Sources for Silk Velvet

[~ Monsieur Xu ~]

There seems to be an issue with finding silk velveting suitable for and worthy of commissioning smoking jackets and dressing gowns from, a lamentation which seems to be echoed by both tailors and bespoke customers of late.

A possible alternative recently proposed to me is to order from one of the couture houses that supply fabric (Valentino, Balenciaga et al), but the colours available are a tad fey and possibly lacking in drape.

I've tasked people to look this up in Suzhou, the traditional capital of silk in China, but so far this has turned up little of note.

Any opinons? Perhaps this could be a project for the ClothClub...



Cheers,

B

[AndyM]

Henry Poole have silk velvet for their smoking jackets, I believe they use it mainly for royal ceremonial robes but I do not know the source.

[Charlie Huang]

My local fabric store stocks 100% silk velvet (it is very soft and has a stretchy backing so it needs to be backed otherwise it moves about too much to manipulate).

[~ Monsieur Xu ~]

Henry Poole have silk velvet for their smoking jackets, I believe they use it mainly for royal ceremonial robes but I do not know the source.

I've handled this very silk and tried on a peer's robe at Poole in the past, but funnily enough, felt the silk was not soft and luxurious enough for a dressing gown. It is robust and sturdy, a Bentley when what I am looking for is a Bugatti.

[~ Monsieur Xu ~]

My local fabric store stocks 100% silk velvet (it is very soft and has a stretchy backing so it needs to be backed otherwise it moves about too much to manipulate).

Interesting to hear your thoughts, Charlie. Another project for which I might employ this velvet would be a modernised shenyi. Given your expertise in both Western and Chinese dress, I'd be keen to hear your opinion on the matter of, A) should and could the classical hanfu with its five millennia of history be modernised for the present day, B) how would such a contemporary hanfu/shenyi be designed, and C) whether traditional headdress such as the scholar's guan be preserved or done away with in modern hanfu dress.

I am even now refining the design of my 21st Century shenyi, shortened and fitted to resemble the Western suit's silhouette, but preserving the deep symbolism of its illustrious ancestor.

[Charlie Huang]

Hanfu can be modernised but it is the way one does it that is the big question. Modernise as in developing it for modern use or modenise as in Westernising it. if you think how the Japanese have developed their dress it should be followed on that similar thread otherwise it will become something irrelevant and cosplayesque.

As for design, again, open to question. There's different levels of formality for Hanfu that already meets all practical needs anyway.

I would avoid velvet in Hanfu personally after thinking about it. It just wouldn't look right IMHO.

Headdress: again, all relative. Guan should be preserved for formal dress. Informally, they didn't wear headdress in the past already.

This really isn't the forum to talk about this any further. I would either join the main Hanfu group on Facebook or the Toronto Hanfu Association's mailing list on Yahoo groups.

[Noble Savage]

A search turned this up:

"WE ARE NOW OFFERING 100% SILK VELVET FOR CUSTOM DYEING.
WE WILL DYE IN AS SMALL AS 1 YARD INCREMENTS. YARDAGE IS 53" WIDE, $75/YARD. "

http://www.anjooriansilks.com/gallery/t ... p?iCat=154

"Fibre content: 100% silk (Bombyx mori, cultivated silk, reeled.). No additives, no finishes: 100% pure natural silk!
Source: China"

"Natural White (Undyed)
$180/yard"

"Naturally Hand Dyed Dark Blue Indigo
$300/yard"

http://www.aurorasilk.com/fabrics/silks ... ELVET.html