The fabric diaries: finding a satin that behaves

Satin has a reputation problem. Cheap versions have a hard, glassy shine that flattens the body and photographs like a wrapper. The good ones — the ones that pool and move — are almost always a fibre and weight question rather than a finish question.

We sampled from eleven mills before landing on the base used for the Satin Veil Pants. The winning cloth is a heavier weight than most eveningwear satin, which sounds counterintuitive until you see it hang. The extra grams give it a fall instead of a flutter, and the sheen reads as depth rather than gloss.

It is also more forgiving. Heavier satin skims across the hip rather than clinging, and it resists the horizontal creasing that ruins a lighter cloth after an hour of sitting.

Care is simple: hang, do not fold, and steam from the reverse. Treated properly, this is a fabric that improves with wear as the weave relaxes into the way you move.