Evening, Prom & Occasion Fabrics

An occasion dress asks more of its fabric than everyday clothes do. It has to hold a shape through a long evening, photograph well under artificial light, and move the way you want it to when you do. The same pattern can read as formal and sculpted in a heavy satin, or soft and modern in a fluid crepe, which is why the cloth is worth settling before the design is.

Crepe makes up the largest part of this collection, and it's the reason so many of these fabrics fall the way they do. Triple crepe, smooth crepe and silk crepe de chine drape close to the body and suit column dresses and softly gathered skirts. The satins, including duchess satin and satin-backed crepe, bring the structure a fitted bodice or a full skirt needs. Lace and brocade add pattern and surface interest, georgette and chiffon give sheer movement for overlays and sleeves, and there's silk, wool and jersey in the mix as well.

Choosing fabric for the occasion

Prom dresses tend to want either a satin with enough body to hold a full skirt, or a crepe that skims rather than stands. Evening gowns and black-tie suit the heavier satins, silk crepes and brocades, which read as formal under low light. Wedding guest and mother-of-the-bride outfits often work best in a mid-weight crepe or georgette, which sits well through a long day and travels without creasing badly. Bridesmaid dresses need a shade that repeats reliably across several cuts, so order samples and buy the full quantity in one go where you can, since dye lots can shift between orders.

Sewing occasion fabrics

Slippery and sheer cloths are less forgiving than a cotton. Use fine pins and a new, sharp needle sized for the fabric, and consider tissue paper under the seam to stop lightweight crepe and georgette shifting as you sew. French seams keep the inside neat on anything sheer. Lace and sequin fabrics blunt needles quickly, so change them more often than you'd expect. Most of these fabrics benefit from a lining, and widths vary across the range, so check the individual product page before you work out how much you need.

Caring for occasion fabric

Delicate cloths reward a gentle hand. Press on a low heat from the reverse, ideally over a pressing cloth, and test on a spare piece first, as satin and crepe can water-spot or shine under a hot iron. Steam rather than press lace and organza so you don't crush them. Plenty of occasion fabrics are dry clean only, but not all of them are, so follow the care label on the individual product rather than treating the whole collection the same way.

Looking for a particular cloth?

If you already know what you're after, it may be quicker to go straight to crepe dress fabrics, satin dress fabrics, lace fabrics, georgette and chiffon or taffeta and brocade. For weddings specifically, the bridal fabrics collection covers gowns and the wider wedding party.