Celanese. My new favourite fabric!

Amazing swimsuit Pam. :bouncy:

 

In my 1951 "American Textile" magazine there is a long 24 page article on Celanese. What I like the most is all the fabric swatches to examine.

 

Carrie, I can't seem to view them for some reason, at the moment. I'm seeing those little question mark boxes...

Pam, that sure is one beautiful bathing suit.

Sarah, it sure could. I'd be willing to take that chance, knowing the modesty panel was firmly in place.
I'd like for Santa Claus to bring me that suit! Hope he's listening.

Swatches? Yes! What are the colors like from that year?

 

Swimsuits from Santa! Love that!

 

Seriously Santa, I'm not kidding around, and I've been angelic all year long.

Oooh, Carrie, what a clutch that is! "Les Mille Fleurs", so neat to see the insert card too.

 

In the 54' Vogues I have there are a number of ads for garments made from Celanese and at least one is from Ceil Chapman.

 

I don't know if you can see, but the swatches are real pieces of fabric and not just photos:

 

I love swatches! Thank you for posting them; what a fine resource to have that '51 issue of the magazine.

Julie, would it be possible to see them? Sounds very good!

 

Fantastic swatches, secondlooks!

I've just found an early 1960s book called 'Man-Made Fibres' on my shelf, that's probably aimed at schoolkids so its more or less understandable for me at least.

It explains that rayon, acetate and triacetate are all classified as 'cellulosic' fibres, being derived from cellulose 'in the form of wood pulp or cotton linters.' So as everyone's been saying, they're all one big happy family!

Let's summarise, there's a lot here!

VISCOSE RAYON - made of wood pulp, goes through various soaking and ageing processes until its a viscous liquid resembling honey. If left untreated at this point it makes fibres with "a high degree of lustre," but if a dull sheen is required "a special pigment - usually titanium dioxide - is added."

*da dee dee* *reading on*

Quote: "Courtauld's first venture into the field of 'artificial silk,' as rayon was then called, took place in the 1890s, and in 1904 Samuel Courtauld & Co. bought the British patent rights of Cross, Bevan and Stearn to the viscose process . . . Courtaulds also founded the viscose rayon industry in America, and in 1909 formed the American Viscose Co. which later became the Viscose Corporation of America."

CELLULOSE ACETATE: made from either cotton linters or wood pulp, different process to viscose (gets technical, involves acetic acid).

Quote: "The acetate process produces a filament quite different in its chemical nature from that given by the viscose process. For one thing the acetate filament is thermoplastic, and so can be softened by the application of heat. Acetate materials can therefore be embossed with patterns and similar effects. Moreover the handle of such material is particularly soft and it does not absorb moisture to the same extent as viscose rayon. Acetate yarns are marketed under many different trade names, of which 'Celanese,' manufactured by British Celanese Ltd., is possibly the best known in this country."

TRIACETATE: "is a development from regular acetate and is made from the same basic raw materials. In addition to possessing the advantages of acetate it has a number of other properties similar to those of fully synthetic fibres. Though similar in strength and appearance to acetate, it is more resistant to continuous wear. Triacetate, both in filament and spun staple form, is marketed by British Celanese Ltd. under the trade name of 'Tricel.' 'Arnel' is the American equivalent."

I think I'm getting a handle on this now! :embaressed:

 

Sarah. Thank you so much for taking the time to list out these fabric types. I'll now be able to refer back to this and sound like I know what I'm talking about! It's really very good of you.

 

It was just as useful for me! Plus I'm a total dufus having that book on my shelf and not remembering to check it to resolve the confusion I confessed about earlier in this thread!

 

:lol: I've not known you very long, but 'dufus' you most certainly are not. :icon_dante:

 

Really good thread. I've never come across 'Celanese Moss Crepe' I loved the reference to Diana Vreeland's pronunciation!

 

A late addition! I've just found this 1944 wartime ad for Celanese:



It was in Modern Woman magazine, January 1944. Should I add it to the advert section too?

 

Those American Fabrics magazines really are great resources for helping date fabrics. It was a textiles trade publication. Most issues have lots ow swatches.

 

Great ad TinTrunk! Love the CC41 and clothing book references.

 

Thanks Brenda! I have a clothing rations coupon book from 1948, and can you believe it still has some coupons left in it?!

Must have been a man's one!

Sarah

 

This is an old thread, I know, but I was trying to research Celanese as I have a cami set with that name in my collection and was wondering myself about the origins of the silk-like fabric. I found this lovely 1940s Celanese slip during my searches - absolutely lovely.

Link removed by Admin: please see forum rules

 

Definitely late to the party but I'll add a few things:

From a Summer 1928 Butterick Quarterly magazine:



A late 1950s Celanese Arnel Triacetate and Cotton (what a mouthful!) set: