A Bridal Fabric Glossary

Bridal appointments are full of fabric words used without definition. This is all of them in one place.

For how these fabrics behave in practice rather than just what they are called, the wedding dress fabric guide is the fuller piece.

Base fabrics

Crepe — Fabric made with twisted yarns, giving a matte, faintly textured surface and a distinctive weight. Falls straight down and skims the body, so it sculpts without needing structure underneath. The defining fabric of modern minimalist bridal. See crepe wedding dresses.

Satin-back crepe — One cloth with a matte crepe face and a lustrous satin reverse. Lets a gown be matte on the body with sheen at a facing or edge. Matte crepe vs satin-back crepe.

Mikado — Heavier blended silk with a smooth, slightly lustrous face and real body. Stands away from the frame rather than falling close, which makes it the structural fabric. Mikado, explained.

Satin — A weave, not a fibre: most of the yarn floats on the surface, producing the sheen. Fluid, lustrous, and the most demanding under camera flash. Crepe vs satin.

Duchess satin — A heavier, stiffer satin with more body. Holds structured shapes; warm and substantial.

Charmeuse — A lightweight, fluid satin with a high shine and a soft drape. Clings more than heavier satins.

Georgette — Light, slightly crinkled and semi-sheer. Drapes softly, used for overlays and floaty skirts.

Chiffon — Very light, sheer and floaty. Almost always layered.

Taffeta — Crisp, with a faint rustle. Holds volume and creases readily.

Lace

Chantilly — Fine bobbin lace with a delicate net ground and a defined outline thread (cordonnet) around each motif. Light, soft, and it drapes with the gown rather than sitting on top of it — which is why it suits close-fitting and minimal designs. Chantilly lace, explained.

Corded lace — Uses a heavier raised cord around motifs. More dimensional than Chantilly, and reads as applied decoration rather than as fabric.

Alençon — A corded net lace with clearly defined motifs outlined in cord. Traditional and substantial.

Guipure — Lace with no net ground; the motifs connect directly to each other. Heavier, more graphic, and quite structural.

Appliqué — Lace motifs cut out and applied individually to a base fabric, rather than the lace being used as a whole cloth.

Cordonnet — The outline thread that defines a lace motif. Its presence is one way to tell real Chantilly from a printed imitation.

Scalloped edge — The decorative border woven along the selvedge of a lace. Using it as a finished hem rather than cutting through it is a marker of careful cutting.

Volume fabrics

Organza — Thin, slightly crisp, almost weightless. Creates volume with a defined edge. Good for warm-weather fullness.

Tulle — Fine net. Behaviour depends entirely on weight: silk tulle drifts, bridal-weight tulle holds a rounder shape. "Tulle" alone tells you very little.

Illusion tulle — Very fine, skin-toned tulle used for necklines, backs and sleeves where you want the line of a garment without opaque fabric.

Horsehair braid — A stiff woven braid sewn into a hem to hold a skirt's shape. Not actually horsehair.

Construction terms

Lining — The layer between the outer fabric and you. Decides much of a gown's warmth and how it feels.

Underlining — A layer fused or basted to the outer fabric before construction, adding body and opacity.

Boning — Rigid strips built into the bodice to hold shape and support a strapless or fitted neckline. Should be encased, not exposed.

Corsetry — Structured internal bodice construction that shapes and supports rather than merely covering.

Basque waistline — A waistline that dips to a V at the front rather than running straight across.

Inverted basque — The reverse: the waistline rises to a point, elongating the bodice and creating an architectural line through the waist. Used on the Sorelle bodice.

Ruching — Controlled gathering of fabric, used to sculpt and to create texture. Crepe takes it particularly cleanly.

Bias cut — Cutting fabric at 45° to the grain, which lets it stretch and drape around the body.

Grading — Scaling a pattern across sizes. Good grading keeps proportions right at every size rather than simply scaling everything up.

Seam allowance — Fabric left inside a seam. It determines how much a gown can be let out, which is why going larger is much harder than going smaller. See wedding dress fittings and alterations.

Bustle — The arrangement that lifts a train off the ground for the reception. Bustles, explained.

Selvedge — The finished edge of a woven fabric.

Colour terms

Ivory — Warm off-white. The most common bridal shade.

Diamond white — A cooler, brighter white.

Champagne — A warmer, deeper shade with a gold cast.

Nude / blush base — A skin-toned lining under lace or illusion fabric, so the lace pattern reads against skin.

Using this

At an appointment, two questions do most of the work:

1. What is this made of, specifically? Not "lace" — which lace, which weight.
2. How does it behave when I sit down for a minute?

The minimalist wedding dress checklist has the rest of the fitting-room routine, and the fabric guide covers behaviour in depth.

To see these fabrics in person, browse all collections and find a stockist, or book an appointment.