Ye Olde Pretty Acetate Lingerie
Acetate, or CH3COOH as I like to call it, was once the fabric of choice for much of the world's fine lingerie. Before nylon popped onto the scene with its flashy softness, it's relative cheapness of production and its steadfast resistance to getting holes in it when accidentally exposed to acetone, acetate was the soft, shiny, silk like material of choice for people who were serious about looking good and feeling good in their lingerie.
The type of acetate used in the production of acetate lingerie is cellulose acetate, an ester of acetate. It is based on cotton and wood fibers, unlike nylon and polyester, which are oil based fibers. If you're serious about moving away from a dependency on oil, you may wish to wear acetate lingerie over nylon or polyester lingerie for this reason.
If you're just serious about looking and feeling good in your lingerie, you might want to invest in acetate lingerie as well.
How Does Acetate Feel?
Acetate has an interesting feel somewhere between a fairy's kiss and the soft touch of air mail paper. It is soft, smooth, dry and crisp. It has a lovely lustrous sheen to it which has lead to it being regarded almost as highly as silk and it is incredibly comfortable to wear.
Unlike nylon, it wicks away moisture from the body, making it far more suitable for active men or women. There is no static cling with acetate, which makes doing the laundry and subsequently wearing the garment much less of a dangerous proposition. Acetate is entirely hypoallergenic and does not retain heat, making it perfect for wearing on hot days.
With all these lovely properties, not to mention the fact that is is made from wood pulp, a totally renewable resource, it seems strange indeed that lingerie manufacturers abandoned it so quickly for its petroleum based cousins. Acetate is a bit more costly than nylon to be sure, however acetate has so many advantages that one would think that many consumers would still enjoy the option of being able to purchase it.
Where Can I Buy Acetate Lingerie?
Nowadays, if one wishes to purchase acetate lingerie, one must purchase vintage acetate lingerie. Much of it is incredibly beautiful and entirely unworn. Chemises, underwear, bras, nightgowns and bloomers are all still to be found, however stock is running low and unless some bright cookie once again introduces acetate lingerie into the market (something which I think is probably only a matter of time given that world oil stores continue to dwindle and we are increasingly turning to renewable resources with which to produce goods,) vintage acetate lingerie is where it is at.
Watch this space for updates of purveyors of fine acetate lingerie.
