actually do silk, because it just hangs there and maybe isn't going to get wrinkled and weird and show it as a top would. One skirt that I saw and liked (and didn't buy :p) was this pure silk print. The thing I'm not sure about is the print. It looks timeless enough to me, but is it actually? What prints are timeless and how do I recognize them?

my other question is about blazers. It seems like I should go for a wool? what wool would be lightweight, resistant to stains, doesnt show wrinkles, and otherwise seems good for my lifestyle/preferences? I wouldn't want to spend more than $350 on it I don't think.

And my last question is ... the knee-high black leather boots staple. I actually really like black leather boots, I like to wear them with skirts, dresses and under jeans... but how can I tell if they are good quality and timeless? My budget for boots would be around $500. I am probably going to walk in them a decent amount so they need to be comfy (4" or with a platform). I don't want pointed toes, or wedge, and not crazy about stilettos. I don't like most buckles, tassles, and I don't want them to crinkle around the ankle or leg anywhere.

Here are some boots I identified:

LAMB - the sole has some weird metal thing on it, and also the heel is blocky which I am concerned might look dated after awhile?
ebay special - again the heel, it is very thin and swept back, will it look dated? and the toe pointed up, will this be too sexy to wear with jeans or something? look dated later on?
yves saint laurent - these boots are close to perfect for me, except a bit out of my price range, and they have a weird thing on the sole, sticking out of the toe. I don't even know what that is, for style or what? will probably look dated? maybe could have a cobbler cut if off.
via spiga - these seem ok. could be sleeker

what do you guys think of these boots? are there other ones you could recommend? do you think boots are a bad idea?

thanks so much :D


TLDR : girl with no style asking what fabrics are best for dress shirts, blazers, skirts, dresses, and what style is best for boots.
 
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add911_11

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For my opinion, fabric for women's clothing are assessed in the same way as mens.

Worsted Wool, Wool and Cashmere blend usually quiet nice for all season (9-11oz, 270-310g)

Velvet, Tweed, Heavy Flannel are prefect for winter, especially velvet pants for women, ultra sexy with a nice blazer on the top

Seasucker, mid weight linen and silk blend, perfect for summer

See how the guys dressed in here and you will get an idea of the fabric choice

No idea on girls boots, since the girl's shoe market is a different monster from the men's shoe, however the rule of thumb is do buy the nice one because my GF told me Christian and Jimmy are overall the most comfortable ones.

If you want a nicely made female shoes, check Crockett and Jones they have ladies collection,
 
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sonaria

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ok for summer wear, linen and silk yes, is there anything other than those? i read that linen wrinkles like crazy and silk is hard to take care of. can I blend these things with other fabrics and if so what blends are recommended? what about rayon, do you think it's terrible? I mean rayon doesn't ever seem like it has much of a role in men's clothing, but it's drapey and soft and low maintenance so it's used a lot in women's clothing, even some of the higher end stuff. you think I should avoid it all the same?
 

Sanguis Mortuum

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ok for summer wear, linen and silk yes, is there anything other than those? i read that linen wrinkles like crazy and silk is hard to take care of. can I blend these things with other fabrics and if so what blends are recommended?


Linen/silk blended together is nice, its more durable than silk but wrinkles less than linen. Linen/cotton blend is also good.
 

unbelragazzo

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Sander

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I think this would be easier if you posted a few images to show in what direction you want to go. Maybe have a look at the "How would you like a girl to dress" thread here.

For example, if you go for a jcrew/Ivy/whatever look you can basically dress like a man dresses in that niche and we could give you very specific comments.
 

add911_11

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I concurred, do post some style you endures and we might be able to point the correct direction
 

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