Sharkskin: Difference between revisions
The personal opinions on this page were restricted to a single section. By removing the biased section, which added only mildly relevant context, the issue was dealt with, and the maintenance template was no longer needed. Should anyone disagree and feel the information was important for the article, I invite them to reintegrate it more professionally in the primary section or under a more suitable header. |
I quickly reworded much of the article to remove the majority of the blatant mistakes and biased language. This is not a permanent fix. I kept as much of the original as possible to save work for myself, so the edit is not ideal. Sections are more in need of rewriting than rewording. Still, I feel that I've brought the article's professionalism up from maybe a D- to a C+. |
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[[File:Верман Михаил Игоревич, 2011 год.jpg|thumb|right|Contemporary sharkskin "shiny suit"]] |
[[File:Верман Михаил Игоревич, 2011 год.jpg|thumb|right|Contemporary sharkskin "shiny suit"]] |
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'''Sharkskin''' |
'''Sharkskin''' describes a specific [[Woven fabric|woven]] or [[Warp knitting|warp-knitted]] fabric with a distinctive sheen. Sharkskin is a [[Twill|twill weave]] fabric. Materials used in its construction include: [[cellulose acetate|acetate]], [[rayon]], [[Worsted spinning|worsted]] [[wool]], [[lycra]], and other plastic fibers. Sharkskin is produced with differing shades of thread, the arrangement of darker and brighter threads in a [[Twill|twill weave]] creates a subtle pattern of lines that run across the fabric diagonally and a two tone, lustrous appearance. Primarily a suiting material, the fabric is sometimes seen in light jackets and non-fashion items such as curtains, tablecloths, and as a liner in [[diving suit]]s and [[wetsuits]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Textile Institute and Industry - Volume 5|publisher=Textile Institute|year=1967|location=The University of Michigan|pages=174}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Frank Pollatsek, William Seitz|first=Louis Goldblatt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S-9QAQAAMAAJ&q=Sharkskin+fabric|title=Fabrics Today and Drycleaning - Volume 1|publisher=New York Neighborhood Cleaners Association|year=1952|location=Origin University of Minnesota|pages=36}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Tregonning|first=Melwyn|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U2_eKSjcW_gC&dq=sharkskin+fabric+definition&pg=PT335|title=Fabric Dictionary|publisher=Mel Tregonning}}</ref> |
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== Composition == |
== Composition == |
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[[File:Harry S. Truman suit.JPG|thumb|right| President [[Harry S. Truman]]'s sharkskin suit, 1950s.]] |
[[File:Harry S. Truman suit.JPG|thumb|right| President [[Harry S. Truman]]'s sharkskin suit, 1950s.]] |
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{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2011}} |
{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2011}} |
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| ⚫ | Sharkskin has historically been made with different types of natural fibers, including either [[mohair]], [[wool]] and [[silk|silk.]]More expensive variations, often demarcated by fabric content labels bearing "Golden Fleece", "Royal" or the like, indicate an extremely rare and costly "sharkskin" of yester-year. Those fabrics, produced in small quantities, were manufactured in South America (Peru and Argentina: by transplanted German/Italian weavers) from the 1950s and 60s and are known to include in some instances even small percentages of [[vicuna]], [[guanaco]] or [[alpaca fibre|alpaca]] in such blends: inclusion of [[silk]] was even more common among the "natural sharkskin". Whereas, "artificial sharkskin" is a fabric variant that is more often found from that period and can contain synthesized or synthetic fibers that were developed contemporary to those eras.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Harris|first=Milton|title=Natural and Synthetic Fibers Yearbook|year=1962|pages=156}}</ref> |
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Sharkskin has historically been made with different types of natural fibers, including either [[mohair]], [[wool]] and [[silk]]. |
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| ⚫ | More expensive variations, often demarcated by fabric content labels bearing "Golden Fleece", "Royal" or the like, indicate an extremely rare and costly "sharkskin" of yester-year. Those fabrics, produced in small quantities, were manufactured in South America (Peru and Argentina: by transplanted German/Italian weavers) from the 1950s and 60s and are known to include in some instances even small percentages of [[vicuna]], [[guanaco]] or [[alpaca fibre|alpaca]] in such blends: inclusion of [[silk]] |
