Wedding dresses are made in a wide range of fabrics. Typical fabrics used are lace, satin and tulle. But how many of us know the differences between all these fabrics? There are so many different options these days, we aren’t just limited to the shiny satin that our grandmothers wore 60 years ago.
First of all, Satin, also called duchess satin. It’s the basis for almost all our Mooshki dresses and a fair few Grace Philips designs too. It has a sheen but isn’t shiny. It’s lustrous and holds its shape well. It’s a standard bridal fabric and ours comes in over 80 different colours. Rose, below, is shown in our ivory duchess satin.
Mikado is a similar weight to duchess satin but has a more defined weave. It’s one of our favourite fabrics and is crisp when pleated. It catches the light perfectly and has a matte sheen that sculpts your figure perfectly. Monroe below is ivory mikado with a fully beaded bodice. Carolina combines mikado with guipure lace which is explained further below.
This is where it gets more complicated:lace. There are many different types and we use most of them! Guipure lace is a heavy woven lace that is intricately made and can be in many different designs. Naturally, we favour the more floral and ornate styles. Mae is one of our most famous dresses worldwide and a Mooshki fan favourite. She uses guipure lace and a coordinating applique to the neckline and scallop to the hem. Other guipure lace dresses are Hetty, Rosemary and Reenie.
Guipure applique is featured on many Mooshki dresses, in particular Poppy. Also using this precisely defined lace are dresses such as Alice, Wanda and Mindy. Again, it’s usually a floral design but as with everything, there are thousands upon thousands of different designs in this lace.
Corded lace is a very bridal lace. When you ask someone to describe lace, its usually a corded lace that comes to mind. Candice, Darla, Vera and Darcy are all made from corded lace (along with so many more our dresses). the design is usually floral but in the past we have used corded lace with a peacock design so the choices again are many and varied.
Tulle is our softest fabric but as with everything, there are different weights. Charlotte uses the softest tulle which drapes like a dream and gives the most amazing #mooshkitwirl. Pollyanna uses a heavier weight tulle, still very light but with more body to create the frothy silhouette that Pollyanna is renowned for. Our favourite tulle has to be this pleated tulle as used on Rosie below.
Holly was in our 2014 collection but is still available now. Her fabric is a striped organza. Organza is a light woven fabric that has a very subtle sparkling sheen. Sometimes it’s far too shiny and looks a little….eBay. But in a silk, its a stunning fabric that gives a full and feminine silhouette without adding too much weight.
There are thousands more bridal fabrics and we can source most of them. Crepe as used in Caressa and Elektra has a bit of stretch so is light yet forgiving. What fabric would you wear? Let us know!