Fabric mystifies many women and teens shopping for formal dresses to wear to special occasions like Prom and Weddings. No wonder! You'll find dozens of fine fabrics for special occasion dresses for the wedding, Prom, formal or cocktail dress of your dreams.
Our Fabric Guide makes it easy to learn all about the fabrics for: wedding gowns, informal wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, Prom dresses, evening dresses, cocktail, and party dresses.
Expert Tips
- Each formal dress fabric creates a distinctive look and feel and sets the fashion tone, feel, and mood.
- Select a fabric that flatters your figure and fits the style and setting for your special occasion and time of year.
- For a winter or fall occasion think about fabrics that are heavier, thicker, and warmer like: satin, taffeta, brocade or velvet.
- For a spring or summer wedding go for lighter, thinner, and cooler fabrics like: silk, charmeuse, organza, or chiffon.
- Fabric choices also influence price and can drive up the cost of a special occasion dresses very quickly, especially a plus size gown that takes more yardage to sew. If you're on a budget then it's best to stick with man-made fibers like polyester, rayon, nylon, satin and lace. Natural fibers, such as silk, always cost more for formal evening and bridal wear.
Burn-Out: a lightweight fabric created by chemically removing parts of the weave to form a semi-sheer pattern against a solid background. Burn-out adds texture, depth, and a soft, airy feel to a gown.
- Velvet Burn-Out: a luxurious variation of burn-out where plush velvet designs are set against a sheer or lightweight base. This fabric creates rich contrast, soft dimension, and a dramatic, elegant finish.
Charmeuse: a widely popular lightweight fabric made of silk or polyester that creates a soft luster and satin like appearance. Drapes with great grace. Often used as a lining.
- Charmeuse Satin: a lightweight, fluid satin with a glossy front and a soft matte back. This fabric drapes beautifully and creates a smooth, flowing look against the body.
Chiffon: lightweight, sheer and transparent fabric with soft feel and delicate look. Ideal for flowing designs. Season-less fabric and a long-time favorite for evening wear, especially Mother of the Bride and Mother of the Groom dresses. Flows freely over your curves for a flattering fit.
- Georgette Chiffon: slightly heavier, more textured version of chiffon with a soft, matte finish. It drapes beautifully while offering a bit more structure, making it ideal for flowing gowns that still hold their shape.
Crepe: covers a wide range of fabrics including synthetics and silk identified by a grainy surface that can crinkle or crimp. Creates a sophisticated and clean line when sewn.
- Crepe Back Satin: a light to mid-weight reversible fabric: smooth, high luster satin weave on one faces; dull crepe weave backing on other face. Both sides can be used giving you the option of a shiny side or a matte side.
- Crepe de Chine: Softer and shiner than crepe back satin and lighter in weight. Typically this fabric comes in rayon or silk.
Dotted Swiss: a lightweight, sheer fabric featuring small raised dots woven into the surface. This delicate texture adds soft dimension and a playful, romantic feel to dresses.
Faille: stiff fabric with ribbed texture made from such fibers as polyester, cotton and silk.
Georgette: lightweight, sheer fabric often made from silk or man-made fibers such as polyester. More opaque than chiffon. Illusion: transparent, thin fabric typically used to create sheer sleeves, bodices, and backs.
- Georgette Chiffon: slightly heavier, more textured version of chiffon with a soft, matte finish. It drapes beautifully while offering a bit more structure, making it ideal for flowing gowns that still hold their shape.
Jacquard: soft and silky woven fabric with a pattern weave. Brocade and Damask are jacquard woven fabrics. This fabric exudes sophistication. It's timeless and classic.
- Brocade: a heavy, thick jacquard fabric with an overall interwoven pattern or floral design that is raised. Brocade can give your dress a rich feel and exquisite look as though the gown was created for royalty.
- Damask: distinctive fabric noted by soft sheen and woven pattern same color as the background, usually a floral design. Tends to be a thicker, heavier material.
Knit: a fabric made from interlocking loops of yarn that create natural stretch and flexibility. Knit fabrics are comfortable, breathable, and move easily with the body.
- Jersey Knit: a soft, smooth knit with excellent stretch and recovery. This fabric drapes beautifully over curves, making it a popular choice for comfortable, figure-flattering dresses.
Lace: delicate netting with fine embroidery often in such designs as flowers. The best quality lace is handmade. But machine-made lace made today can be exquisite and suitable to embellish with sequins, beads or pearls.
- Boho Lace: a soft, relaxed lace style with free-flowing patterns, often inspired by nature or vintage motifs. Boho lace creates an effortless, romantic look with a slightly undone feel.
- Corded Lace: a lace where raised cords outline the pattern, giving the design extra dimension and texture. This type of lace highlights floral or geometric details with a bold, sculpted effect.
- Crochet Lace: a lace made from looped stitches that create an open, handmade look. Crochet lace has a slightly heavier, more textured appearance that feels artistic and vintage-inspired.
- Guipure Lace: a heavy lace with bold motifs connected by small bars instead of netting. Guipure lace creates striking, structured patterns with a dramatic, high-end finish.
