Save. Spend. Splurge.

Why do such expensive pieces have polyester all over the dang place?

I can never figure out why companies can charge insane amounts of money for wool jackets, pants, dresses, etc and then line them in polyester.

I try to avoid buying and wearing polyester, yet I take a look at the fabric tag of my favourite blazers and realize it is LINED IN POLYESTER or equally bad fabrics like acetate, nylon, etc.

I was looking at a really expensive Hugo Boss dress the other day, and it was 100% polyester. It was NICE polyester of course, but not for $1500….

WHY!?

Well, to lower costs of course, of course.

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It all boils down to having it LOOK good but not FEEL good, even at the $100 – $495 price range.

It is cheaper to line a jacket in those cheap fabrics than to not.

I have also found that in very expensive blazers in the $500+ range and up, line their jackets in fabrics other than cheap crap such as viscose, cupro, and in my Mel en Stel version (I love independent designers), she lined my lovely cashmere wool green jacket in SILK.

You simply cannot find that kind of quality any longer, and unless you go vintage, you’d be hard pressed to find a lining that doesn’t make you sweat like a pig.

DOES IT EVEN MATTER?

Why yes it does. I wear my blazer lined in silk and I can feel my skin breathe versus wearing a blazer that holds in my sweat and makes me all humid and wet inside unless it is in the dead of winter.

I’d even prefer an UNLINED garment to one that is lined in polyester, but I am unable to afford $1000 pants and $1000 blazers or dresses unless bought on consignment or secondhand, or found in thrift stores.

It is kind of a no-win situation these days.

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SO WHAT TO DO?

 

Here’s my plan:

Buy vintage, thrift, or buy secondhand from consignment.

Buy from independent designers who do quality work for quality prices.

Remove the lining in your jackets & replace it in silk or something — only recommended for your FAVOURITE blazers. I have yet to do this, but I am seriously considering it.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

14 Comments

  • Lygia

    OMG YES !!!! I really hate when i see a nice piece that looks nice and when i touch it i already know, 100% polyester! And its comes with a fet pricetag…

  • Sarahn

    I hate seeing lovely tops (ie not lined items) and checking the tags and finding they are polyester. It’s such a let down as I know there’s no way I’ll be comfortable when I wear either, either too hot or too cold unless it’s a unicorn perfect day.

    Interestingly, 8 years ago we were in Goa,India, and I’d planned to buy a scooter (Vespa not the unpowered ones), and as Goa isn’t as devout, I could get a leather jacket made the design I think you’d love, but the point is,it was made as requested, which included jacaranda blue lining IN SILK. I cannot thank my mother enough as I don’t think eight years ago I knew enough about fabrics to have cared or known. Sadly, the jacket gets less wear than others as leather to me is a little noisy for day to day wear,but I do I,e it.

  • raluca

    It’s quite frustrating indeed. When you spend so much money on an item, you would expect it to be indeed of a better quality. But I find that in some cases, the mid-range designers decide to penny pinch in the worst way and then they get really dissapointed when people stop buying their clothes.
    I also like to go the route of independent designers, they ussualy seem to spend a lot more on materials than on marketing.

  • Sylvie

    This has always bothered me. Recently, I popped into Alice & Olivia, Theory, Maje, and Rebecca Minkoff. As expected, super expensive tops and bottoms, all of which were lined–if lined!–with polyester. I don’t wear polyester tops, so it really limits what I can wear. Last year, I scored an excellent deal on an Eileen Fisher leather moto jacket lined in silk. It feels heavenly against my skin. My two compromises are Smythe (by choice), and winter coats (by necessity).
    Have you had anything relined with silk?

    • Sherry of Save. Spend. Splurge.

      I am really considering relining my favourite blazers in silk because that polyester is really making me sweat like a pig. I just wonder how much it would cost *sigh*

      Smythe is wonderful, isn’t it? I own two of their coats and very nearly bought a third. They do tend to exaggerate the shoulder however 🙁

  • Cassie

    I’m not ready to pitch ALL of my synthetics just yet, but I’m definitely on my way. I don’t know if it was because I was pregnant and super uncomfortable, but I really started to notice the difference between the natural fibres and the synthetics in my wardrobe last year. I felt so much more comfortable in my cotton/silk/wool/cashmere clothing. I have a handful of synthetic shells that fit reasonably and have a weightier fabric, so I’m holding on to them until I have good replacements for them. Otherwise I’m on the lookout for natural fibres. The only item I’ve purchased this month is 100% merino, and it’s SOOOOOO soft.

  • Toni

    I’ve JUST started noticing this, because for the first time in my life, I’ve been browsing designer clothing – either via consignment websites, or retail, just because I’m finally at a point where I could decide to splurge on a few high quality workhorse items. It’s been an eye opener to see how much some of these clothes cost that are polyester (or lined with it), not to mention made in China, etc. I just always assumed those out-of-reach designer clothes were different. And some are, but now I know I can’t assume they all are.

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