Velveteen vs Velvet
What is the difference?
Recently, as I was fixing up a gorgeous purple velveteen dress for my personal collection, I got to thinking about why I prefer velveteen fabric over true velvet. Many articles in both the sewing and fashion community explain in great detail the differences between and benefits of velvet and velveteen (and in some cases their stretchy cousin velour). I will simplify the differences for our purposes here. Velvet has a high pile, drapes better, and tends to have a high sheen. In contrast, velveteen tends to have a very low pile, a dull sheen, and no drape because it is generally a heavier and more structured fabric. For more of an explanation on the fabrics differences, read this blog HERE. There are benefits to both fabrics depending on what you are trying to achieve — especially if you are the one sewing. Given that this is a vintage shop, however, let’s simply talk about what we find in these types of vintage items.
Vintage Finds: Velvets
This lovely 1930s vintage velvet gown is a stunning example of the fabric - you can find it HERE.
When out searching for vintage velvets and velveteens, you will begin to notice that these fabrics seemed to be popular at different times. When I am sourcing I tend to find high quality velvets — generally silk velvets — in vintage pieces dating to the 1930s and early 1940s, and blended velvets from the late 1960s and 1970s. These pieces — especially those from the 30s and 40s — are stunning. They are the embodiment of what you think of when you think of “velvet” ; gorgeous rich colors, soft and silky fabric, usually sewn in such a way that the garment drapes artfully across the body when worn. Modern velvet pieces with their synthetic blends don’t hold a candle to this beautiful vintage fabric. Personally, if I needed a dress for a VERY special occasion, one in this fabric is what I would look for. BUT such pieces do have their issues - at least in terms of wearability and care.
Another stunning example of the sheen and the exquisite lay that vintage velvets have. You can find this 1940s dress HERE.
As a vintage seller, I have seen many garments made of velvet. And while things can go wrong with any garment, I have noticed common issues associated with velvet. The most common is crushing (i.e., creases and flat spots in the velvet). These are usually located at the hem, the back of a garment, and where the item creases - all likely do to rubbing and flattening when one is seated. Of course simply standing all night in a velvet dress will mitigate the crushing but thats not at all realistic. If crushing and creases do occur, there are ways to fix it to some degree. However, this can be a tedious, delicate process and in the end you can’t always restore it completely. Given that velvet has a high pile, both crushing and worn spots are fairly obvious. Unfortunately, there is no way to fix actual worn spots in velvet as the pile is simply worn away.
Another common issue I have seen — and have actually passed up beautiful gowns for this reason — is splitting and fraying at the seams. Usually, it’s a past seam pop or pull that has just gone horribly wrong, resulting in the velvet having started to fray and unravel. This sometimes leaves huge holes with no place to sew thread back through to repair the seam. Of course, the pieces are usually delicate because of their age, so this isn’t entirely unexpected and it can be repaired in some instances. However, it’s usually a costly undertaking. If you still want velvet but don’t want to worry too much about this particular issue, look at 60s and 70s vintage pieces instead!
Last consideration is cleaning — you should never place velvet in water to clean it as it will ruin the pile of the piece. Instead, these pieces must to be dry cleaned by someone who is both comfortable and capable of cleaning vintage velvets. Some dry cleaners will not clean vintage velvets because of the delicacy of the fabric - so just be sure to ask. Additionally, if you have a sensitivity to the chemicals used in dry cleaning then I’d recommend avoiding these pieces altogether.
Of course vintage velvet pieces are beautiful and velvet dresses (especially old silk velvet) are prized pieces for any vintage collector. But they are often high cost items given their delicacy as well as the cost that goes into maintaining them. Pieces made from this fabric need to be stored and worn with care, usually only during special occasions. As such, a good alternative for more regular use is velveteen.
Vintage Finds: Velveteens
Velveteen — sometimes referred to as a fake velvet — really does not get enough love and I’m not sure why.
A lovely 1950s velveteen dress - still with a pretty incredibly sheen if you ask me. Available HERE.
Most of the vintage velveteen pieces I have found date to the 1950s and early 1960s. Unlike with velvet where most of the items are either dresses or capes and coats, I have found that velveteen was used to make a multitude of vintage pieces during the 50s and 60s. Dresses of course are numerous, but I have also seen the fabric used for blouses, pants, hats, and even bags! It’s likely that this material was favored because it looked somewhat like velvet but because its a sturdier, heavier fabric - generally a cotton blend - I have been told its significantly more easy to sew. Of course, given the composition of the fabric, you cannot get the lovely drapes that you get with velvet and it usually has a very dull sheen (though this is not always the case if it’s blended velveteen!). But what velveteen allows is for much more structured pieces. And while I know you all love your winter velvets, I find that the structure and slightly heavier nature of velveteen makes it a better and warmer choice of fabric to wear during those chilly winter months.
This lovely peach velveteen blouse shows the structure you can achieve with velveteen - available HERE.
As a vintage buyer, collector, and seller I will always choose a velveteen piece for my own wardrobe over velvet. They tend to be a tad more casual than true velvet garments and the fact of the matter is, velveteen is all around much less stressful to deal with. Dresses and other vintage garments made from this fabric are significantly easier to care for. I have seen a multitude of velveteen pieces over the years and generally speaking they are more hardy than their velvet counterparts. Rarely do I find a piece with significant structural issues. If there is a flaw its usually a simple seam pop and given the fabric type this rarely unravels and can be quickly and easily mended! Occasionally you will also see slight crushing or a minor wear spot, but because of the low pile nature of the fabric already, it is not nearly as visible or obvious as these flaws would be in their velvet counterparts. The most common issue I find with velveteen is discoloration. Given the fabric content, however, its actually usually really easy to hand wash! Though like with all vintage pieces washing may only lighten discoloration and you need to always be cautious when washing vintage pieces. But the ability to wash and steam these pieces with minimal worry is probably the biggest reason why I love this fabric so much more than velvet!!
How do you know what to look for?
Searching for vintage velvets and especially velveteens can be challenging. It seems that in search engines people will often use the term “velvet” for both fabric types - sometimes even using it for velour, adding a whole other level of confusion. I confess though, I add it too in my titles and tags on Etsy in order to get my products found. In truth, most people don’t know that there is a difference and thats ok. But when you are looking for something specific it can be frustrating when the right words are not used.
If searching online, I suggest using the term “velvet” if you are looking for velveteen and are having a hard time finding things. Often you can use context clues to determine what the fabric actually is like the garments date, how and if it’s structured, the type of garment it is, and the sheen.
It can also be challenging trying to figure out what the fabric is in person. I even struggle with this sometimes. It’s difficult to determine the relative height of the fabrics “pile” if you have nothing else to compare it to. And I swear some pieces fall somewhat in the “middle” pile category. To help with this, I suggest brushing your hand across the fabric. If you leave a faint mark by being able to brush the pile a different direction than it’s likely velvet. If when you brush the fabric and you don’t really see a mark or streak then it is probably velveteen. Of course this is not a perfect rule and this can be especially difficult to see with darker colors- but it can help.
Which to choose?
The choice in whether you pick a vintage velvet or velveteen piece ultimately depends on what you can find and if you actually like the piece. Of course certain pieces are better suited for certain events. For those rare and special occasions perhaps a 1930s velvet gown is what you want — and in fact its what I would also choose. But for those slightly less formal events, perhaps a date night or a party or just to be a bit fancy during you day to day wear, velveteen is a great option. It’s sturdy, it’s easier to clean, and all around much less stressful to maintain.
Both fabrics are beautiful and vintage pieces made of either material are great to add to your collection.
