Other than cotton being a priority fabric for people, linen does get more attention since it is more expensive. Throughout the past decade, linen has been loved by rich and wealthy people because of its fine texture.
It was not very common in the early ages that everyone could afford linen and it is somewhat true right now as well. This fabric has strength, durability, style, and is soft which are the must-have qualities for anyone who loves quality fabrics.
The reason why linen is way more expensive is that it takes a lot of time and effort to be manufactured. From the harvesting process to taking it to the factories and processing a fabric out of it, it is an expensive and long process.
There are also geographical limitations because there are certain parts of the world where you can produce this fabric. Unlike cotton which is easily available, linen is expensive to harvest and grow and the same goes for the final product that you see at your favorite brands.
It takes about 90 days, from sowing the linen seed to harvesting it, so it is a long process for sure. The faux plants, the source of fabric, are pulled out of the ground instead of getting chopped so that the string of the fabric remains a particular length.
Then the stock is preserved so that smooth yarn would be easy to spin. Since the fabric is inelastic it is easy to break it during the entire process.
But the same factor contributes to the craftsman worrying about dealing with it carefully. In order to be careful, the machines are run at a slow pace which takes a lot of time and energy, hence the fabric is expensive.
Faux is actually a natural fiber that can be found in only Western Europe where the weather and climate conditions are very optimal. And since a lot of labor costs from European countries are high, the same goes for linen as well.
So from the initiation of this fabric, the moment of harvesting, processing and the final fabric getting delivered takes up a lot of labor and resources. This naturally makes it logical for this fabric to be expensive and luxurious.
Even if the process of making linen is slow but the consistency and it happening despite the climate and technical constraints are a big thing to acknowledge. The entirety of it is way more intensive than cotton hence the prices over the counter are way more than cotton as well.
Now some people would also have this comment that for them linen clothes are affordable somehow. That is because most of the time, those linen clothes have fake linen fabric in them.
Fake linen is actually made from polyester and also has some low-quality materials mixed into it like cotton and oakum. All the top-quality linen is manufactured in Europe and even the high-quality France or Belgian linens.
The fibrils of these fabrics are sent for manufacturing to other places like India and China which totally changes the quality standards of production. As compared to the European products and processes, the imported linen can be affordable but the quality is not exactly what linen should be.
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Why Is Linen Clothing So Expensive?
The high-quality linen fabric tends to be soft if the faux plants have been growing in a suitable environment. Soft and smooth linen is a great symbol of linen being high quality and again, original.
Even with the linen dress, regardless of the design and prints, you’ll notice that there are no impurities or rough feel to the high-quality linen fabric. If you see people going to a high-end brand there is a 100 percent chance that the brand also has linen clothing in its collections.
The high production cost is where the answer lies to why linen is so expensive. You can always afford the knock-off but if you’re looking for the original then you have to have a close look at the fabric first before making the purchase.
Is Linen Considered A Luxury?
Well yes, linen is most definitely considered a luxury just like silk and other expensive fabrics. In the early times, only merchants and royalty used to buy and wear clothes made out of linen.
Now at high-end designer brands, you can always see some linen clothing in the collection and it is always going to be expensive.
What Is So Special About Linen?
Well for starters the fact that it is only manufactured in Western Europe, which is home to many quality productions in fashion. And the production process is costly enough to make the final products expensive.
This fabric is soft, comfortable, smooth, and does not have any impurities in it, to begin with. Whether you are investing in linen sheets or clothing, you would be considered a luxurious person by just the looks of it.
Even though you have to take a lot of care of this kind of clothing since it wrinkles quite easily as compared to any other fabric, the quality remains. Linen is naturally biodegradable so that is definitely a plus for sustainable living.
But in order to maintain those biodegradable qualities, you need to make sure that you don’t bleach or dye it. With every kind of clothing, there are certain pros and cons that you have to keep in mind.
Since this fabric is smooth a good deal of care is required to maintain that at the same time. Cotton is always an option for affordability but linen definitely serves you the class and expensive look you want.
