What's your favorite fabric for clothing?

In addition to cotton (without all the lycra, please) wool, linen and silk, I am partial to Tencel and some microfibers for their convenience and ability to dry fast.

If doing garden work, cotton all the way. For dress-up times, I definitely prefer rayon, silk, angora – anything that slides across my body.

really depend on what I am dressing for, cotton for casual, silk for going out on a date. I think silk makes me feel sexy

I usually look for items that are 100% cotton. I like wool in the winter, other than cotton. Jackets I prefer to be down or leather.

Except for swimsuits and outerwear (like hoodies that are nearly always some poly blend), I only like to wear natural fibers. Semi-synthetic fibers like rayon are okay too.

My favorite is probably cotton for accessibility, cost (though the cost of cotton is rising) and ease of care.

I loathe microfiber in particular. Just running my hands over the ubiquitous fabric is offensive, I can’t imagine wearing it. It’s the textile equivalent of something between an artificial sweetener and styrofoam. Obviously not natural and just wrong.

Cotton, linen and other natural fibers, however… I don’t like stuff I have to iron!

I’m allergic to some polyester blends—the lack of breathability makes me break out. Ick.

@Nimis,...wow a perfect description of microfiber!

It is irrelevant to me.

I love the look of linen, but it always gets wrinkled so quickly that I avoid buying it for that reason. I love cotton. It’s a little more forgiving, you can usually yank it out of the dryer immediately and not have to iron it.

Cotton and denim I believe.

Oh the why ..I like how cotton feels and smells. I like denim because it’s thick. Both last long and become nicely worn.

Cotton. I just want to rub it all over my face.

Whatever material a potato sack is made from.

I like cotton, silk, and rayon.
I’m addicted to the lovely fabrics of the east, and their colorful and vivacious presence.

Denim for everything but underpants.

I used to say I only like natural fibers, but I recently discovered synthetic blend hiking underwear…

Mahogany…nah, not really, I wood’nt be seen dead in it.
I like me some cotton/nylon, throw in some taffeta panties & i’m hot to trot.

OK, Hawaii Jake, give it up. Give up the secret of wearing linen without wrinkling!

Until you do, Cotton, Silk if the weather is cold enough.

Ah, marinelife, the charm of linen is in the wrinkling.

Knit cotton

Cotton. Espeically comfy cotton knits. Sometimes I like a very little bit of stretch added, but not if I am wearing them as night clothes/pj’s. @janbb mentioned denim, which I love also for jeans and shorts, which of course is a heavy cotton. As far as jeans go I prefer they not be stretch.

For suits wool crepe is an awesome fabric that looks very professional and travels well.

Rayon should be outlawed.

@JLeslie : Rayon should be outlawed. You obviously haven’t seen my closet and don’t know much about very fine aloha attire. :-)

Corduroy.

just like my favorite bear

Leather belts and barbed wire! :D

The finest, sweetest cotton can be much more alluring than any man made fabric (nylon), but Silk it delightful, when done in a proper weave. I still prefer cotton.

Taffeta, darling….

@Hawaii_Jake I worked in retail for years. I was a manager, buyer, worked for some of the vendors, Calvin Klein, Mondo (before they went out of business)...rayon shrinks like crazy, it is a pain to take care of. Some lesser qualities you have to worry about it getting wet, because of how it can wrinkle. Something casual and comfortable I want to be able to throw in the washer and dryer. I’m tired of things shrinking because I was not careful and the thing had rayon in it. If you want to be careful or dry clean all the time go ahead. In the industry there is an argument over whether rayon is a natural fiber or not; not that it really matters to me either way. Rayon was a less expensive alternative to cotton, I would be pretty sure that is why it first became popular. There are some positive things about rayon, the brightness of color it holds, and the cheaper price. Indeed Hawaiian shirts, sundresses, and several other garments increasingly have been made from rayon. I have a hard time believing Armani, Canali, or Chanel have started using it though. I hope not. It has been accused of destroying rainforrest I think? Not sure about the info on that. It is made from wood pulp.

I like cotton for sheets, knits and denim. I like linen too, but I don’t live in a climate that makes it easy to wear. When I want a crisp look to my linen I’ll starch it till it stays. I’ve never had a good wool, they’ve always been a bit too scratchy. I love silk and would buy it if I could find it. Rayon is another one of those fibers that are harder to care for in this climate, and I haven’t found it produced in anything other than challis so it drapes too much for my taste. I don’t care for polyester blends, these don’t wear well. I do, however, have a couple of trousers in a polyester suiting weight that have lasted for a decade which has been a boon.

Just to clarify, it would not surpise me if top designers use some rayon blends, but 100% rayon would shock me. I’ve been shocked before though.

@JLeslie You have had the most fascinating jobs! I wish I could’ve job-shadowed you a couple times.

@linguaphile Really? That’s nice of you to say. We have followed my husband’s career mostly in the last 10 years so I kind of let go of my retail career and just worked various jobs. A job that was only part time, or easy to get since we had moved states, etc. I haven’t worked in 3 years now, I am starting to feel like I should do something.

@JLeslie : 100% Rayon is used in many aloha shirt manufacturers here. Yes, it wrinkles, but there must be something about people in tropical climates, because we don’t seem to mind wrinkles. Also, the shirts I buy must be preshrunk. I’ve never had one shrink.

One manufacturer here is my favorite. It’s called Jams World, and the colors of their clothing is stunning. Their designs are lovely, too. I can’t afford to buy anything from them new, but a lot of their things turn up very cheaply on eBay. I get mine there.

@Hawaii_Jake You dry them in the dryer and they don’t shrink? I have never heard of that with rayon. That is the thing I hate the most about rayon, so if a manufacturer/vendor has fixed that problem I would be not quite so negative.

I have a thing for hemp/ cotton blends as well.