Embracing Polyester

I never thought the day would come when I would embrace polyester and look for this fabric in the clothes that I buy – but I am. For baby boomers the image of polyester leisure suits come to mind when polyester is mentioned.

Not any more. Thanks to Generation X and Net Gen, polyester and other synthetics are here to stay. People today want easy care clothing that is professional and not “synthetic looking,” like the old days. As I flip through my Talbots and LandsEnd catalogs or visit a nearby Chico’s store, I see it everywhere.

In the mid-nineties a new synthetic came aboard called Tencel. As a synthetic, it had the look and feel of a natural fabric and the price was comparable as well. My hats off to Generation X for motivating manufactures to produce synthetics that look and feel like natural fabrics.

But baby boomers are reluctant and yet are motivated by a time poor lifestyle that doesn’t support trips to the dry cleaners once or twice a week. Now is the time to embrace polyester and other synthetics for an easy lifestyle and a professional image. If you can’t take 100 percent polyester, enjoy the ease of care and the look of natural fibers in 50/50 blends such as 50 percent wool and the remainder polyester. Other fabrics are now called on for double duty such as microfiber and synthetics that also protect you from the sun’s harmful UV rays.

One of the most common fabric combinations that I have seen in fashion magazines and catalogs is polyester, viscose and spandex. By the way Viscose is rayon. In any case, the synthetics are here to stay so how do you take care of polyester items?

Polyester, often blended with a multitude of natural and other man made fabrics offers freedom from shrinkage and ironing. It is machine washable and can be dried in an automatic dryer on a regular setting. Like most synthetics, polyester will melt at high temperature, so caution should be taken with ironing and washing temperature settings.

Polyester resists wrinkling, so it’s great blended with cotton for shirts. A men’s dress shirt in 65 to 70 percent cotton and 30 to 35 percent polyester provides the ease of care with the comfort qualities of cotton.

Polyester is strong and resists mildew and moths. However, its drawback is that it is oiliophilc. This is a long drag out term to say that it holds on to oil based stains, so much so you may have to send it to the dry cleaners. Another problem with polyester that is synonymous with most synthetics is that it doesn’t breathe which can make for a very sticky situation during the summer. Additionally, if the regular setting of your dryer produces extremely high heat, it will often soften the fabric and introduce permanent wrinkles. Remove polyester garments from the dryer while they are still damp and press them at once. This will help you to avoid over drying, which ages polyester and wards off the gradual shrinkage that occurs from over drying.