Everything you Want to know About our Fabulous Fabrics

At Especia, we want you to look and feel fantastic in every single one of our designs. We believe there’s always a reason to dress up, and every collection is full of items that will make you feel fantastic on a daily basis, on special occasions, and, of course, at over-the-top parties as well. To create the prettiest styles possible, we pay attention to every phase in our design process. Yes, letting our minds flow with inspiration is always fun, and we definitely enjoy sketching beautiful pieces while dreaming about the day you, our wonderful customers, will get to wear them, but one of our all-time favorite parts of bringing our designs to life is getting to explore and select stunning fabrics. 

Here’s the thing: fabrics can make or break a garment, or an entire outfit for that matter. In other words, we believe a cute dress in the wrong fabric can never be truly perfect, and a cool outfit in just the right material instantly goes from great to gorgeous. Knowing this, we think a great deal about what textiles to use, where to source them, and how these materials will help us create the best garments possible. 

When choosing fabrics for our collections, we consider how a fabric feels to the touch, how it drapes and how it flows. Sometimes we look for materials that have a little bit of shine since we know even a subtle sparkle can really elevate any outfit. We also prefer durable textiles that can withstand the test of time. And, as we’ll explain more below, we often select fabrics derived from natural fibers. 

Though our final selections vary from collection to collection (we like to keep things interesting), we thought it would be fun to share some of the many elements that come into play during our fabric selection processes. Read on to get the scoop on everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the beautiful materials we use at Especia. 

The secret behind our gorgeous prints. 

If you’re a longtime Especia fan, you probably know we pride ourselves on creating stunning pieces using gorgeous prints. Though, in general, many printed fabrics can be purchased in bulk, at Especia, we want to create unique pieces that truly stand out. Our secret? We work with talented artists from all over the world to design absolutely beautiful prints, specifically tailored to our dreams and needs. This means the printed fabrics we use featuring lovely florals, exquisite animal prints, and chic boho patterns —to name just a few of our favorite motifs— are exclusive to us and us alone! 

We prioritize natural fabrics. 

As their name suggests, natural fabrics, such as cotton and linen, are fabrics derived directly from nature. These fabrics are better for the planet since producing them (normally) entails a lower environmental footprint than producing synthetic fabrics, and they're usually more biodegradable as well. At Especia, we prioritize the use of these materials not only because they are better for the planet but also because they’re better for you! Did you know, for example, that cotton and linen are hypoallergenic fabrics, meaning they're good for your skin? These fabrics are not only more breathable, making them perfect to stay cool on even the hottest summer days, but, believe it or not, they also have unique antibacterial properties. 

We adore linen. 

Linen is a wonderfully fresh and elegant fabric we love to bring into our collections. We often have pieces made in 100% linen though we find it also works well when blended with cotton or viscose. Aside from having all the unique properties of natural fabrics mentioned above, linen is also a long-lasting textile. Some even say it’s the most durable textile in the world, so you'll be wearing your Especia linen pieces for many, many years to come! 

We favor premium fabrics. 

When you look at the composition of our garments, you’ll notice many pieces are made using a material called viscose. We repeatedly use this fabric for premium garments meant for special occasions and parties, though you’ll also see it in a few of our day-to-day pieces. Now, here’s the thing. The viscose we use is not common. We source a special version of viscose that mirrors the properties of silk charmeuse, which means it’s cool to the touch, drapes beautifully and has that subtle shine we all love. Moreover, this is also a fabric that helps keep garments wrinkle-free, so you’ll look picture-perfect day and night. And, as if these characteristics weren’t enough, a high percentage of the viscose we use is made using recycled and ecological materials. 

We don’t use ordinary polyester. 

Although we don’t use a lot of it, sometimes you will find polyester in the composition of our garments. The thing is, we don’t utilize ordinary polyester. Instead, we favor an eco-friendly version of this fabric that, for example, is made using recycled materials and, overall, is more mindful of its impact on the planet. 

We have a thing for embroidery. 

If you're a longtime lover of our designs, you probably know that we have a thing for embroidery. We love the delicate, romantic touch it brings, and we incorporate this lovely element in many of our garments. However, you might not know that behind these details there’s a lot of artisanal work. Every embroidered element in our collections is designed in-house. We go through a process of selecting the perfect threads to bring our embroidered designs to life, and to do so we like to choose natural threads like cotton. We like to keep things fun, so we use many embroidery techniques, but here are a few we particularly love. 

• Eyelet embroidery: when using this technique we create beautiful designs by making small eyelets or perforations on base fabrics such as viscose or linen, though, we especially love the look of eyelet embroidery on cotton. We then carefully embroider these eyelets to create fresh, flirty fabrics that play with light and form. 

• Continuous embroidery: many of our pieces have delicate continuous embroidery, which frequently includes a delightful pattern embroidered throughout the entirety of the fabric used. These are usually subtle patterns that bring a lovely touch to our stylish silhouettes. 

• Localized embroidery: every single one of our localized embroidered details is exclusively designed for our collections. They are usually in line with our prints of the season, and we frequently illustrate these motifs by hand. Then, we take our designs and develop them using design software that allows us to incorporate embroidery onto the fabric as if it were delicately being drawn by hand. 

Bottom line: we love to stand out. 

As you can see, many elements come together when selecting the perfect textiles for our collections. We love fabrics with sequins, a special sheen, or a delicate sheer. And when we do opt for classic solids, we incorporate striking elements such as unique embroidery, hand-woven details, flattering drapery, braided straps, or dazzling stones. The bottom line is that when choosing fabrics we always select those with special features that make our designs stand out from the rest.