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==Artificial variations== |
==Artificial variations== |
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Artificial sharkskin variants used for suiting first appeared in the 1950s |
Artificial sharkskin variants used for suiting first appeared in the 1950s. These variants made more significant use [[wool]] and synthetic fibers in their construction. The addition of synthetics can create a heightened metallic-like sheen, and/or added flexibility. Artificial sharkskin, in part for its comparably low price point, gained traction as a clothing material in the early [[1960s fashion|1960s]] and the [[disco era]] of the [[1970s in fashion|late 70s]]. Its popularity waned, but enjoyed brief fashion resurgences in the mid-1980s, mid-1990s and late 2000s. |
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The term "Super-Sharkskin" has been used to describe relatively costly sharkskin fabrics which include some percentage of synthetic fibers.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} The addition of synthetics can create a heightened metallic-like sheen, and/or added flexibility (as with a 2% [[Lycra]] blend). |
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==Middle East== |
==Middle East== |
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Revision as of 18:32, 9 May 2023
 | This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. (November 2017) |
Sharkskin describes a specific woven or warp-knitted fabric with a distinctive sheen. Sharkskin is a twill weave fabric. Materials used in its construction include: acetate, rayon, worsted wool, lycra, and other plastic fibers. Sharkskin is produced with differing shades of thread, the arrangement of darker and brighter threads in a twill weave creates a subtle pattern of lines that run across the fabric diagonally and a two tone, lustrous appearance. Primarily a suiting material, the fabric is sometimes seen in light jackets and non-fashion items such as curtains, tablecloths, and as a liner in diving suits and wetsuits.[1][2][3]
Composition
 |
Sharkskin has historically been made with different types of natural fibers, including either mohair, wool and silk.More expensive variations, often demarcated by fabric content labels bearing "Golden Fleece", "Royal" or the like, indicate an extremely rare and costly "sharkskin" of yester-year. Those fabrics, produced in small quantities, were manufactured in South America (Peru and Argentina: by transplanted German/Italian weavers) from the 1950s and 60s and are known to include in some instances even small percentages of vicuna, guanaco or alpaca in such blends: inclusion of silk was even more common among the "natural sharkskin". Whereas, "artificial sharkskin" is a fabric variant that is more often found from that period and can contain synthesized or synthetic fibers that were developed contemporary to those eras.[4]
Artificial variations
Artificial sharkskin variants used for suiting first appeared in the 1950s. These variants made more significant use wool and synthetic fibers in their construction. The addition of synthetics can create a heightened metallic-like sheen, and/or added flexibility. Artificial sharkskin, in part for its comparably low price point, gained traction as a clothing material in the early 1960s and the disco era of the late 70s. Its popularity waned, but enjoyed brief fashion resurgences in the mid-1980s, mid-1990s and late 2000s.
Middle East
British Diplomat Sir Terence Clark in the 1950s served in Bahrain. He reminisces that the requisite winter evening wear for a diplomat was a white sharkskin dinner jacket.[5] Lucette Lagnado in her prize-winning memoir about her childhood, The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: My Family's Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World uses the imagery of the white sharkskin suit to evoke the glamorous evening life in Egypt in the 1950s. Early in Justine, Lawrence Durrell mentions the heroine sitting in front of a multi-panel mirror trying out a sharkskin dress; the book is set in the high society of diplomats and businessmen in Alexandria in the 1930s, a city where Durrell spent much time during World War II, a few years later.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ The Textile Institute and Industry - Volume 5. The University of Michigan: Textile Institute. 1967. p. 174.
- ^ Frank Pollatsek, William Seitz, Louis Goldblatt (1952). Fabrics Today and Drycleaning - Volume 1. Origin University of Minnesota: New York Neighborhood Cleaners Association. p. 36.
- ^ Tregonning, Melwyn. Fabric Dictionary. Mel Tregonning.
- ^ Harris, Milton (1962). Natural and Synthetic Fibers Yearbook. p. 156.
- ^ Churchill College Cambridge. "British Diplomatic Oral History Programme (BDOHP)". Archived interview: Former member of the British Diplomatic service Charles Cullimore interviews fellow diplomat Sir Terence Clark on Friday 8, November 2002. Retrieved June 8, 2011.