When assessing the quality of garment construction, it is most important to look on the inside. This shows you the foundation of the garment. It tells you how it will hold up to wear and tear.
Fast fashion focuses on the exterior – it looks decent at first glance, but the quality of the fabrics and the sewing techniques are not made to last.
With ‘slow fashion’, the technical aspects – material and sewing – are just as important, if not more, than the aesthetics. Turn your garment inside out – does it look visually appealing? With cheap garments, the inside is only appealing if it is a ‘reversible’ piece. With quality garments, the inside will be just as nice! Here is our SAYA pantsuit turned inside out to highlight the lining and seam finishes:
QUALITY FINISHES: LINING
When a garment is fully lined, essentially it is two garments in one. One piece is made using the exterior fabric and the other piece is made using a lighting fabric as lining, then they are sewn together for a seamless look and feel on the inside. On cheaper garments, only an edging of fabric is used along the neckline and armholes.
Another thing to consider is the lining material. When you select a natural fibre (100% cotton , linen, or wool) Designed by Beely garment, you are getting a garment that is 100% natural, including the lining.
Why lining fabric matters:
We promote natural fibres because it not only looks the best, but it is the most breathable. When you select a 100% natural fabric, it means you are concerned about how the garment feels against your skin. It is very common to find garments that have 100% polyester linings in both high and low cost fashion, even if the exterior fabric is natural.
However, it is counter-productive to use synthetic linings in garments with a natural fibre exterior. By doing so, your skin does not get the benefits of the breathability of natural fibres as it is now covered in plastic. At Designed by Beely, when you select 100% natural garments, 100% of your garment is natural – exterior as well as interior.
QUALITY FINISHES: SEAMS
Designed by Beely’s pieces feature couture finishes so there are no serged seams. Serged seams are edges that are exposed and are sealed with loose thread. This is the cheapest method of finishing edges, and is found in all lower-end fashion but is often found in ‘high-end’ garments as well.
Why seams matter:
Seams are the most vulnerable part of fabrics – they are the point at which fabric frays and comes apart. Your clothes experience the most friction on the inside where the seams are constantly rubbing against your body.
Areas to pay more attention to are the inseam area (the area that sits between your legs) and the hemline. The inseam experiences a lot of tension and friction from leg movement, and the hemline is free-flowing and more vulnerable to catching on foreign objects.
QUALITY FINISHES: EXTERIOR
Finally, the exterior finishes also matter, and quality can be found in the details, even on simple pieces. A quality garment is assessed in how it looks looks when it hangs. It should not need a body inside it in order to look like a beautiful garment. The lines should be clean, crisp, and neat – it should look polished.
