There's a whole era where polyester and nylon and all that were sold by brand name: Dacron, for instance. They were knew and seemed technologically advanced.
Before polyester etc., doing the laundry was a lot more time-intensive. Polyester could be washed, tossed in the dryer, and hung up--no wrinkles. The colors didn't fade easily either.
What's too bad about it is that modern synthetics often do breathe quite well--a lot of technical fabric for things like bicycling or camping is synthetics that wick sweat. I tend to prefer high-quality technical wool close to my skin, but it has its downsides--it's more expensive and doesn't last as long and it takes longer to dry. But it's comfier and doesn't hold in bad smells.
Older synthetics really did feel like plastic though. I used to have a bunch of 70's vintage clothing, and if it got hot it was awful.
I think what finally happened was just a general relaxing of dress codes. You could be seen as nicely dressed without having to wear a bunch of ironed/starched fabric. Hurrah for denim, and cotton jersey!
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2012-05-01 02:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-01 04:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-01 08:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-01 11:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-01 03:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-01 07:15 pm (UTC)Before polyester etc., doing the laundry was a lot more time-intensive. Polyester could be washed, tossed in the dryer, and hung up--no wrinkles. The colors didn't fade easily either.
What's too bad about it is that modern synthetics often do breathe quite well--a lot of technical fabric for things like bicycling or camping is synthetics that wick sweat. I tend to prefer high-quality technical wool close to my skin, but it has its downsides--it's more expensive and doesn't last as long and it takes longer to dry. But it's comfier and doesn't hold in bad smells.
Older synthetics really did feel like plastic though. I used to have a bunch of 70's vintage clothing, and if it got hot it was awful.
I think what finally happened was just a general relaxing of dress codes. You could be seen as nicely dressed without having to wear a bunch of ironed/starched fabric. Hurrah for denim, and cotton jersey!
no subject
Date: 2012-05-02 08:20 pm (UTC)