Cover photo credit: Samson
The lining in a garment: a detail that matters to an informed consumer.
This is also a subject on which you regularly ask us:
“This garment is made of cotton/wool but its lining is polyester/viscose. For what ? Is this prohibitive? »
What is the lining of a garment used for?
A liner can serve several purposes:
- Hide the interior finishes by covering them. When you put on a lining, you can afford to leave threads lying around inside the garment because you can't see them. When you remove the lining, you have to “clean” everything well, which is quite expensive to make.
Our Loro Piana summer jacket is not lined in the back. Manual work is necessary to obtain such a result, without protruding thread.
- Protect the external material , if it is a little sensitive to abrasion, with another more resistant material
- It ensures good glide . You will find that most of your linings are in fluid, smooth materials. And on purpose, because this allows you to put on the garment comfortably (so that your arms can slide well into the sleeve) and there is no discomfort in your back when moving.
However, it turns out that materials like polyester or viscose have these properties: they are fluid, slide well, and are very resistant.
Polyester, viscose: the same?
An important distinction must be made: while polyester is a synthetic material, viscose is an artificial material.
Synthetic, artificial... isn't that clear? That’s good, Nicolò wrote an article specifically on this subject .
The difference between synthetic material and artificial material will no longer hold any secrets for you.
The advantages of artificial materials
- They are breathable
- They are very soft
- They also have a silky finish , as well as a very fluid drape.
- They retain colors very well
- They slide very well and do not cling to other fabrics. Ideal for example for a lining or a garment that you would wear under other layers
- They are biodegradable , unlike synthetic materials
So choose viscose, cupro or modal linings in your clothes, rather than polyester.
And if you find clothes with natural material linings, it's even better.
Natural linings...do they exist?
There are clothes lined with natural materials, or mixtures including natural fibers:
The back lining of our Jules Tournier zipped jacket : 78% cotton, 22% modal. The sleeves remain lined in 100% viscose for gliding.
This case remains rather rare in ready-to-wear, because putting on a beautiful lining requires research (the right lining from the right supplier) and we can understand that it is not necessarily a priority in the development of a product: we are talking about a part of a garment that is not visible when worn and to which most consumers do not pay particular attention.
The question of price
As you can imagine, the better a liner, the more expensive it is for the brand to purchase.
To give you an idea:
- A decent viscose lining costs about twice as much as a polyester lining
- A natural material lining costs three to five times more than a budget lining
Laetitia Modeste lined her entire coat in 100% linen (back, sleeves, pockets). The slip is less good than viscose or polyester, but the breathability is optimal and linen is a solid fiber. A daring choice. An expensive material.
So, it makes sense that polyester linings are more likely to be found on entry-level clothing and that you see viscose or cupro on mid- or high-end pieces.
That said, don't get stuck on this point either: if you find a piece that you like, that suits you, with a good exterior composition, within your budget BUT lined in polyester: take it anyway :)