Lamé: a woven fabric made with metallic fibers that create a high-shine, reflective surface. Known for its bold, glamorous look, lamé adds drama and eye-catching shimmer to evening gowns.
Linen: lightweight natural fabric made from flax fiber used for more casual clothing. Beware! Line wrinkles easily and is very difficult to pack.
Lycra™: a stretchy, resilient fabric made from spandex or elastane fibers. Known for its excellent recovery and flexibility, Lycra™ provides a smooth, form-fitting silhouette and is often blended with other fabrics for comfort and ease of movement.
Mesh: a lightweight, open-weave fabric with a net-like appearance. It’s breathable and flexible, often used for overlays, illusion panels, and detailing, adding texture and subtle transparency to dresses.
Organza: crisp, sheer, transparent and lightweight fabric made from silk, nylon, or polyester. Heavier and stiffer feel than chiffon works well in wedding gowns for overskirt.
- Mirror Organza: a sheer, crisp organza finished with a subtle high-shine surface that reflects light. This fabric adds luminous dimension and a touch of drama while still holding structured shapes beautifully.
Peau de Soie: (French: skin of silk) medium to heavy fabric with a satin weave and dull luster. Very haute couture!
Satin: soft woven fabric with a lustrous smooth surface and back in a wide range of sheen making it very popular for formal dresses.
- Charmeuse Satin: a lightweight, fluid satin with a glossy front and a soft matte back. This fabric drapes beautifully and creates a smooth, flowing look against the body.
- Mikado Satin: a luxurious, heavier satin with a crisp structure and subtle sheen. Known for its rich body and clean finish, Mikado holds its shape beautifully and is ideal for more tailored or architectural gown designs.
- Shantung Satin: medium-weight, plain-weave fabric in silk or polyester with a nub feel and textured effect.
- Bridal Satin: an ultra smooth fabric made from synthetic fibers in a tight weave that creates a luxurious shine. Widely available in silk, polyester, acetate, and rayon.
- Crepe Back Satin: a light to mid-weight reversible fabric: smooth, high luster satin weave on one faces; dull crepe weave backing on other face. Both sides can be used giving you the option of a shiny side or a matte side.
- Duchesse Satin: smooth, full bodied fabric with sheen often a mix of silk and man-made fibers such as polyester, acetate or rayon makes it a favorite for full or A-line skirts. Brides love this satin because it flows beautifully coming down the aisle.
- Peau Satin: heavy twill satin with a smooth finish and soft shine.
Sequin: a decorative fabric covered in small, reflective sequins sewn or glued onto a base material. This fabric catches the light for a sparkling, glamorous effect, perfect for evening gowns and show-stopping special occasion dresses.
- Sequin Velvet: a rich velvet base embellished with sewn-on sequins for added sparkle and dimension. This fabric combines velvet’s soft, plush feel with glamorous shine, making it perfect for statement-making evening gowns.
Silk: luxurious natural fiber woven from the fibers of silkworm cocoons that come in a variety of textures with finishes. Soft, elegant and strong.
- Dupioni Silk: textured fabric with highly irregular weave, tiny nubs on surface and rich luster. Heavier and thicker texture than Shantung silk. Very elegant and rich looking!
Soutache: a decorative trim or braid sewn onto fabric to create intricate, raised patterns. Often used for embellishment on gowns, soutache adds texture, dimension, and an elegant, vintage-inspired detail.
Suede: a soft, velvety fabric with a napped finish, traditionally made from the underside of leather but also available in synthetic versions. Suede adds a rich, textured look and a luxurious feel to garments.
Taffeta: light to heavy synthetic fabric with body, crispness, and sheen. Smooth surface shines when hit by light. Adds stiffness to full skirts on ball gowns.
Tulle: Light, transparent and fine open weave netting often sewn for wedding veils and layered for ball gown skirts. Also used as net to create illusion bodices.
- Embroidered Tulle: fine tulle decorated with stitched designs such as florals or motifs. This fabric adds detail and dimension while maintaining a light, airy look.
- Soft Bridal Tulle: a lightweight, ultra-soft version of tulle with a smooth, delicate drape. Often used for wedding gowns and veils, it creates a romantic, flowing effect without stiffness.
Velvet: luxurious heavyweight fabric woven with a cut pile finish made of silk, velvet or rayon. Finish creates a soft feel with subtle shine. Limited use as it is best to wear velvet in the Winter.
- Crushed Velvet: thick pile of different heights make this woven fabric have a crushed look. Added elegance: glimmers in certain light. Take note: crushed velvet for evening typically is worn from early November to early March when the weather is colder. Most women find it is unsuitable during Spring and Summer. It's just too hot to wear when the temperature climbs above 50 degrees F.
- Sequin Velvet: a rich velvet base embellished with sewn-on sequins for added sparkle and dimension. This fabric combines velvet’s soft, plush feel with glamorous shine, making it perfect for statement-making evening gowns.
- Velvet Burn-Out: a luxurious variation of burn-out where plush velvet designs are set against a sheer or lightweight base. This fabric creates rich contrast, soft dimension, and a dramatic, elegant finish.