How to Tell the Fiber Content of Clothing when There is No Label

Shopping at thrift stores can be great fun, but sometimes fiber content tags are missing, making you guess what a garment is made of. There are ways to make educated guesses, and after a while, you too can be an expert on identifying natural and synthetic fibers in clothing.

The first thing to do when a sweater's collar tag is missing is to look inside on the left side seam at about waist level. If a manufacturer added a second content tag, that is where you'll find it. But if there's no tag there? Read on, there are ways of making accurate guesses.

While there are some really high quality synthetics out there, you can learn to separate silks from silk-like synthetics with a little know-how. Dyed silks will have rich, saturated colors, but those colors will never look too bright, or oversaturated, the way dyed synthetics can. Vintage silk often has a matte sheen, and if you rub it between your fingers, it will offer a little resistance, rather than sliding between your fingers slickly.

With wools, you have to do a little sleuthing because there are so many types of wools and wool blends out there. Like silk, wool takes dye readily, resulting in saturated, but not day-glo colors. If a sweater has "pills" or little balls of fiber dotting it, try pulling one of them off. Pills on wools are generally looser, and come off easily, while pills on acrylics often are smaller and cling more tightly to the garment. You'll know that you have either pure wool or a wool blend if you get a garment home, wash it (by hand, in cold water, please!) and notice a slight "wet dog" smell while it dries.

Picking out cashmere in the absence of any content information is a little more subtle, but it can be done. Like silk and wool, cashmere takes dye beautifully, but never looks oversaturated. The pills that form on cashmere are small, but not tight, and they are easy to remove. Cashmere knit will "give" slightly in any direction if you give a gentle tug. But the main clue to whether a garment is cashmere is if it is so soft you wish your bed were made of it!

If you're savvy, you can purchase high quality garments at second-hand and thrift stores for next to nothing. The more you practice, the better you'll become at finding clothing made from beautiful, natural fibers. One way to practice is to examine and touch a garment before checking the content tag, then checking to see if you were right. With the right attitude and a few simple techniques, you can make "thrift store therapy" a fun break from worrying about your bank account.